<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Cocktail Extravaganza]]></title><description><![CDATA[CocktailExtravaganza]]></description><link>https://www.cocktail-extravaganza.com/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Sun, 08 Nov 2026 09:01:41 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.cocktail-extravaganza.com/es/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[BEHIND THE SCENES]]></title><description><![CDATA[Bob Van Dorpe The Man Who Made the Tiki Machine Work Photo credit: maikaihistory.com | Bob Van Dorpe left. Mariano Licudine right Cocktail history is usually told through the people who invented the drinks. But behind every great bar program, there are people who make the whole thing possible. When we talk about the golden age of tiki, certain names immediately come to mind. Donn Beach, the imaginative pioneer who helped redefine the tropical cocktail. Mariano Licudine, the bartender whose...]]></description><link>https://www.cocktail-extravaganza.com/post/behind-the-scenes</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6adfd3d518163c9dd52ea213</guid><pubDate>Thu, 05 Nov 2026 23:02:09 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/16dca0_747d78fb424c411689138cba8a1f9350~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_640,h_544,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>daniele dalla pola</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Cou-Cou-Comber No. 2]]></title><description><![CDATA[A Modern Tribute to Joe Scialom Some cocktails are remembered for their ingredients. Others are remembered for the imagination behind them. The Cou-Cou-Comber belongs to the second category. The Man Behind the Cocktail Joe Scialom was one of the great innovators of mid-century cocktail culture. Born in Egypt to an Italian family, he had a background in chemistry before building a career behind some of the world's most celebrated hotel bars. He became internationally known for creating the...]]></description><link>https://www.cocktail-extravaganza.com/post/cou-cou-comber-no-2</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a483902fa58f0a255cfd8ca</guid><pubDate>Sat, 17 Oct 2026 21:07:45 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/16dca0_5d0d8ba6d02f4d449ccfffedb1b62be9~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>daniele dalla pola</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Born in Baja, Perfected in Bologna, Popular Across the Americas: The Story of El Tikilero]]></title><description><![CDATA[What happens when you take classic Tiki cocktail culture and reimagine it entirely through a Mexican lens? You get El Tikilero, a bold, tropical creation that flips traditional Tiki mixology on its head. The Alternate History: "What if Tiki was invented in Mexico?" Back around 2010, during a festival in Los Cabos, I was presented with a creative challenge: What if Tiki culture hadn't originated in 1930s California, but right here in Baja California? At the time, tropical cocktails were almost...]]></description><link>https://www.cocktail-extravaganza.com/post/born-in-baja-perfected-in-bologna-popular-across-the-americas-the-story-of-el-tikilero</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a91492f343542d39bd05fb9</guid><pubDate>Thu, 03 Sep 2026 14:51:12 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/16dca0_23b4424e128947749f7b2bfbddf57679~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>daniele dalla pola</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Celebrating Mai Tai Day:                      The True Rum Story &#38; The Mex-Tai]]></title><description><![CDATA[National Mai Tai Day (August 30th) is the ultimate excuse to look back at one of the greatest cocktails ever created, share a bit of real rum history, and put a fresh tropical spin on a mid-century icon. When Victor "Trader Vic" Bergeron built the original Mai Tai at his Oakland restaurant in 1944, he was not trying to make a sugary fruit punch. He wanted a clean, complex showcase for a magnificent 17-year-old J. Wray &#38; Nephew Jamaican rum. When that stock ran dry, he switched to a 15-year...]]></description><link>https://www.cocktail-extravaganza.com/post/celebrating-mai-tai-day-the-true-rum-story-the-mex-tai</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a8ebbeca791c3713aaf1549</guid><pubDate>Sat, 29 Aug 2026 19:18:40 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/16dca0_9b33b31c584c474694d472ccbaf43e37~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_693,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>daniele dalla pola</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Let's Celebrate National Rum Day with History’s Oldest Spirit]]></title><description><![CDATA[August 16th — National Rum Day Every year on August 16th, rum enthusiasts raise their glasses to celebrate National Rum Day. This beloved spirit, with its rich history and tropical allure, has been a staple in cocktails and cultures for centuries. Whether you prefer it neat, on the rocks, or mixed into a refreshing drink, rum offers something for everyone. Forget the syrupy, neon beach drinks of the 80s and 90s. Rum is, without question, the most diverse, historically chaotic, and soulful...]]