Episode 34: Tiki Ti and the Puka Punch Cocktail (with Mark Keill)

Hey Guys,So this is a first! This show is co-written by Mark Keill (our tiki expert). So tons of information. This show will be about a tiki bar in California called Tiki Ti. This amazing bar is created and was ran by Ray Buhen. Who is Ray? We will go through his history and that he worked with Don the Beachcomber and was one of the famous Filipino bartender that worked into the back of the bar. These bartenders made the secretive drinks that nobody knew how to make but these guys and ...wait for it...Jeff "Beachbum" Berry. We talk about him too and how he influenced the tiki culture we know today. But back to ray, he went from bar school to Don's to Seven Seas Polynesian restaurant to Christian's Hut (which has its own history) to The Luau and finally to opening Tiki Ti in 1961.The cocktail is called Puka Punch created by Ray. We go through a very detailed recipe with 4 different rums. Why do we need that many rums? Mark helps explain.We will also talk about a bartender technique called: Floating Here is a YouTube link on how to float a liquid on the drink: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gorjMLp8_cgMark tells us all about Ray and how he created Tiki Ti bar and who runs it now??We also cover who is Don the Beachcomber and how he got his start as well.By the way, did you know that Jeff and Ray had a relationship??On The "Did You Know?" segment, we will explain this.