The 20 best Tiki Cocktails | Cocktail Society (2023)

FAQs

What is the original tiki drink? ›

Invention of the Mai Tai: 1940s

Trader Vic combined pineapple juice, liqueur, and light and dark rum to create the ultimate Tiki cocktail.

In the beginning, in the Tiki garden of Eden that is the Caribbean, the holy trinity of Tiki cocktails was founded by combining rum, sugar and lime. Those three ingredients make up the basis of a wide array of drink spinoffs, but it all comes back to the Cuban daiquiri.

You want to make great tiki drinks? First, start with rum. Not every tiki drink is rum-based; you'll find recipes that call for gin, Scotch and other whiskies, pisco and other brandies, and tequila, just to name a few. But tiki is inspired by the tropics, and rum's the winner in the tropics, so start with rum.

So there you have it – Angostura bitters, Falernum, a dropper vial of Pernod, grenadine, sugar and honey are the primary must-have ingredients.

Ernest Gantt, better known as Donn Beach, opened Don the Beachcomber in Southern California in 1933. He became known for his “Rhum Rhapsodies,” the first tiki drinks. They were elaborate and theatrical, featuring fresh juices and housemade syrups and could have upward of 10 ingredients.

Trad'r Sam is the oldest operating tiki bar in the world. Since 1937. Yes, you read that right. 4 years before Pearl Harbor.

Tikis can be traced back to ancient Polynesian culture, which explains their influence on the Hawaiian mainland. According to Maori customs and traditions, Tiki represents the first human being on earth. Parallelly, tiki also refers to stone or wooden carvings in humanoid form.

At Mangaia, Tiki is a woman, the sister of Veetini, the first person to die a natural death. The entrance to Avaiki (the underworld) is called 'the chasm of Tiki'.

It is most commonly defined as "power" but it also means dignity, serenity. It sometimes means bravery and often implies humor and pride. But there is no evil, no cruelty in Mana. * This is a beautiful piece of art! These Tikis were carved with great attention to details.

Also called “nugget ice,” the chunks are a fair bit bigger than the really finely-crushed ice used to make snow cones and fluffy “shaved-ice” drinks. And, since they're bigger, the pebbles melt relatively slowly, which is perfect for keeping a long, tall and juicy tiki drink from becoming a big slushy mess.

What alcohol is Captain Morgan tiki? ›

Captain Morgan Tiki Mango & Pineapple is made with delicious Captain Morgan rums and natural pineapple and mango flavours. Its lower ABV of 25% makes it perfect for those long summer days. Flavours of ripe pineapple hit you first, then the smooth and juicy mango arrives for a double fruity finishing flourish.

Captain Morgan Tiki Mango & Pineapple is inspired by the flavours of the tropics. It is made with iconic Captain Morgan rums and natural pineapple and mango flavours. The flavours of ripe pineapple hits you first, then the smooth & juicy mango arrives for a double fruity finishing flourish.

Some tropical fruit such as guava, kiwi, passion fruit, mango or banana don't go amiss. And perhaps a dash of bitters, Angostura or Pimento fit the theme best. Remembering the rum punch routes of tropical cocktails, spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon and clove also play an important part in many a tiki cocktail.

The most common by far is lime juice, followed by others such as pineapple juice, grapefruit juice, lemon juice, orange juice and rarer juices. If you read cocktail guides online, you'll see a lot of noise insisting that these juices MUST be fresh squeezed.

A tiki drink is a category of cocktails that are often made with rum and are usually colorful, fruity, and lavishly garnished.

Peychaud used Sazerac De Forge et Fils brand of cognac, an Absinthe rinse, sugar, and his house-made bitters. Peychaud called his concoction the Sazerac Cocktail because of the spirit he used and the vessel he served it in. Therefore the Sazerac Cocktail created by Peychaud, is known as the oldest cocktail in America.

Tiki is more than just a class of drinks. It's an exotic culture built on an elaborate fantasy. It makes sense, then, that Los Angeles is where the idea was born and raised.

The term Tiki comes from the Maori mythology. The Maori are indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand. According to their religion, Tiki is the first men created by Gods. Ever since the old days, Polynesian tribes carved images in trees of Gods.

Tiki culture is an American-originated art, music, and entertainment movement inspired by Polynesian, Melanesian and Micronesian cultures. Inspired by Oceanian art, influential cultures to Tiki culture include Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, the Caribbean Islands, and Hawaii.

Modern Tiki Culture

The first bar and restaurant with focus on Tiki culture was opened in 1934 by Ernest Raymond Beaumont-Gantt. Beaumont-Gantt later changed his name to Donn Beach to match the name of his restaurant, “Don the Beachcomber.” The restaurant featured exotic drinks, flaming torches and Cantonese cuisine.

What does tiki bar mean in English? ›

Noun. tiki bar (plural tiki bars) A drinking establishment or restaurant with an exotic tropical theme, serving elaborate cocktails.

There are four major gods, KU, KANE, LONO and KANALOA. Demi-gods included Pele and many others. The complexities of the relationships between all Hawaiian gods are explained in many legends.

Although they are called “masks” and were sometimes meant to protect and empower wearers, traditional Tiki masks were less frequently worn on the body than displayed as statues or decor in the home or the community.

What are Tiki Masks? Tiki masks are hand-carved wooden masks that, in their original intent, were used to stand in for deities, protect their users from evil spirits or even increase the mask wearers' fertility and luck. They served many purposes, both in the privacy of people's homes and in everyday life.

