TIKI STORIES
TIKI STORIES
Tiki Drinks have a long and storied history. Here are some of our favorites.
English
English
THE MAI TAI
The mai tai wasn’t the first tiki/tropical/“exotic” cocktail, but it is ultimately the most famed and essential; the building block around which the modern genre is based. Every tiki bar will have a house mai tai of some kind, but this drink has simultaneously suffered in the last 60 years from bastardization and appropriation of its original flavors. Many drinks today labeled at beachfront bars as “mai tais” today have little if anything to do with Victor Bergeron’s (Trader Vic) 1944 original, being filled with a seemingly random array of juices, flavorings (there’s no coconut in a mai tai!) and rum. Suffice to say, if you’re going to make a mai tai at home, you should learn the original way first, and then see if you want to experiment with it.
At its heart, the recipe for the mai tai is really not that complicated, especially by tiki cocktail standards. The combination of rum, curacao and lime juice evokes a rum-based margarita, but the final addition of almond orgeat transforms the drink into something new and delicious.
SOURCE: Paste Magazine - 10 of the Best Classic Tiki Cocktails
The mai tai wasn’t the first tiki/tropical/“exotic” cocktail, but it is ultimately the most famed and essential; the building block around which the modern genre is based. Every tiki bar will have a house mai tai of some kind, but this drink has simultaneously suffered in the last 60 years from bastardization and appropriation of its original flavors. Many drinks today labeled at beachfront bars as “mai tais” today have little if anything to do with Victor Bergeron’s (Trader Vic) 1944 original, being filled with a seemingly random array of juices, flavorings (there’s no coconut in a mai tai!) and rum. Suffice to say, if you’re going to make a mai tai at home, you should learn the original way first, and then see if you want to experiment with it.
At its heart, the recipe for the mai tai is really not that complicated, especially by tiki cocktail standards. The combination of rum, curacao and lime juice evokes a rum-based margarita, but the final addition of almond orgeat transforms the drink into something new and delicious.
SOURCE: Paste Magazine - 10 of the Best Classic Tiki Cocktails
THE JUNGLE BIRD
Very few good things came to the world of tiki cocktails in the 1970s, but the Jungle Bird is one of them. It was an era when tropical drinks and tiki classics were being bastardized and watered down at an alarming rate in the U.S., as bartenders and drinkers pivoted toward “lighter” spirits and classic recipes were lost and forgotten.
It’s perhaps unsurprising, then, that the Jungle Bird didn’t come from the U.S.—instead, it was invented at the Kuala Lumpur Hilton hotel, where bartender Jeffrey Ong first combined aged rum, pineapple and Campari at the Aviary Bar, giving the drink its name. The drink would go on to become a modern classic, inspiring many imitators that use a bitter liqueur such as Campari to balance out a large amount of sweet ingredient, such as pineapple juice.
SOURCE: Paste Magazine - 10 of the Best Classic Tiki Cocktails
Very few good things came to the world of tiki cocktails in the 1970s, but the Jungle Bird is one of them. It was an era when tropical drinks and tiki classics were being bastardized and watered down at an alarming rate in the U.S., as bartenders and drinkers pivoted toward “lighter” spirits and classic recipes were lost and forgotten.
It’s perhaps unsurprising, then, that the Jungle Bird didn’t come from the U.S.—instead, it was invented at the Kuala Lumpur Hilton hotel, where bartender Jeffrey Ong first combined aged rum, pineapple and Campari at the Aviary Bar, giving the drink its name. The drink would go on to become a modern classic, inspiring many imitators that use a bitter liqueur such as Campari to balance out a large amount of sweet ingredient, such as pineapple juice.
SOURCE: Paste Magazine - 10 of the Best Classic Tiki Cocktails
THE NAVY GROG
Yet another Donn Beach original, and another very strong drink. The concept of “navy grog” has always been a bit of a nebulous one, as these drinks have little if anything to do with the historic consumption of rum as “grog” (essentially rum and water, maybe with a little lime) on navy vessels. Instead, the navy grog is more of a reimagining of that concept, as a strong rum punch with some spice elements. Three different styles of rum appear.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this drink is quite strong, and has always had a reputation as a result. It’s even been involved in some scandalous incidents—music producer Phil Spector was under the influence of multiple navy grogs on the night he murdered actress Lana Clarkson, which we know because a bartender from the Beverly Hilton Trader Vic’s literally testified as much during the murder trial. Which is all to say: You’ve been warned.
