The Islands of the Fraternal Order of Moai

My wife and I were hosting two neighbors yesterday afternoon on our patio. My wife requested banana daquiris. I had four bananas - enough for four drinks. My blender can safely hold two drinks of that size at a time. I have used a KitchenAid home blender in my home bar since it opened in 2018. The blender works just fine, but the blender pitcher and base doesn't lock in place in very well. I have had my blender base come "unlocked" before - while it was full of tiki drink goodness. The same thing happened yesterday. I had enough foresight to place the pitcher in the sink before pouring into glasses. When I picked up the pitcher, the bottom separated and I watched with horror as two perfectly good banana daquiris literally go down the drain. Thank goodness I wasn't using any expensive ingredients, but I do hate to waste. I am still working through my grief......

Because of this incident, I have decided I need to replace my unreliable blender with a better one! I welcome any feeback/recommendations as to what everyone else uses in their bars. **Note: I own a spindle mixer - which I love - so I am looking to get a new blender. I am willing to buy something rated commercial and spend up to a couple of hundred dollars if necessary. There are a lot of choices on Amazon. I want to be able to easily crush ice, hold at least 40oz or more, and have a secure pitcher and base (i.e. no leaking or cracking).

Thoughts?

P.S. If anyone cares to soothe my sadness over losing two, beautiful daquiris, I am happy to send my address to ship me replacement drinks. LOL!

MoHowie
Durham, NC
Co-Owner Bull Tiki

Vitamix 5200 or if you don't want to shell out $500, you can get the Oster Versa Pro Series Blender. If you really don't make a lot of blended drinks, you can safely buy the KitchenAid 5-Speed Diamond Blender.

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If it's a home bar...

Vintage Oster beehive 442. They use basically the same industrial motors as a B-25 gun turret, as well as modern flasks, blades and drives.

Replace the cord and you are good for another 60 years. (the special ice crushing blade does amazing things.)

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Set a course for the Foc's'le Lounge!

Excrementus Cadaemus

Hmmm. I'm also thinking of replacing my Waring. Paying close attention to the recommendations!

Oh, and my condolences on your drink loss.

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Loved the tale of woe, Mohowie. You aren't alone!

Foredeckape knows his stuff in this dep't; as does the Intoxicologist. I've burned through many blenders and now use two vintage Osterizers (one gifted from an awesome Fellow). They are solid, but admittedly CAN lose their bases (or leak through them) when loosened from continual vibration. I love them enough to tighten every time.

Happy shopping, and welcome to the Islands!

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I am very fond of my vitamix. I also have a Margaritaville mixer that I still use to make quick shaved ice. They sit next to each other on the bar. Love them both.

Amazon warehouse deals treated me well with a normally $500 blender down at $120 because of visual defects.

I don't have much to offer besides hunt for dent and scratch to save tons.

We have a Vitamix, single speed and recently got a variable speed model.

They make great smooth drinks (like a Scorpion Bowl) but are so powerful that making a blended drink that requires chunked ice is tricky. Drinks like a Zombie (“Blend at high speed for no more than 5 seconds”) will become a smoothie so pulsing is a quickly learned art.

We once had a “tragedy” as well...a spoon was accidentally left in the blender. When it started, the spoon hit the side and knocked out a quarter-sized round hole. The drink (about seven fifths of Old Crow whiskey if I remember correctly) poured out and the blender was a total loss. We now only use plastic blenders, they are less likely to break in such a manner.

OZ

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To Taua Na Moai Mau Loa, Roger, Rob and Matt.

Last Thursday, Captain Quad reminded me that the stand mixer is the traditional bar mixer. Aka the milkshake and malted mixer you use with your shaker tin.

I would think companies would use DC pwm controls for the modern mixers and have soft start capabilities and speed control standard. It's now on my list of mods to try on the next Oster I find.

Sent from my SM-G955U1 using Tapatalk

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Set a course for the Foc's'le Lounge!

Excrementus Cadaemus