Skip to main content

Tiki Night

Tiki Night

History

The history of tiki cocktails is a mix of escapism, Hollywood fantasy, Caribbean influences, Polynesian aesthetics, and postwar American drinking culture. Despite the tropical imagery, “tiki” cocktails are largely an American invention that emerged in the 1930s.

The movement began after the end of Prohibition in 1933. Americans were eager for exotic experiences, strong drinks, and nightlife again.

Two major figures shaped tiki culture:

  • Donn Beach (born Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt)
  • Victor Bergeron, better known as Trader Vic

Taste Testing:

You will be sampling long lost syrups that Don Beach tried so hard to keep secret. Some of the syrups are so complex that they are not sold anywhere. Oh, except we sell them!

Fassionola Syrup is like nothing you’ve ever had. It combines passion fruit juice, papaya juice, tart cherry juice, orange juice, guava juice, canned pineapple juice, fresh pineapple juice, apple juice, dried hibiscus flowers and sugar.

1. The Hurricane

The Hurricane is one of the most famous rum cocktails to come out of New Orleans and became a staple of tropical and tiki-adjacent drinking culture.

2. The Pearl Diver

The Pearl Diver is one of the most unusual and revered drinks from the golden age of tiki. Created by Donn Beach in the late 1930s or early 1940s, the drink became famous for its rich texture and mysterious signature ingredient: Don’s Gardenia Mix — a buttery, spiced honey syrup.

3. The Zombie

The original recipe was highly secretive. Donn Beach used coded labels and premixed spice blends so even his bartenders often didn’t know the exact formulas. But we will break it down and expose the secrets.
Book Tickets