></description><link>https://www.cocktail-extravaganza.com/post/let-s-celebrate-national-rum-day-with-history-s-oldest-spirit</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a63fe4b424f5a9980a9a4a6</guid><pubDate>Fri, 14 Aug 2026 18:30:05 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/16dca0_fc0f7743cc804ee4a0d5c5d626ae122b~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>daniele dalla pola</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[54 RUM COCKTAILS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD]]></title><description><![CDATA[A Definitive 500-Year Timeline from Pirates to Tiki Bars to Craft Cocktails Ahead of World Rum Day this August, it is time to set the record straight. Ask most people to name a rum cocktail, and you will hear the same handful of answers: a Cuban Daiquiri, a poolside Mojito, or a flashy Mai Tai. But the true story of rum is far grander, darker, and more global than a standard resort menu lets on.Spanning nearly 500 years, from sixteenth-century Caribbean naval ships and American colonial...]]></description><link>https://www.cocktail-extravaganza.com/post/54-rum-cocktails-that-changed-the-world</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a65507010a4941c07286856</guid><pubDate>Thu, 13 Aug 2026 18:15:02 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/16dca0_00eb783f9ac7449ea55d2bffed7d1728~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>daniele dalla pola</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[A Tale of Two Tropical Blended Drinks, From Resort Classics to Modern Masterpieces]]></title><description><![CDATA[Let's be real about frozen drinks for a second. You know that moment, 2:00 PM, the sun's beating down, and the blender's been running nonstop since noon. Behind that counter is a bartender who's seen things, and out in the pool, a crowd that wants their vacation magic in a glass. Two cocktails have earned their place in that tropical hall of fame: Hawaii's Lava Flow and Florida's Miami Vice. Sure, some cocktail snobs will roll their eyes and call them "fancy smoothies." But here's the thing,...]]></description><link>https://www.cocktail-extravaganza.com/post/a-tale-of-two-tropical-blendsfrom-resort-classics-to-modern-masterpieces</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a712e37d9c2f27b9b136fb8</guid><pubDate>Tue, 04 Aug 2026 18:48:42 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/16dca0_4e43e3f4e7fd47d6a01099c9b450a0ec~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>daniele dalla pola</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Aku Aku Lapu — From Las Vegas to the Philippines]]></title><description><![CDATA[Few cocktails capture the grandeur of mid-century Polynesian dining quite like the Lapu Lapu. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, nearly every major tiki restaurant offered its own interpretation, making the drink less of a single recipe and more of a tropical institution. Built around generous pours of rum, bright citrus, and exotic flavors, it embodied the escapism that defined the golden age of tiki. The cocktail takes its name from Lapu-Lapu, the Filipino chieftain of Mactan who famously...]]></description><link>https://www.cocktail-extravaganza.com/post/aku-aku-lapu-from-las-vegas-to-the-philippines</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a6a2edf328f65b106572f98</guid><pubDate>Wed, 29 Jul 2026 20:55:31 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/16dca0_435e22d90b964875a8aa7dc042e72861~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>daniele dalla pola</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Doctor’s Orders: Put Lime in the Coconut (Citron &#38; Coco)]]></title><description><![CDATA[In 1971, Harry Nilsson released a hypnotic, single-chord classic with one iconic piece of medical advice: “You put the lime in the coconut, you drank ’em both up / Put the lime in the coconut, called the doctor, woke ’im up…” It sounded like a playful novelty track, but every tropical mixologist knows Nilsson accidentally stumbled upon an absolute truth: citrus and coconut are the twin pillars of liquid paradise. One is sharp, electric, and revitalizing; the other is creamy, soothing, and...]]></description><link>https://www.cocktail-extravaganza.com/post/the-doctor-s-orders-put-lime-in-the-coconut-citron-coco</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a6396c77c5147bf9c51353c</guid><pubDate>Fri, 24 Jul 2026 17:55:17 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/16dca0_7807a3d399554119a4d8b4aff43abfc0~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>daniele dalla pola</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Liquid Gold from Scratch]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Green &#38; Ripe Bitter Orange Liqueur Experiment There is something deeply satisfying about working with fresh, raw ingredients right when inspiration strikes. Today, I found myself with the peels of two stunning bitter oranges, one still holding its vibrant, sharp green hue, and the other perfectly ripe, boasting a deep orange glow. When you get your hands on bitter oranges like this, you don’t let them go to waste. You extract every single drop of magic they have to offer. The green peel...]]