Zen Tiki Lounge

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 Also out of date is our Las Vegas recommendations.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.

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.

This podcast is a hot mess thanks for neighbor Julio and Kalani. Sunshine did all he could to edit out the worst of it.

Sunshine and Kalani are in the lounge to catch up on the last few weeks of worldwide drama and shenanigans. We review the Hula Hula room in Torrance, sip on a ZTL Mai Tai, share our upcoming Tiki Caliente room party plans and worry about the end of the world. Perfect conversation for a dimly lit tiki bar with friends.

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.

On a recent voyage around the Caribbean, Sunshine, The Husband and a few friends put a few minutes aside to record a podcast at sea. Sunshine is joined by Emmy award winning news personality (he really is a personality) Jordan Hogan. Some of our best shows come from little prep and lots of tangents. This episode may be one of those. We discuss: cruising (the ship kind you perv), cocktails, social anxiety at parties, certainly no politics ;), meeting people onboard, how to win an Emmy and much more.

9north drinks and rumCirca CalienteFull details and pictures will be added shortly

Let’s start with the cocktail. On this episode we are drinking ABBAstract, a concoction we developed using 9north Rum. We highly recommend you mix this up at home. 9north is become more available, especially in the SoCal area. You can order from Chips Liquor, and their shipping prices are pretty decent. Mentioned on this episode are two places the ladies like to get their retro clothing. Kalani and Nicole recommend Unique Vintage and Retro Ruthie. If you need that perfect dress for the weekend, try Unique Vintage. For customers aloha shirts and skirts…Retro Ruthie. Also on this episode, a new tune from Mr. Moai and the Tikiheads, featuring both Mark Riddle and Kane Manakoora of The Manakooras to bring you, "Tahitian Twilight."As of this posting, there are just a few dozen wristbands left for Circa Caliente. This is the biggest, smallest tiki event in Palm Springs and the place to be this October. Click the image and get your tiki bar t-shirt club…we love them and we wear them!

Sunshine and Pumpkin discuss candle tips part 2, why mojitos aren’t so great, the demise of The Mirage Las Vegas, Rhumbar says good bye, Aloha to the volcano, and other shenanigans.

On this episode we are drinking The Diane. Click on this AI generated image to get the recipe and the story. It’s a perfect summer libation with actual “nutrition”.

Sunshine, Kalani and Starshine here for this episode of ZTL podcast. Tiki Caliente room party details, 9 North rum, THC Mai This?, things to stick up your &%$#. And much more on this episode.

Why haven’t we been podcast as much lately? Why haven’t we been posting on social? Listen to this episode for some understanding of what’s going on behind the microphone. :(

This is one of our rare episodes with all four hosts present. Sunshine is doing his best to wrangle the cats and still share some tiki news and updates on new bars and events. The ladies were actually on their “better” behavior. You will want to listen to the end to hear new music by Mr. Moai and the tiki heads.

During the recording of this, our 473rd episode, Pumpkin acted like she didn’t know how we start the show. There is a way of doing things. We may not be very professional but we do have some “best practices”. After clearing up who says Aloha first we get right to the cocktail, our listener mail and some party planning and hosting tips. Thats pretty much the show. We stuck to the basics. Listen, drink, enjoy!

Starshine and Kalani and Pumpkin, Oh my! All the ladies are in the lounge for one of our rare all host podcasts. If you hear meowing cats its because Sunshine couldn’t edit out all the cross talk. Sorry. Sunshine and the ladies have some catching up to do including: Summer tomato tastings from our gardens (it turns dirty say you may assume), what scent is your tiki bar (it also turns dirty), and what event was I ate when I was found passed out in a stairwell. Classic.

Two of your favorite ZTL hosts are in the lounge sharing stories of their separate summer vacations. Kalani headed to Hawaii for 17 days of escape while Sunshine was on an Alaskan cruise. We mix up Marooned, one of our most popular cocktails and give you our thoughts on place to see and do in Hawaii and Alaska.

On this episode we met up with Bamboo Ben, his son Blake, Dustin Rodriguez and Marty Lush. We couldn’t ask for a better group of people to discuss the creation of the Bamboo Club from concept to reality and what it feels like just a few years later. Can you believe that Marty and never been here before? He doesn’t get out much ;)

This episode of ZTL recorded at Tiki Caliente 14 will give you just a taste of all the fun you can have over a four day weekend filled with live music, over a dozen parties and lots of great food and cocktails. Special guests this time are Rory Snyder, host and creator of Tiki Caliente. Each year Rory pulls off an even more spectacular weekend that pictures don’t do justice. We also have an interview with Mark Riddle aka Marty Lush who just released his first solo Exotica album, Lahana Sunset

April 1st is just another day. Though, there is one tradition we had never participated in. Practical jokes are always fun for someone but not always everyone. Well, we went for it with mostly positive “ha ha” results. On our previous episode the hosts of ZTL created a not so elaborate scheme to convince people that we had broken up due to a little tiki back stabbing. But not to worry, all is good with the four of us and this podcast is proof. What if there was a tiki centric football podcast? Would you listen?If Starshine and Kalani could no longer be in the same room together, would ZTL still go on?Does Pumpkin really care at all?Those are some of the things we explore on this reunion episode. In addition to some Mai Tai’s and listener mail. We hope you enjoy having all four hosts back together

Kalani and Sunshine are in the lounge with several cocktails and some packet drinks to review. You may notice we decided this episode back before Valentine’s Day. Well, we meant to get it posted sooner but that just didn’t happen. You were sure to enjoy our comments about the noble mix packet drinks, they were surprisingly good.