A Match Made in Paradise: The Story of Chinese-Tiki
Often the most reliable place to find a tiki cocktail—even if it's a bad one—is at a Chinese restaurant. But why?
- story: Garrett Snyder
- photos: Dylan + Jeni
Diagnosing the Tiki Psyche
With its windowless bars, secret recipes and tropically dressed devotees, tiki culture's escapist mindset is not unlike that of science fiction's.
- story: Christopher Ross
- photo: Sam Horowitz
Mastering the Zombie With Martin Cate
In "Masters of X," we spotlight bartenders chasing perfection in one drink. Here, Martin Cate takes on the Zombie.
- story: Kara Newman
- photos: Colin Price
Inside the Magical World of Tiki Kon
At Portland's annual celebration of Polynesian-pop fantasy, anyone with a love of Hawaiian shirts and rum can live the good life, if just for a weekend.
- story: Leslie Pariseau
- photos: Dylan + Jeni
Resurrecting Tiki’s Lost Rums
Long-extinct rums critical to the genre’s classic recipes are being brought back to life.
- story: Matt Pietrek
- illustration: Lydia Ortiz
How to Use Key Limes in Cocktails
When it comes to adding acidity to drinks, a select few bartenders are reaching for Key limes, rather than the standard Persian.
- story: Chloe Frechette
- photo: Lizzie Munro
How to “Flash Blend” Your Way to a Better Frothy Drink
Dated as it might seem, the "Hamilton Beach" stand-up mixer has a variety of practical applications in modern drink-making.
- story: Kara Newman
- photo: Colin Dutton
Mastering the Piña Colada With Erick Castro
In "Masters of X," we spotlight bartenders chasing perfection in one drink. Here, Erick Castro takes on the Piña Colada.
- story: Amy C. Collins
- photos: Jim Sullivan
Recreating the Mai-Kai’s Bizarre Black Magic Cocktail
The story behind one of tiki's strangest classics, and the lengths that bartenders have gone to recreate it.
- story: Lizzie Munro
- photo: Lizzie Munro
Step Inside LA’s Ultimate Tiki Time Warp
Among the tiki cognoscenti, LA's Tiki-Ti bar is considered the best place to experience iconic drinks like the Mai Tai and the Zombie in their original forms.
- story: Punch Staff
- photos: Dylan + Jeni
Three-Drink Minimum: Bartending With Paul McGee
One of Chicago's top bartenders considers his drink-making style in three recipes.
- story: Chloe Frechette
- photos: Nick Murway
Partner Content
How to Use Overproof Rum in Cocktails
Overproof rum has been a staple of the tiki canon since early enthusiasts saw how well it could stand up to citrus juices and syrups.
- story: Punch Staff
- photos: Eric Medsker
Partner Content
Drunk in the August Sun
This drier take on the Piña Colada leans on dry sherry to balance the sweetness of pineapple juice and Coco Lopez.
- story: Chloe Frechette
- photo: Eric Medsker
A Tour of the Iconic Mai-Kai Tiki Bar
Step inside the Mai Kai, one of the country's oldest and most iconic tiki bars, and find that little has changed since it opened back in 1956.
- story: Lizzie Munro
- photos: Dylan + Jeni
lookbook
Jane Danger | Beverage Director, Mother of Pearl
New York’s tiki-inspired Mother of Pearl is almost as colorful as Jane Danger herself. Having managed the bar program since the restaurant opened in 2015, Danger has a knack for making especially playful drinks, often finished… Read More
Inside One of America’s Most Elaborate Home Tiki Bars
The entrance to Ron Farrell’s backyard tiki bar requires passage across a 30-foot Koi pond complete with a five-foot waterfall. And that's just the start.
- story: Amy C. Collins
- photos: Dylan + Jeni
The World’s Most Important Tiki Bars
Today's tiki experts—from Martin Cate to Sven Kirsten—on the most notable tiki bars across the globe.
- story: Punch Staff
- photo: Dylan + Jeni
Inside One of the Midwest’s Oldest Tiki Bars
Opened by a pair of former funeral home owners in 1964, Chicago's Hala Kahiki Lounge is one of the oldest and most notable tiki bars in the country.
- story: Amy C. Collins
- photos: Nick Murway
Bringing It Back Bar: How to Use Allspice Dram
In "Bringing It Back Bar," we shine a light on overlooked bottles and devise recipes to take them from back bar to front shelf. Up now: allspice dram.
- story: Punch Staff
- photo: The Bitter Truth
Five Low-Proof Tiki Cocktails
From a sherry-based Zombie to a low-proof Mai Tai riff, here are five drinks that offer all of the tiki flavor at a lower octane.