></description><link>https://www.cocktail-extravaganza.com/post/liquid-gold-from-scratch</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a53c80e6c2bae2e279343a0</guid><pubDate>Fri, 24 Jul 2026 16:44:29 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/16dca0_746e20188d8a4ed88310baba7969eef7~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>daniele dalla pola</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Esotico Rum Cup]]></title><description><![CDATA[Today, I was digging back through some of my old recipe files and vintage menus, and the second my eyes landed on the Esotico Rum Cup, a wave of incredible memories came rushing right back. Man, Esotico Miami was such a cool place, it was an absolute hell of a ride! I miss those vibrant nights !! Here what MIAMI NEW TIMES wrote about us: The Flavors &#38; The Hidden Paradise Esotico wasn't just a masterclass in liquid geometry; the kitchen brought a serious culinary game that matched the...]]></description><link>https://www.cocktail-extravaganza.com/post/esotico-rum-cup</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a2c784e8d10dcf62891953a</guid><pubDate>Fri, 12 Jun 2026 21:51:19 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/16dca0_d9295210da3c4c079eb54b3600d0d45f~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_768,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>daniele dalla pola</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Liquid Archaeology: The Stolen Secrets of the Pi-Yi, the Bolo, and the Mighty Boo-Loo]]></title><description><![CDATA[Made by ericoctober Get Your Print HERE To understand the golden age of Mid-Century Hollywood escapism, you have to look past the velvet ropes and dive straight into the high-stakes world of tiki bar poaching. In 1953, actor and entrepreneur Steve Crane, born Joseph Stephen Crane in 1916, pivoted from a 1940s acting career to build a legendary hospitality empire. He purchased an existing restaurant called The Tropics at 427 North Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and transformed it into The Luau,...]]></description><link>https://www.cocktail-extravaganza.com/post/liquid-archaeology-the-stolen-secrets-of-the-pi-yi-the-bolo-and-the-mighty-boo-loo</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a2c6346ac42b101a9d4c4fb</guid><pubDate>Fri, 12 Jun 2026 20:09:56 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/16dca0_74df621665484223a2674333550c3286~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_724,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>daniele dalla pola</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[THE AMERICANO BOLOGNESE]]></title><description><![CDATA[Caffe Torino Pop Up - BCB - Berlin 2016 - With Kevin Osbat Every city has a cocktail it doesn't know it needs. Bologna, loud, red, excessive, and deeply proud of its produce, deserved something more than a stirred, casual sipper. It deserved a drink with weight, with attitude, with a little heat in the finish. The Americano is one of the oldest Italian aperitivo cocktails, born in the 1860s at Gaspare Campari's bar in Milan. Originally called the Milano-Torino because of its two signature...]]></description><link>https://www.cocktail-extravaganza.com/post/the-americano-bolognese</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a2999498ae4d2c74dd02805</guid><pubDate>Wed, 10 Jun 2026 19:07:04 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/16dca0_ca2596770f8c4c9591709b341a70e93b~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_836,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>daniele dalla pola</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[APERITIKI | The Fusion of Italian Aperitivo and Tiki Cocktails]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Fusion of Italian Aperitivo and Tiki Cocktails There is a beautiful friction that happens when you take the rigid, historic rituals of the classic Italian aperitivo hour and drop them into the tropics. No shoes, no velvet ropes, no unspoken rules. Just flavor, freedom, and fun. For years, the bar world kept these two universes strictly separated. In Milan or Bologna, you drank bitter, effervescent, botanical-forward apéritifs designed to wake up the palate. In America or the Caribbean,...]]></description><link>https://www.cocktail-extravaganza.com/post/aperitiki</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a287acb5b452722a3b69aa6</guid><pubDate>Tue, 09 Jun 2026 21:49:15 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/16dca0_eee36f61306b4b9991a5892442ec3cd1~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>daniele dalla pola</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[UNIVERSO Cocktail]]></title><description><![CDATA[[ Revised - June 2026 ] The Cosmic Blueprint of Flavor: Why the Universe Tastes Like Rum and Raspberries In 2009, a team of astronomers trained a massive radio telescope on a giant interstellar dust cloud named Sagittarius B2, right at the dark, crowded center of our Milky Way galaxy. They were hunting for the complex amino acids that signal the building blocks of life. Instead, they found a cosmic cocktail party. Floating out there in deep space is a massive cloud of a molecule called ethyl...]]