Dawn Marie commands you to win up Sunshines version of a Piña Colada, the Sunshine Colada. After that you are free to enjoy the podcast.

This episode our listener mail asks: Is there a recommended maximum number of Zombies a responsible tiki enthusiast at an event. Is there an official rule about how many cocktails umbrellas you can put on one drink? What’s one item that instantly makes a backyard tiki area feel more tiki that people overlook?

Upcoming Tiki Events and Happenings:

You have heard all of us talk about missing Don the Beachcomber after it closed its only mainland location that was located in Huntington/Sunset Beach. Don’s Ohana Reunion 2

Dallas Tiki Week May 17 - 24, 2026. We have not attended this event but had a few listeners say it was fun last year. This is the second year of the event and the line up is intriguing. Its mostly intriguing because the website still has last years info but the instagram page is current. If you attend, consider recording a voice memo on your phone and sending to us at [email protected]. Be our unpaid intern correspondent.

The Tiki Bar at Excalibur

Easy Sailor Rochester NY

Here we go again. Trying another canned Mai Tai so you don’t have to. Did we like this entry from Post Meridiem? Listen to find out ;)

Sunshine, Kalanin and Starshine dropped by Tony’s on the pier with all our ball and chains. What do we recommend? Well, you just have to try both the Mai Tai and Fire Chief. Both drinks taste like college but come with the glass. lol. Enjoy your beverage up in the crows nest where the view is good and the crowd is loud. Tony’s is a vintage beach restaurant with lots of old stories and a diner menu that people seem to really love.

A quick Lyft away was Tiki Kai. You NEED a reservation. Although no longer a new tiki bar, the place is popular and busy for good reason. We made reservations for a party of 6 two months in advance but you can find some spots sooner than that. We loved the drinks, the atmosphere and the food. Listen for all our thoughts and reviews.

Technically speaking we are not boycotting Tiki Caliente this year. It’s just that none of are going for the first time in 16 years. Sunshine will be on a cruise and Kalani and Sarshine are attending Beach Life in Long Beach. Starshine loves an all day concert and we discuss the lineup for this years event. Tickts still available as of 4/15/26.

While in the bar area Kalani visited Pagan Idol and didn’t love her experience. Sunshine shares that not visiting the back room was her problem. Pagan Idol has a front bar with a nautical theme while a larger tiki space is just up the stairs and opens later than the front bar. Check out the pictures and consider visiting this San Francisco gem.

AI Cocktail Recipes? Sure, why not?

AI Overlords

We try making a cocktail in a food processor. Mostly a fail.

We learn that your drink has to be 66% alcohol to kill germs when sharing a bowl drink

Calwise

orange, pineappel, falernum rums, orange, lemon, cinnamon syrup

Discussed on this episode: Demerara rum is what happens when sugarcane grows up, gets sophisticated, and develops opinions. It comes from Guyana (chatgpt://generic-entity?number=0), specifically the fertile banks of the Demerara River (chatgpt://generic-entity?number=1). Historically, that region cranked out absurd amounts of sugar, which meant one obvious thing: serious rum. Dark, brooding, and absolutely not here to be mixed into something shy.

What makes Demerara rum special (a.k.a. why it thinks it’s better than other rums):

    •    Demerara sugar → deeper, molasses-heavy flavor before distillation even starts

    •    Ancient wooden stills (yes, wood) → flavors you simply cannot fake

    •    Big, unapologetic profile → burnt sugar, toffee, smoke, dried fruit, spice

    •    Structure → it doesn’t disappear in cocktails; it dominates politely

In modern times, most true Demerara rum comes from one distillery (Diamond Distillery, via El Dorado), because history consolidated and capitalism did its thing. The upside: the legacy is preserved. The downside: fewer weird unhinged experiments—though what survives is excellent.

How it behaves in drinks

    •    Makes Mai Tais stand up straight

    •    Turns simple cocktails into lectures

    •    Works beautifully in small doses, because it knows it’s intense

Demerara rum is dark, rich, historically important, and mildly judgmental. It’s the rum equivalent of someone who casually mentions they summered somewhere formative—and somehow you’re okay with it.

The Polynesian threesome

The Polynesian Threesome is our new cocktail this episode. Sunshine, Starshine and Kalani taste and review the drink plus make suggestions for perfecting the recipe. By the end of the first drink we arrived at this final recipe.

After a lovely cocktail we take a deeper than usual dive into some listener mail. Derek from Long Beach finds out which forgotten cocktail we would bring back from the past. And Carla from Tempe gets our take on tiki bar accessories that should not be overlooked.

