Tiki-Time

Tiki culture is a 20^th-century theme used in Polynesian-style restaurants and clubs throughout the world, but originating in the United States. Tiki Cocktails combine exotic fruits with rum and other rich spirits and include such drinks as the Mai-Tai cocktail, the Pina Colada and the Zombie. Tiki culture was inspired, in part, by Tiki carvings which were large stone and wood carvings of humanoid forms in Central Eastern Polynesian cultures of the Pacific Ocean. Such carvings were often built to mark the boundaries of sacred sites.

 

Tiki culture in the United States can be traced back to the summer of 1934, with the opening of  Don the Beachcomber, a Polynesian-themed bar and restaurant in Hollywood. The proprietor was one Donn Beach and his restaurant quickly became very popular for its Tiki cocktails, like the Blue Hawaiian, with a decor of flaming torches,rattan furniture,and brightly colored fabrics. A few years later a bar proprietor called Victor Bergeron, better known as Trader Vic, adopted a Tiki theme for his restaurant in Oakland which eventually grew to become a worldwide chain.

From the 1940s into the 1960s, Don the Beachcomber was one of the most popular bars in Hollywood, often frequented by the leading Hollywood stars of the day. The big selling point of the bar was that it pioneered the new “Rhum Rhapsodies” category of drinks, where they mixed flavoured syrups and fresh fruit juices with rum, creating Tiki Cocktails such as the Scorpion, the Wahine, the Painkiller and the Major Bailey. Witnessing such success, other bars began to copy the style of  Don the Beachcomber and Tiki style bars began to pop up all over Hollywood and spread across America. A rivalry developed between Don Beachcomber and Trader Vic and indeed a feud erupted between the two over who had invented perhaps the most famous of all the Tiki cocktails, the Mai-Tai cocktail.

Tiki–style bars and restaurants saw a gradual decline during the 1980s due to the over-reliance on artificial ingredients and general perceived naffness, but a return to fresh ingredients and authentic recipes saw a resurgence of Tiki culture in the 90s and Tiki-style bars in the UK such as The Tiki Bar in Glasgow and Trader Vics in London do a thriving trade. One thing these bars share in common is that they serve at least some of their Tiki cocktails in elaborate Tiki mugs.

Here at Social and Cocktail, we decided to bang our Tiki-shaped heads together and put together our favourite 5 Tiki cocktails:

1)Mai-Tai

For many the Mai Tai cocktail is the king of Tiki cocktails. A beautiful fruity concoction which deserves to use the best quality rums you can find.

20 ml Dark Rum, 20 ml Light Rum, splash Demerara 20 ml Triple Sec, 20 ml Lime Juice, 10 ml Orgeat Syrup, Mint sprig, Orange wedge

2)Marama

This is a Tiki-style punch which is tangy and very well-balanced. Looks good as well.

30 ml Light Rum, 12 1/2 ml Triple Sec, 5 ml Dark Rum, 12 1/2 ml Lime Juice, 5 ml Almond Sugar Syrup, 8 Mint Leaves, 3 dashes of Old Fashioned Bitters, Top-Up Lemonade, Lime Wedge, Mint

 

3)Navy Grog

A tasty and refreshing Tiki-style drink, which has a nice sweet kick provided by the runny honey.
50 ml Dark Rum, 25 ml Light Rum, 20 ml Lime Juice, 50 ml Pink Grapefruit Juice, 12 1/2 ml Runny Honey, Top-Up Soda

4)Pain Killer

A fantastic Tiki-style rum concoction featuring the trusted flavours of coconut and pineapple. We love this drink.
50 ml Dark Rum, 25 ml Coconut Cream, 100 ml Pineapple Juice, 25 ml Orange Juice, Orange Wheel

 

5)Pina Colada

The classic Pina Colada is perhaps our very favourite of all the Tiki cocktails.Creamy and tropical flavours don’t work much better than this!

50 ml White Rum, 100 ml Pineapple Juice, 25 ml Coconut Cream, 25 ml Cream, Orange Slice, pinch of Salt