SOURCE: Paste Magazine - 10 of the Best Classic Tiki Cocktails
Yet another Donn Beach original, and another very strong drink. The concept of “navy grog” has always been a bit of a nebulous one, as these drinks have little if anything to do with the historic consumption of rum as “grog” (essentially rum and water, maybe with a little lime) on navy vessels. Instead, the navy grog is more of a reimagining of that concept, as a strong rum punch with some spice elements. Three different styles of rum appear.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this drink is quite strong, and has always had a reputation as a result. It’s even been involved in some scandalous incidents—music producer Phil Spector was under the influence of multiple navy grogs on the night he murdered actress Lana Clarkson, which we know because a bartender from the Beverly Hilton Trader Vic’s literally testified as much during the murder trial. Which is all to say: You’ve been warned.
SOURCE: Paste Magazine - 10 of the Best Classic Tiki Cocktails
THE MOJITO
Like many cocktails, the full origins of this refreshing cocktail have been lost in history. From the 1500s, to a 2002 James Bond movie, the Mojito has had an interesting journey from invention to one of the most popular drinks of the new millennium. As with all cocktail histories, the Mojito’s origin story is often disputed, particularly by “La Bodeguita del medio” in Havana, Cuba. This restaurant-bar claims to be the cocktail’s birthplace, and enjoys the fame associated with Ernest Hemmingway’s praise of their particular version of the drink.
It has been claimed that African slaves working in the Cuban sugar cane fields created the drink from “Aguardiente de cana” (literally “firewater of the sugar cane”) – a simple sugar cane alcohol. Certainly the name “Mojito” fits this story, stemming from the word “Mojo”, meaning “to place a little spell”.
SOURCE: TASTE Cocktails - The History of the Mojito
THE NAVY GROG
Yet another Donn Beach original, and another very strong drink. The concept of “navy grog” has always been a bit of a nebulous one, as these drinks have little if anything to do with the historic consumption of rum as “grog” (essentially rum and water, maybe with a little lime) on navy vessels. Instead, the navy grog is more of a reimagining of that concept, as a strong rum punch with some spice elements. Three different styles of rum appear.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this drink is quite strong, and has always had a reputation as a result. It’s even been involved in some scandalous incidents—music producer Phil Spector was under the influence of multiple navy grogs on the night he murdered actress Lana Clarkson, which we know because a bartender from the Beverly Hilton Trader Vic’s literally testified as much during the murder trial. Which is all to say: You’ve been warned.
SOURCE: Paste Magazine - 10 of the Best Classic Tiki Cocktails
THE JUNGLE BIRD
Very few good things came to the world of tiki cocktails in the 1970s, but the Jungle Bird is one of them. It was an era when tropical drinks and tiki classics were being bastardized and watered down at an alarming rate in the U.S., as bartenders and drinkers pivoted toward “lighter” spirits and classic recipes were lost and forgotten.
It’s perhaps unsurprising, then, that the Jungle Bird didn’t come from the U.S.—instead, it was invented at the Kuala Lumpur Hilton hotel, where bartender Jeffrey Ong first combined aged rum, pineapple and Campari at the Aviary Bar, giving the drink its name. The drink would go on to become a modern classic, inspiring many imitators that use a bitter liqueur such as Campari to balance out a large amount of sweet ingredient, such as pineapple juice.
SOURCE: Paste Magazine - 10 of the Best Classic Tiki Cocktails
THE MOJITO
Like many cocktails, the full origins of this refreshing cocktail have been lost in history. From the 1500s, to a 2002 James Bond movie, the Mojito has had an interesting journey from invention to one of the most popular drinks of the new millennium. As with all cocktail histories, the Mojito’s origin story is often disputed, particularly by “La Bodeguita del medio” in Havana, Cuba. This restaurant-bar claims to be the cocktail’s birthplace, and enjoys the fame associated with Ernest Hemmingway’s praise of their particular version of the drink.