- story: Chloe Frechette
- photo: Multiple
Rediscovering Don’s “Other” Essential Tiki Mix
An essential ingredient of the Pearl Diver cocktail, Gardenia Mix—a nearly forgotten amalgam of honey, butter and spices—is finding its way back into bars.
- story: Roger Kamholz
- photo: Daniel Krieger
Bringing It Back Bar: What to Do With Creole Shrub
In "Bringing It Back Bar," we shine a light on overlooked bottles and devise recipes to take them from back bar to front shelf. Up now: creole shrub, a spiced,…
- story: Chloe Frechette
- photo: Rhum Clément
How Pittsburgh Became an Eccentric Tiki Mecca
The ocean is nowhere in sight, but that hasn’t stopped Pittsburgh from developing one of the deepest—and quirkiest—tiki cultures in the country. Kara Newman takes a look inside Steel City’s…
- story: Kara Newman
- photos: Michael Henninger
Jeff Beachbum Berry | Owner, Latitude 29
There are few movements within the cocktail world as pervasive as that of modern tiki, so much so that it’s easy to forget that the genre, not long ago, teetered…
- story: Lizzie Munro
- photo: Claire Bangser
Mastering the Mai Tai With Leo Robitschek
In "Masters of X," we spotlight bartenders chasing perfection in one drink. Here, Leo Robitschek on his approach to honing The NoMad Bar’s ultimate Mai Tai.
- story: Lizzie Munro
- photos: Lizzie Munro
What’s Your Desert Island Cocktail?
Ever wondered what you might drink while cast away on a tropical island, equipped with limited resources and plagued by boredom and isolation? We asked bartenders that very question, and…
- story: Punch Staff
- photos: Lizzie Munro
The New Tropical Cocktails
As the tiki revival spreads beyond the borders of its namesake bars, a new breed of drinks that borrow from tiki palette, but fall firmly outside of it, is emerging.…
- story: Punch Staff
- photos: Lizzie Munro
Dr. Strangelove
Dr. Strangelove calls on a triple base of rum, but pulls in ingredients—kiwi, aloe vera liqueur—that are vaguely tropical, but hardly classic.
- story: Chloe Frechette
How Well Do You Actually Know the Swizzle?
Named for its namesake stirrer, the swizzle hails from the longstanding West Indian tradition of theatrical mixed drinks that paved the way for tiki. Here, get to know the swizzle…
- story: Punch Staff
- photo: Lizzie Munro
The Evolution of Tiki in Four Eras
Prior to its near-extinction and subsequent revival, tiki culture underwent decades of rapid evolution. Martin Cate of Smuggler's Cove walks Lizzie Munro through the four eras that shaped tiki as…
- story: Lizzie Munro
- photos: Dylan + Jeni
Should Don’s Mix Not Be a Mix At All?
In tiki's heyday, the recipes for proprietary syrups were fiercely guarded, including that for Donn Beach's "Don's Mix." Now that the once-elusive mix of grapefruit and cinnamon is no longer…
- story: Carey Jones
- photo: Lizzie Munro
The Swizzle Stick Makes a Modern Comeback
A smart means of visual marketing, swizzle sticks have made a comeback—many of them with colorful, over-the-top designs. Leah Mennies on the visual range of swizzle stick 2.0 and the…
- story: Leah Mennies
- photos: Lizzie Munro
The Second Coming of the Jungle Bird
Once a bitter outlier in the tiki canon, the Jungle Bird's growing popularity has given rise to a whole new catalogue of riffs on the original. Kara Newman on the…
- story: Kara Newman
- photo: Lizzie Munro
The Gonzo Age of the Cocktail Garnish
Once a utility player in the cocktail game largely used to add flavor to a drink, garnishes have gone from understudy to center stage. Robert Simonson on how the garnish…
- story: Robert Simonson
- photo: Mother of Pearl
Boardwalk Flyer
Damon Boelte of Grand Army Bar's combination of aged cachaça, vermouth and banana liqueur all swizzled together into a perfect beach drink.
- story: joanna_h
- photo: Daniel Krieger
Five New-School Tiki Drinks
Tiki drinks, in all their boozy glory, have long symbolized escape. Their modern counterparts are no exception. Here are five riffs on the classics, reformulated for the 21st-century palate.
- story: Punch Staff
- photos: Daniel Krieger
Getaway Car
Smoky-spicy-sweet ancho chile liqueur adds an unexpected twist in this Jungle Bird riff.
