I went to Aku Aku Tiki Bar ( 431 E Central Blvd, Orlando, FL) to taste the Tiger F#cker with a local muralist and his partner. During
the 1940s and ‘50s, tropical drinks were a sensation, cooling down
sweltering adults across the country. Ernest Raymond
Beaumont Gantt of Los Angeles Bar, Don the Beachcomber and Victor Bergeron of the Trader Vic chain popularized these refreshing sippers.
The Tiger F#cker cocktail created by Aku Aku’s Eric Solomon is becoming famous. It is made with 44* North Huckleberry Vodka and House made Jalapeno blackberry syrup. It was a sweet concoction that had a hot after bite and a serious kick. The bar itself was a refrigerated sheet of metal which was very cold to the touch. So if you sauntered in on a hot Central Florida day, you could cool down just by resting your elbows on the bar and sipping a tropical drink.
Puffer fish and surf board hang from the ceiling. Conversations at the end of the bar turned to game nights and card games. This is definitely a place I plan to return to to drink and draw.