It has been claimed that African slaves working in the Cuban sugar cane fields created the drink from “Aguardiente de cana” (literally “firewater of the sugar cane”) – a simple sugar cane alcohol. Certainly the name “Mojito” fits this story, stemming from the word “Mojo”, meaning “to place a little spell”.
SOURCE: TASTE Cocktails - The History of the Mojito
THE SINGAPORE SLING
The Singapore Sling, widely regarded as the national drink, was first created in 1915 by Raffles bartender Ngiam Tong Boon. Primarily a gin-based cocktail, the Singapore Sling also contains pineapple juice, lime juice, curaçao and Bénédictine. Giving it the pretty pink hue are grenadine and cherry liqueur. Bartender Ngiam deliberately chose to give the cocktail this rosy colour.
Following the turn of the century in colonial Singapore, Raffles was the gathering place for the community – and Long Bar was the watering hole. It was common to see gentlemen nursing glasses of gin or whisky. Unfortunately for the ladies, etiquette dictated that they could not consume alcohol in public. So, for the sake of modesty, teas and fruit juices were their beverages of choice.
Ever insightful, Ngiam thus saw a niche in the market and decided to create a cocktail that looks like plain fruit juice but is actually infused with gin and liqueurs. The clever bartender made the beverage pink to give it a feminine flair which, together with the use of clear alcohol, led people to think it was a socially acceptable drink for women. With that, the Singapore Sling was born. Needless to say, it became an instant hit.
SOURCE: Raffles Singapore - History of the Singapore Sling
THE SINGAPORE SLING
The Singapore Sling, widely regarded as the national drink, was first created in 1915 by Raffles bartender Ngiam Tong Boon. Primarily a gin-based cocktail, the Singapore Sling also contains pineapple juice, lime juice, curaçao and Bénédictine. Giving it the pretty pink hue are grenadine and cherry liqueur. Bartender Ngiam deliberately chose to give the cocktail this rosy colour.
Following the turn of the century in colonial Singapore, Raffles was the gathering place for the community – and Long Bar was the watering hole. It was common to see gentlemen nursing glasses of gin or whisky. Unfortunately for the ladies, etiquette dictated that they could not consume alcohol in public. So, for the sake of modesty, teas and fruit juices were their beverages of choice.
Ever insightful, Ngiam thus saw a niche in the market and decided to create a cocktail that looks like plain fruit juice but is actually infused with gin and liqueurs. The clever bartender made the beverage pink to give it a feminine flair which, together with the use of clear alcohol, led people to think it was a socially acceptable drink for women. With that, the Singapore Sling was born. Needless to say, it became an instant hit.
SOURCE: Raffles Singapore - History of the Singapore Sling
The Singapore Sling, widely regarded as the national drink, was first created in 1915 by Raffles bartender Ngiam Tong Boon. Primarily a gin-based cocktail, the Singapore Sling also contains pineapple juice, lime juice, curaçao and Bénédictine. Giving it the pretty pink hue are grenadine and cherry liqueur. Bartender Ngiam deliberately chose to give the cocktail this rosy colour.
Following the turn of the century in colonial Singapore, Raffles was the gathering place for the community – and Long Bar was the watering hole. It was common to see gentlemen nursing glasses of gin or whisky. Unfortunately for the ladies, etiquette dictated that they could not consume alcohol in public. So, for the sake of modesty, teas and fruit juices were their beverages of choice.
Ever insightful, Ngiam thus saw a niche in the market and decided to create a cocktail that looks like plain fruit juice but is actually infused with gin and liqueurs. The clever bartender made the beverage pink to give it a feminine flair which, together with the use of clear alcohol, led people to think it was a socially acceptable drink for women. With that, the Singapore Sling was born. Needless to say, it became an instant hit.
SOURCE: Raffles Singapore - History of the Singapore Sling
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(2PM ON SUNDAYS)
