A good tiki cocktail is like a vacation in a glass. With their colorful ingredients, special glassware, and fanciful garnishes, a Mai Tai or Hurricane sends your imagination on an adventure before you even take the first sip.
According to cocktail historian Jeff Beachbum Berry, the tiki movement started in the early 1930s, right after Prohibition ended. In 1933, Donn Beach, (born Ernest Raymond Gantt) opened America’s first tiki bar, Don the Beachcomber, in Hollywood. Beach’s father gifted him a trip around the world after graduation, and he took off on adventures that included learning to make drinks in the Caribbean.
During Prohibition, rum distillers in Cuba, Martinique, Jamaica, and other Caribbean islands increased production to meet demand from thirsty folks in the United States. But when the US liquor industry came back, there was a glut of Rum, including spectacular long-aged bottles. With the amount of affordable Rum on the market, tiki cocktails began to show up on bar and restaurant menus across the country.
Beach (Gantt) created riffs on Jamaica’s Planter’s Punch, using the same proportions of spirits, sweeteners, fruit, and sour elements, according to the Alcademics blog by Camper English. His special twist was adding multiple Rums in one drink.
After visiting Don the Beachcomber, Victor “Trader Vic” Bergeron turned his Oakland hamburger joint into a tiki bar called Trader Vic’s. Bergeron found more inspiration in Havana, Cuba, studying the creations at El Floridita by famed bartender Constantino Ribalaigua, who created the frozen daiquiri. Bergeron went home and created a mega-daiquiri that featured Wray & Nephew 17-year-old Rum, lime, rock candy syrup, orange Curaçao, and orgeat, a house-made almond and citrus-blossom syrup. He dubbed it the Mai Tai, and it’s the king of tiki cocktails.
These tiki pioneers liberally borrowed motifs, flavors, and flora from Pacific Islander, Caribbean, and Southeast Asian culture in a way that likely would be labeled as cultural appropriation today. Over the years, drinks by local bartenders in the Caribbean (the Bahama Mama) and Asia (Singapore Sling) have joined the tiki canon.
The best tiki bars — and drinks — represent a welcome departure from real life. The room is dimly lit, with unusual sights, and textures that let you know you’re not at home. There’s lilting music, and maybe even an occasional tropical storm woven into the soundtrack. Sipping these vibrant concoctions from a vessel shaped like a Polynesian sculpture, a hurricane lamp, or a shared bowl is an event in itself.
Tiki is the ultimate comfort experience: who wouldn't want to escape to a place where the uniform is a sarong or a colorful breezy shirt and shorts. And no watches, ever.
If you’re in the mood for something sweet, strong, and satisfying, our brand mixologist Molly Horn created this list of the best tiki and tropical cocktails to make at home.
Mai Tai
When a friend sampled Vic Bergeron’s cocktail, she said “Mai Tai-Roa Aé” -- Tahitian for ”out of this world.”
Piña Colada
Born in Puerto Rico, the Piña Colada marries fine local Rum with pineapple and Coco Lopez.
Hurricane
Make it authentic with tangy passion fruit syrup and a curvy Hurricane lamp glass.
Painkiller
Orange juice and nutmeg level up Daphne Henderson’s invention from Soggy Dollar in the British Virgin Islands.
Jungle Bird
The Jungle Bird dates to 1978 at the Aviary Bar in the Kuala Lumpur Hilton, according to The New York Times.
Rum Swizzle
Drinks historian David Wondrich says commercial ice production drove swizzle cocktails in the mid-1800s.
Bahama Mama
Oswald “Slade” Greenslade is credited with this homage to calypso singer Dottie Lee Anderson, the Bahama Mama.
Spiced Rum Punch
“One of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak” is the rhyme for the perfect ratios for a punch.
Fish House Punch
This predated tiki by about 200 years, but the combo of Rum, Cognac, peach Brandy, and lime fits the genre.