Martin Cate - Smuggler’s Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum, and the Cult of Tiki

Copyright 2016 by Martin Cate

Photographs copyright 2016 by Dylan + Jeni

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

www.crownpublishing.com

www.tenspeed.com

Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.

Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following people for their contributions:

The Bruce Torrence Hollywood Photograph Collection: Photo,

Central Press/Stringer/Getty Images: Photo,

The Crazed Mugs: Lyrics,

Crazy Al Evans: Kuhiko mug, cover,

Dave Hansen: Carvings,

Dave Russell: Photo,

Dave Stolte: Illustrations 2016 by Dave Stolte

Dawn Frasier: Watercolor, 2016 by Dawn Frasier

Ed Anderson: Photo,

Hanford Lemoore: Smugglers Cove logo, artwork, and signature tapa

Martijn Veltman: Photos,

Munktiki: Smugglers Rum Barrel mug,

Nat Farbman/Getty Images: Photo

Susannah Mosher: Recipe page corner illustrations 2016 by Susannah Mosher

Sven Kirsten: Photo

Timothy Sabu Haack: Photos,

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file with the publisher.

Hardcover ISBN:9781607747321

ebook ISBN:9781607747338

v4.1

prh

Dedicated to those merry souls who keep the spirit of Polynesian Pop alive in their hearts and homes, in their bars and basements, and in their cocktails and character.

Contents

Recipe List

The Birth of Tiki

The Golden Era

The Tiki Revival

Creating the Space

Curating the Experience

Rum Through the Ages

Understanding Rum

The Theater of the Exotic Cocktail

Eight Essential Exotic Elixirs

The Tiki Party

PREFACE

On the opposite page, youll see the cover of the 1959 LP Captivation, by The Outriggers. Among my collection of colorfully designed albums of vintage exotica and Hawaiian music, no other image has ever struck me as so perfectly illustrating the magic and enchantment of Polynesian Pop culture and the exotic restaurant experience. It is a snapshot of a clear moment in time: The young couple enters their restaurant for the evening, a mysterious temple of dining where they are serenaded by the gentle, mingled sounds of soft music, running water, and distant cocktail shakers. It is a special night, perhaps a honeymoon or anniversary. He has presented her with a fragrant lei to celebrate, while he wears a tasteful boutonnire for the occasion. They are, of course, well dressedjacket and tie were expected for gentlemen at such fine establishments. (Shorts and flip-flops have their place, but it is not here.) Our gentleman is a charmer, to be sure, but her face shows she is delighted by more than his attentions. Her eyes rise to the flotsam and jetsam dramatically suspended from the ceiling, having already taken in the lush flora and island tapa cloth that surrounds them. They are far removed from the world outside. Away from the noise and progress of 1950s America. Her eyesand her smileshow that she is bewitched by her surroundings. To her, this is neither tacky nor kitsch, and the appeal is genuine, not ironic.

And silently in the background, nestled amid the tropical foliage, the ever-present tiki watches over the young lovers. That the tiki itself is a moai from Rapa Nui, an island thousands of miles southeast of Hawaii, is not an incongruityit is the fairy tale of Polynesian Pop. That the restaurant they are photographed in is not hidden among the moon-kissed palms of a Honolulu night, but is in fact Trader Vics in Beverly Hills, is the fairy tale of Polynesian Pop.

This is the world I fell in love with. This is the experience that stirs my soul. I was, and remain, captivated.

If you cant get to paradise, Ill bring it to you.

Don the Beachcomber

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To Donn Beach, Trader Vic Bergeron, and Steve Crane for their inspiration. Our heartfelt thank you to all Smugglers Cove staff, past and present, who have not only kept our little spot open night after night, but have made it a world-class destination: John Arkelin, Bill Bain, Dane Barca, Jackie Brenner, Marcovaldo Dionysos, Joe Dixon, Matty Eggleston, Christine England, Reza Esmaili, Carie Fuller, Melissa Garcia, Charles Green, Ryan Hunt, Julian Lazalde, Steven Liles, Nick Melle, Justin Oliver, Patrick Ponikvar, Sudeep Rangi, Valerie Rico, Terry Shipman, Alex Smith, Dominic Venegas, Christopher Ward, Allison Webber, and Brent Wong, as well as the many door staff who have kept Smugglers Cove and its patrons safe and sound. To the Buhen Family at the Tiki-Ti and to Kern Mattei, Pia Dahlquist, and everyone at the Mai Kai for keeping the torches burning on both coasts. To the many who have contributed to this endeavor, or to Smugglers Cove in ways large and small, including: Jeni Afuso, Maria Allison, Shelby Allison, Ed Anderson, Roger Barnes, Johnny Bartlett, Daniel Nunez Bascunan, Jeff Beachbum Berry, Jeremy Lucky Jackson Brand, Ian Burrell, Barbara Cate, Charles Cate, Greg Clapp, Paul Clarke, Brother Cleve, Alejandro Covarrubias and his crew, Cheryl Crane, the Crawfordsville District Public Library, Dean Curtis, Wayne Curtis, Simon Difford, Dirty Donny, Johnny Drejer, Justin DuPre, Camper English, Adrian Eustaquio, Crazy Al Evans, Mickee Ferrell, Ron Ferrell, Dawn Frasier, Alexandre Gabriel, Armando Garay, Luca Gargano, Tim Swanky Glazner, Ignacio Notch Gonzalez, Chad Woody Greenwood, Heather Gregg, Melissa Gruenhagen, Timothy Sabu Haack, Ed Hamilton, Dave Lake Surfer Hansen, Kelley Hawks, Tom Hawks, Jim Hurricane Hayward, Craig Hermann, Lars Hildebrandt, Dylan Ho, Pauline Holland, Peter Holland, Bosko Hrnjak, Jane Jervis, Tatu Kaarlas, Annene Kaye, Sven Kirsten, Hanford Lemoore, Paul McGee, Greg Medow, the Miami Rum Renaissance Festival, Brian Miller, Rachael Miller, Falin Tiki Kaimuki Minoru, Susannah Mosher, Munktiki, Lindsay Nader, Jessica Najdek, Matty Najdek, Scott Noteboom, Oceanic Arts, Pablus, John Park, Lynn Peril, Kara Plikaitis, Mig Ponce, Puka, Stephen Remsberg, Blair Reynolds, Sara Reynolds, Sonya Runkle, Dave Russell, the San Francisco chapter of the United States Bartenders Guild, my fellow San Francisco bar owners for their advice, sympathy, and hooch, Leroy Schmaltz, Richard Seale, Aaron Seymour, Jim Shoemake, Sandi Shorago, Kate Simmons, Marsha Vintage Girl Stevenson, Dave Stolte, Jonah Straus, Baby Doe von Stroheim, Otto von Stroheim, Super Sam Foods, Matt Talbert, Tales of the Cocktail, James Teitelbaum, tiki and rum bar owners worldwide, Tiki Central contributors past and present, Tiki Farm, Emily Timberlake, Humuhumu Trott, Bob Van Oosting, Martijn Veltman, Peter Vestinos, Charlotte Voisey, William Wade, Christi Tiki Kiliki White, Peggy Williams, Emily Winfrey, Terry Trader Pup Wolbert, Dave Basement Kahuna Wolfe, and David Wondrich. And, last but not least, to the Members of the Rumbustion Society, Voyagers of the Cove, and all of our wonderful regulars, thank you.