- story: Bianca Prum
- photo: Lizzie Munro
Jungle Bird
Simpler than most tiki cocktails—it only contains five ingredients—the Jungle Bird is rumored to have been created in the late 1970s at the Kuala Lampur Hilton.
- story: Leslie Pariseau
- photo: Daniel Krieger
Swimming with Montana’s Magical Tiki Mermaids
Located inside a motel in Great Falls, Montana, the legendary Sip 'n Dip Lounge has become cowboy country’s premiere tiki bar, complete with swimming mermaids. Sarah Baird travels to the…
- story: Sarah Baird
- photo: Sip 'n Dip
Peek Inside London’s Most Whimsical Drinkware Factory
Behind a lime green door in Northeast London, Bespoke Barware churns out an array of oddball made-to-order drinkware, from Margaret Thatcher mugs to shark head punchbowls. Whitney Adams and Izy…
- story: Whitney Adams
- photos: Izy Hossack
A Modern Proto-Tiki Mecca in New Orleans
Welcome to "About a Bar," a column that explores North America's most notable bars and cocktail programs. Today: Cane & Table in New Orleans.
- story: Emma Janzen
- illustration: Natalie K. Nelson
More Is More: The Evolution of Tiki Garnish
While most modern tiki bartenders will point to the genre's founding fathers as their inspiration for garnish once they've paid their dues, all bets are off. Marian Bull explains how…
- story: Marian Bull
- photo: Anjali Pinto
The Mauser
Loosely based on the Zombie, Will Peet's Mauser incorporates all the traditional flavors of the classic, but dismisses the rum.
- story: Leslie Pariseau
- photo: Daniel Krieger
Padang Swizzle
Named for the capital of West Sumatra, Indonesia, Zac Overman's Padang Swizzle plays with traditional tiki flavors, but adds a European twist.
- story: Leslie Pariseau
- photo: Daniel Krieger
Tiki’s Essential Secret Ingredient: DIY Falernum
Once a guarded element of tiki recipes, falernum—a spiced lime and almond liqueur—has emerged as the modern tiki scene's essential ingredient. Carey Jones on its history and how to make…
- story: Carey Jones
- photo: Ed Anderson
Chartreuse Swizzle
The traditional Caribbean Rum Swizzle rejiggered with green Chartreuse.
- story: Leslie Pariseau
- photo: Daniel Krieger
Ancient Mariner
Jeff "Beachbum" Berry relies on a split rum base and fresh citrus juices alongside a quarter of an ounce of allspice dram in this tiki rum sour.
- story: emma_g
Martin Cate | Owner, Smuggler’s Cove
"There's really no connection between tiki, rum and the fez," explains Martin Cate of his epic headpiece. "People like tiki and people like secret societies," he says referring to the Shriners,…
- story: Leslie Pariseau
- photo: Kelly Puleio
Honolulu’s Second Golden Age of Tropical Drinking
For decades, Honolulu has been a city synonymous with orchid garnishes and syrupy Mai Tais. But a craft cocktail scene is percolating just beyond Waikiki—and with it, a new era…
- story: Alia Akkam
- photo: AZ Adam
Rejiggering Tiki for the 21st Century
Welcome to "About a Bar," a column that explores America's most notable bars and cocktail programs. Today: Chicago's modern tiki mecca, Three Dots and a Dash.
- story: Emma Janzen
- illustration: James Carpenter
Inside LA’s Tiki Underground
In the city where Polynesian cocktail culture was born, the tiki tradition has gone underground and is thriving in the basements and backyards of its loyal enthusiasts. (Slideshow ahead. →)
- story: Jennifer Cacicio
- photos: Dylan + Jeni
Macadamia Nut Chi Chi
A rare vodka drink in the canon of tiki classics.
- story: Leslie Pariseau
- photo: Lizzie Munro
Nicole & Joe Desmond | New York’s Famous Rhum Rhum Room
Nicole and Joe Desmond aren't quite sure when they fell for tiki. It was a gradual shift from cocktail curiosity to tropical obsession, but a trip to the Mai-Kai restaurant…
- story: Leslie Pariseau
- photo: Doron Gild
Pearl Diver
Donn Beach’s iced take on the Hot Buttered Rum featuring the honey and butter-based Gardenia Mix.
- story: Chloe Frechette
ZZ’s Pineapple Cocktail
At ZZ's Clam Bar in New York City, this cocktail is served in a vintage, brass pineapple, mounded with cobbled ice and garnished with a drift of aromatic chamomile powder…
- story: Leslie Pariseau
- photo: Dylan + Jeni