A preview of drinks at the new Tiki Tolteca, which reopens July 12
 

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When*Tiki Tolteca*reopens July 12, the bar's juicy, rummy Zombie will get a new garnish: a jellied ?brain? infused with an ounce of Lemon Hart rum.

?We?re getting straws with spoons at the end, so you can eat the brain,? says Nathan Dalton, bar director of Felipe?s. For more than a year, the taqueria?s French Quarter location has hosted the tiki bar upstairs.

The latest renovation doubles the counter space to seat 12 at the bar, and adds tables for dinner guests (the food menu is still being worked out). Wooden mermaids and other decorations come from Dalton?s trips to Peru and Mexico, reflecting a focus on Latin American tiki culture.

To that end, the dozen-strong drinks list will feature a few favorites ? besides the Zombie, a mezcal-grapefruit Escorpion Punch and the curaçao-spiked mai tai ? but most will be new creations relying on Latin American ingredients.

Look for ¡A Huevo!, an eggy, pisco-passion fruit sipper (derived from an ancient Peruvian fertility drink); the rum-based SOS, rounded out with fortified grape juice from Peru (a recipe written by Tiki Tolteca?s manager, Maxton Kennedy); and a flight of mini cocktails and fruits served with red ?miracle berries? that turn sour flavors sweet.

A fully illustrated menu, in the classic tiki-bar tradition, will keep it all straight and serve as a shopping list; an extra $7 lets you keep your mug.

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