Tiki is a Maori mythological figure. The Maori are New Zealand's indigenous Polynesian people. Tiki are the first men created by Gods, according to their faith. Polynesian cultures have carved pictures of Gods in trees from the beginning of time.

These are pendants worn round the neck by both men and women. They are usually made of a type of greenstone, which the Maori call pounamu, and take a human form. Hei-tiki are highly valued and personal, they are passed down from generation to generation and often given special names.

Traditional polynesian tiki's all have different meanings in their faces. If the eyes are looking up the tiki will offer protection. The eyes looking down brings good luck. The mouth of the tiki can be smiling to show happiness or open to bring peace.

In Hawaiian, a pineapple is called “hala kahiki”.

This is because the Hawaiians thought the pineapple resembled the “Hala” fruit. “Kahiki” means foreign, hence pineapples became “foreign Hala's in Hawaiʻi.

The pina colada is often considered a tiki classic, even being hailed by some as “the most beloved cocktail to emerge from the tiki era.”

hei-tiki, small neck pendant in the form of a human fetus, used by the Māori of New Zealand as a fertility symbol. Usually carved of green nephrite or a jadelike stone called pounamu that is found along the western coast of the South Island, hei-tikis normally are worn only by women.

What size ice is best for shaking cocktails? ›

One-inch cubes are just the right size for shaking. Though we often don't think of it in these terms, ice is one of the main ingredients in every cocktail, and if we care about the quality and format of our spirits and juices and so on, we ought to care about the quality of ice.

Ice cubes have a large, thick surface which is ideal for almost all cocktails because it prevents them from melting too quickly, so you can enjoy a perfectly chilled drink without it losing its original flavour. They're also the perfect size and shape for cocktails that need to be either shaken or stirred.

"Two inch by two inch cubes…are used for neat spirits of spirit-forward cocktails where you want very little dilution," Stryjewski says. "Cocktails like the Old Fashioned or Negroni can really benefit from a big cube."

Captain morgan is a brand of rum produced in Jamaica by Diageo .

Captain Morgan Bourbon Whiskey - Arlington Wine & Liquor.

The result was a refreshing white rum with a subtle and sweet taste. You can get the true taste of the Captain from his selection of rum drinks, including his Captain Morgan Dark Rum, Captain Morgan White Rum, Captain Morgan Original Spiced Gold and many more.

The serving suggestion for this tasty new tipple is to mix it with lemonade and serve over ice.

Black Pearl Rum

Sparrow's obsession with his beloved ship, the Black Pearl, is one of his defining traits. So, it's no surprise that he'd reach for a rum that reminds him of his vessel. Black Pearl is an American silver rum made from molasses sourced in New Orleans.

Captain Morgan White rum is a light-bodied rum aged for less than a year and then filtered to remove its colour. While many white rums are un-aged, there is no general rule as to ageing time. This type of rum is blended into cocktails like the Mojito or Daiquiri or accompanied by popular general mixers.

Originating from the Marquesas Islands, Tikis are also present in most islands of the polynesian triangle. The most famous are probably the “Moai”, the monumental statues of Easter Island. Half-man, half-god, the Tiki symbolizes a mythical character who created human beings. Polynesians used to worship and fear it.

Where did tiki drink originate? ›

The quintessential tiki cocktail, the Mai Tai, was concocted at the original Trader Vic's in 1944. He began opening franchises outside of California, beginning with The Outrigger in Seattle, WA in 1949.

Tikis can be traced back to ancient Polynesian culture, which explains their influence on the Hawaiian mainland. According to Maori customs and traditions, Tiki represents the first human being on earth. Parallelly, tiki also refers to stone or wooden carvings in humanoid form.

The four major Hawaiian Tiki Gods are Ku the God of War, Lono the God of Fertility and Peace, Kane the God of Light and Life, and Kanaloa the God of the Sea. Ancient followers worshiped these Gods through prayer, chanting, surfing, lava sledding and even human sacrifice.

They are intended to represent deities or ancestors, each of whom has a different history and powers. Among the most often represented deities are: Tiki Kane, the almighty god who created the earth and the universe. Tiki Ku as God of War.

Don the Beachcomber, the father of the Tiki drink movement, aptly named this drink after the surge in flight advancements during the 1940s. According to Jeff "Beachbum" Berry, a modern-day Tiki researcher, this cocktail inspired other aviation cocktails such as the Astronaut, Space Pilot, and the Jet Pilot.

Tiki drinks may have been inspired by Hawaii and other “exotic” places, but they actually originated in the imagination of one man in Los Angeles: Donn Beach. It was Beach, an erstwhile bootlegger shut out of his restaurants on the U.S. mainland, who brought tiki to Hawaii.

But the pina colada is not a tiki drink. It did not originate in the fevered island fantasia of an erstwhile Texan or through the relentless cocktail experimentation of a savvy bar mogul.

Hawaiian Tikis are spiritual figures who use their big, scary mouths and menacing expressions to frighten away evil. Their headdresses vary and have different meanings according to the shape. Tiki sculptures can be used inside or outside and become a great conversation piece.

At Mangaia, Tiki is a woman, the sister of Veetini, the first person to die a natural death. The entrance to Avaiki (the underworld) is called 'the chasm of Tiki'.