The highlight of this episode is an interview with Mark Riddle, composer, musician, father, man of mystery. Mark (aka Marty Lush) is releasing a new album this May, but we got the first peak at a track from the upcoming album Dark Rituals. Just after the interview with Mark you can check out Blood Rites, a dark melodic tune that sets a perfect mood for poolside vibes or indoor dimly lit cocktail shenanigans. Listen to the full show to hear the interview and get some insight into the creative talents of Mark Riddle. And don’t miss his regular work on the Quiet Village Podcast, home of the best exotica with new and old artists each episode. But wait, there’s more. You can get Marks previous albums in his store at Digitiki.com

As discussed on the podcast, Makenna Coffee is a small chain of coffee locations with a focus on Hawaiian style coffees and flavors and some rather interesting energy drinks, plus a fairly wide offering of food and snacks. Sunshine has been waiting to try it out and the line was finally short enough. I tried the white chocolate macadamia nut cold brew with Kona cloud topper. I was worried it would be too sweet, and it was not. Great balance of coffee and flavor. The white cream and peanut butter pup cup was also enjoyed…but by the dog.

Are you in the Southern California area? Join us at the Rum Curious Summit February 21st in San Diego. We are not vending, we are guests just like can be. Try over a 100 rums, cocktails, food and more. If you see us, please say hi.

Shots from the last Rum curious summit

Go back to December of 2006 when Sunshine and Pumpkin recorded our first Holiday episode of ZTL. The audio wasn’t as good back then, and Sunshine did some rough editing back in the day. For those of you who ask for those old episodes, here it is. Honestly, skip ahead to 25 minutes in when Pumpkin gets inebriated and the conversation gets good. Remember, everybody gets better over time, and we are no exception.

This flashback is originally from May, 2009.  

It was just a matter of time till Sunshine entangled his love for Star Trek into the Zen Tiki Lounge.  Just back from seeing the new Star Trek movie, Sunshine has lots to say while Pumpkin is off on her usual tangents.  This entire episode was recorded from the bridge of the NCC1701. Fire up that food replicator, we are synthesizing cocktails as fast as we can drink them.  It's choose your own cocktail this week, much like the old series of books...choose wisely.  Another hot topic this week is very sweet.  Simple syrup isn't the only bar sweetner out there, try honey orange syrup, organic orgeat or maybe fresh made lime syrup.  All perfect for a Spring/Summer cocktail.  Make one, make them all.  Your guests will know you mean business with your booze.  We also give you a few more reasons to hate Oprah and Marth Stewart, perfect.

An apology for all the unnecessary sound effects, but Pumpkin learned how to use the sound buttons.

Listening to this episode all these years later makes it clear how far we have come. References to our myspace fans and the newness of twitter sounds nuts nowadays.

Also out of date is our Las Vegas recommendations. Several of our top picks are long gone. Farwell to the Mirage volcano and Parasol Down to name a few.

What a fun episode do we have for you. While at Tiki Calienete, Neighbor Nicole met some new friends and they conspired to give her a makeover in the Zen Tiki Lounge. Hena Moon and The Isis of Tiki journeyed to ZTL to help Nicole add some color to her usual all black attire. But first…ZTL Mai Tais and some lovely snacks. The Isis of Tiki who is a personal chef brought amazing and tender beef skewers with sambal sauce and some vegan fried rice. Sunshine cooked his favorite appetizer, Hawaiian Bruschetta.

Below is the transformation. Nicole started in her usual spandex black house attire. Over the next 90 minutes, The Isis of Tiki and Hena Moon lent their fabulous wardrobes to give Nicole more than a few new looks. Which is your favorite?

Some shots in the lounge while recording this episode. Several cocktails later…well, you can listen to find out.

If you downloaded this episode on 6/1/25, the wrong sound file was attached. Please download again beginning 6/2/25. Sue us! ;)

On this episode of ZTL podcast you will hear Kalani say “Im just one colonoscopy away from being free of these pesky Dr’s visits”. Plus! We are sipping on a ZTL Mai Tai and catching up on the last few weeks of shenanigans. Plenty of listener mail, our own podcast listening recommendations, geriatric intercourse and so much more.

Below our some of the pics from our recent visit to Hula Hula in Torrance, CA. Starshine had been telling us we need to try Hula Hula and we are glad we did. Listen to our review of this fun South Bay tiki bar. Great drinks, atmosphere and that wonderful dim lighting we all want to be surrounded by.

Click for wristbands, and don’t dilly dally, the event is almost sold out as of 3/1/25

Listen to Science Friday

Shag with a Twist opened in Las Vegas back in 2008 and has had limited engagements around the US since then.

Get the music on itunes

Each year all of the ZTL hosts gather in the lounge for the annual holiday spectacular. Sunshine, Pumpkin, Starshine and Kalani are all here for some festive mirth and shenanigans. Sunshine mixes up the Coquito and a few of our favorite ZTL cocktails. We enjoy vegan snacks in honor of Pumpkin, Starshine reveals a dark secret and Kalani shares her chocolate balls.

Follow the links below to try some of our favorite winter cocktails. Start by making Sushines’s Very Spicy rum and them move on down the list.

Click the links and mix up any or all of these holiday libations:

Coquito

Better Buttered Rum

Island Fruit Cake

Dirty Christmas Punch

Sunshines Very Spicy Rum

There is not softer tiki t-shirt out there. We love tiki bar t-shirt club. The perfect gift