></description><link>https://www.cocktail-extravaganza.com/post/universo-cocktail</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a286f325b452722a3b6807d</guid><pubDate>Tue, 09 Jun 2026 20:13:38 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/16dca0_979d2af5c001444f867d0f96482f16df~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>daniele dalla pola</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What a Trip! ]]></title><description><![CDATA[Guyana | El Dorado Rum | Demerara I was honored to be invited as a judge for the global finals of the El Dorado Rum cocktail competition. A special thanks goes to Jodi Curtis @idontwearcolor  for inviting me, as well as the entire USA team, and the amazing, welcoming local team  in Guyana for making this happen. It was an incredible experience, I got to catch up with some old friends and made a bunch of new ones. What a crew. Beyond the competition, we dove headfirst into the full Guyanese...]]></description><link>https://www.cocktail-extravaganza.com/post/what-a-trip</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69e3b90743fd38a1bb728a05</guid><pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 17:16:35 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/16dca0_59a0940226374f9bb198cc71e3263898~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>daniele dalla pola</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Missionary’s Downfall | ReMix]]></title><description><![CDATA[Few tropical drinks carry the same playful sense of escapism as the Missionary’s Downfall, a blender classic born in the 1940s at the hands of Don the Beachcomber, the true architect of tiki. Unlike many drinks of its era, it leaned heavily into fresh fruit and herbs, creating something closer to a frozen culinary experience than a conventional cocktail. This modern DDP riff keeps that spirit alive while refining the texture and amplifying the fruit. This version also leans intentionally into...]]></description><link>https://www.cocktail-extravaganza.com/post/the-missionary-s-downfall-remix</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69d835c7c55f668b53084281</guid><pubDate>Sat, 11 Apr 2026 23:01:46 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/16dca0_3d073ada1cc641c68225e92cec59db20~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>daniele dalla pola</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[This Was Never Just About the Drink]]></title><description><![CDATA[Introduction: Cocktails, especially in the world of tiki, are often reduced to spectacle. Colorful mugs. Flaming garnishes. Pineapple wedges and paper umbrellas.                              A kind of liquid escapism designed to feel effortless. But none of it was accidental. Behind the surface, there is intention. Strategy. Sometimes even manipulation. The best bars weren’t just serving drinks, they were shaping behavior, controlling pace, and designing experiences long before anyone used...]]></description><link>https://www.cocktail-extravaganza.com/post/this-was-never-just-about-the-drink</link><guid isPermaLink="false">698016911dce0ff3f104f480</guid><pubDate>Thu, 09 Apr 2026 23:25:49 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>daniele dalla pola</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Chasing the Bitter Lagoon ]]></title><description><![CDATA[A Tiki Lost Recipe &#38; A Modern Riff For bartenders, true inspiration is often found at the crossroads of history and personal taste. It begins with a spark from the past, a recipe rescued from a forgotten notebook. Then comes the quiet moment of contemplation, looking at the bottles on one's own shelf, and wondering, "What if?" This story starts with a cocktail crafted in the back kitchens of the 1960s tiki empire and ends with a uniquely personal reinterpretation, born from a singular palate....]]></description><link>https://www.cocktail-extravaganza.com/post/chasing-the-bitter-lagoon</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69728ab8aa29322cefc97c97</guid><pubDate>Thu, 09 Apr 2026 22:57:25 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/16dca0_ef877a47601c447f90943e08952632a0~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>daniele dalla pola</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Luau Rum Fizz]]></title><description><![CDATA[A Tiki Masterclass in Texture If you’ve ever spent ten minutes vigorously shaking a Ramos Gin Fizz only to end up with sore shoulders and a mediocre "soufflé," let me introduce you to your new best friend: the Spindle Mixer. I first encountered this machine in a dimly lit tiki bar where the bartender looked more like a mad scientist than a mixologist. Watching that metal spindle whip a cocktail into a volcanic, velvety cloud changed my perspective on home hosting forever. This Luau Rum Fizz...]]></description><link>https://www.cocktail-extravaganza.com/post/the-luau-rum-fizz</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69802f63396306036ecbeb04</guid><pubDate>Mon, 02 Feb 2026 05:02:08 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/16dca0_8ed10195781642b992cd062f838bd1b2~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_782,h_998,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>daniele dalla pola</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>