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A mug of holiday cheer for the tiki freak on your list

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I first jumped into the tiki universe while researching my article about the current resurgence of Polynesian pop culture, and have been more or less orbiting planet tiki ever since. One of the things I’ve learned is that tikiheads love their tiki mugs almost as much (and maybe more) than the perfectly mixed rum drinks served in them.

In most instances, buying someone else a tiki mug is like buying them underwear: a deeply personal choice that might not be a good fit. But few tikiphiles wouldn’t appreciate unwrapping a rare or limited-edition mug on Christmas morning. So if someone on your shopping list has a dog named Mai Tai and answers the phone ‘Aloha,’ you might want to click over to Trader Vic’s L.A. on Monday morning and put in your order for one of the 700 mugs celebrating the new downtown outpost slated to open next year (there were originally 1,000 but 300 have already been pre-ordered).

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John Valencia, the proprietor of the new location, commissioned the mug from San Clemente-based Tiki Farm, whose president and founder Holden Westland was kind enough to e-mail us some details on the Marcus Pizzuti designed mug inspired by a traditional Hawaiian Ku tiki.

‘The mug is produced with a beautiful honey golden brown glazed exterior and an ivory interior,’ he wrote. ‘Tiki mug collectors for the most part prefer earthen tones for the glazes of their mugs and over the years, most of our designs have tended towards browns & greens. If John sells through this mug quickly, we will probably reproduce another run for him but likely in a new green glaze.’

In addition, our friends over at Trader Tiki (their mantra is: ‘Booze Blather and Tiki Drinks’) recently alerted us to the fact that Trader Vic’s online store is giving $10 off any order of $50 or more (excluding shipping), so when you stock up on tiki cuff links, Trader Vic’s playing cards and Reyn Spooner aloha shirts, you basically get those two jars of Tom & Jerry batter for free. Just enter the promo code (you guessed it) ‘MaiTai’ at checkout.

--Adam Tschorn

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