Say ‘Aloha!’ to the Revived Tiki Bar Trend
In almost every city across the UK you’ll now find a tiki-inspired bar, serving up rum-laden cocktails in outrageous, outsized glassware, in beachy surroundings with bamboo, palm leaves, hula girls and pineapples galore. It’s the perfect antithesis to the ultra-sophisticated and sleek cocktail bars that have been dominating the bar scene for so long – and customers simply can’t get enough!
Beachy keen – bringing the tiki trend into your bar
Playful by nature, the tiki bar trend means fun and frivolity, as well as flaming drinks that your bar staff will need to master the art of creating. Some of the UK’s most popular tiki bars, such as Hula Tiki Lounge and The Liar’s Club in Manchester, Sugar Cane and Mahiki in London, and the Tiki Hideaway at Call Lane Social in Leeds have gone all-out with their Honolulu-inspired themes.
But how far you go with the tiki trend is up to you – you needn’t give your bar a full makeover to add the tropical touch. You can start off by adding some original tiki-inspired drinks to your menu, and complementing them with some cool and quirky drinkware to give them a striking visual appeal. Central to any tiki cocktail drinks menu is a Mai Tai, of course; its name is Tahitian for ‘good’, and the combination of white and dark rum, lime juice and orange curacao creates an easy drink that looks just like sunshine in a glass. Let its colours shine by presenting it in a crystal-clear Glacial Cocktail Glass with a fruit garnish as the finishing touch.
Next up is a Zombie, a favourite with Don the Beachcomber customers that’s just as popular today – but beware, it’s very boozy, so must be enjoyed in serious moderation. Don’s original Zombie cocktail recipe is still a closely guarded secret, but interpretations of it are as a mixture of four rums, lime, pineapple, papaya juice and sugar. Serve it tall in the funky Artis Bamboo Cocktail Glass for an authentic tiki drink to delight your customers – or absolutely wow them by filling the halved papaya with rum and setting it alight to create a ‘Flaming Zombie’. Just watch your eyebrows!
Ever heard of a ‘Three Dots and a Dash’? Another one of Don’s very own tiki cocktail recipes, it’s a blend of several rums, falernum, bitters, honey and lime and orange juices, it’s a tough one to perfect – which is befitting of its name, which means ‘victory’ in Morse Code. Serve it up in a sleek cup like the Utopia Copper Mug for a sophisticated take on tiki cocktails.
And of course, no tropical cocktail selection would be complete without the quintessential Pina Colada. Consisting of rum, coconut milk and pineapple juice, whizz it up with ice in a drinks blender and then serve it the Artis Pina Colada Glass with its eye-catching Z-stem design for the perfect summer cocktail that your customers will lap up (even when it’s not summer).
For creating and serving large quantities of rum punches, this 3 gallon beverage dispenser with a bamboo base by Rosseto could be just what you’re looking for. With a clear acrylic chamber, it’s perfect for filling with colourful, fruit-laden cocktails and displaying on the back of your bar. And as many tiki cocktails are made to be shared, such as the Scorpion bowl, you’ll need to keep some sharing drinkware on your bar - such as the Plasma Xenon Fish Bowl which is made from a durable plastic that with withstand the demands of a busy bar. Don’t forget to take a look at our range of Cocktail Shakers and Accessories too for everything you need to create these delicious tiki themed cocktails.
Which other tiki cocktails and tiki bar drinks do you think are essentials on a Polynesian-inspired bar menu? Leave us a comment below with your thoughts, as well as your favourite recipes.
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