New Wave Tiki

[by Mike]

I just returned from a trip to Craigie and perhaps the best show I've seen in years.

At the Eastern Standard tiki event last month, Jackson Cannon mentioned that his former protege Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli was creating his own orgeat and I had to take advantage of the opportunity at Craigie to ask for a drink featuring the homemade elixir.  The result started with the orgeat, lime juice, pineapple juice, an ounce of Angostura bitters, and a little bit of Galliano.  Into the drink Tom dropped a bowl of lime rind (end of a lime, cleaned and inverted) which he promptly filled with Chartreuse and ignited.  I had to patiently wait while the Chartreuse burned until after a few minutes Tom returned to spray the flame with clove essence.  After a few more minutes of hypnotically staring at the flame, the drink was finally ready with a swift clap to put out of the flame.

The flavors were incredible; a sophisticated array of sweet, sour, fruit, and spice with a creamy texture that easily defeated the oppressive heat.  Tom had no name for the drink, but referred to the style as "New Wave Tiki".   Is it too much to hope for the summer of New Wave Tiki?