Yea I can see that. They're both American constructs that borrow / are inspired by another culture. More authentically American than of the culture they borrow from.
Yeah as a 24 year old I don’t even think of Tiki as cultural appropriation in any way shape or form. Polynesian, Hawaiian, pacific people and their culture isn’t exactly the first thing I think of when I think of a tiki drink. I just think of a fruity drink you’d get at the beach lol 😂 it’s honestly pretty separate from Polynesian culture as far as I see it. Apparently a lot of ppl think it’s bashing or offensive to Polynesian ppl to be associated with tasty drinks. Idk
@@iceman36351 It could be separate if there weren't clear examples of Polynesian religious iconography being used to sell drinks. That crosses the line from a party theme into misappropriation. Just saying, if you're completely ignorant of what the "tikis" are used for in their own culture, how would you know whether or not it's offensive?
@@redlion145 Polynesians are almost all Christian and wouldn't give much of a shit (Source: I'm Samoan and don't give a shit, neither do I know anyone who does). There will always be some people who take offense at harmless things, but they're a minority. There's bigger problems in the world.
Thank you so much for this. I’m an avid tikiphile, and it regularly frustrates me how often I encounter people who believe that tiki culture is an evolution of Polynesian history and culture, when it absolutely is not. It’s a bar theme. Tiki is Hard Rock Cafe but with thatch and fruity drinks. And that’s ok. But it is not legitimately Polynesian, and it’s an insult to Polynesian people and culture to insinuate that it is. Polynesian people did not come to the mainland and open bars, using their own cultural motifs and symbols as decoration. White dudes appropriated those symbols and motifs, and there is nothing genuine about that. Is it fun? Yes. Do I love it? Yes. But is it genuinely Polynesian? Absolutely not. Tiki is artifice at its core, and people - especially elitists within the tiki community - need to grasp that. Thank you for NAILING what tiki actually is and isn’t. It’s as appreciated as your mixology expertise.
Exactly! Also a tikiphile, and my husband is full blooded pacific islander and grew up on the islands. He doesn't think it's offensive because to him it has zero to do with his heritage or culture, it's something completely different. It's something made up, and most people we come across in the tiki community get that. That's why I always laugh at the elitist type who say things like "That geeki tiki mug isn't actually tiki" or "oh that's too piratey, not actually tiki." It's absurd, tiki is made up, taking a tiny dash of inspiration from the pacific islands, asia, and the caribbean and blending it all together with a bunch of fantasy. There is no authentic when it's all made up. When you start arguing about what's "real" tiki is when you get close to walking that boundary of being actually offensive to those cultures because it's implying that tiki is representing those cultures when it's not, and if it was, it would be doing so in an offensive way.
Thank you. A sweet drink made from South American pineapple, Caribbean rum, and spice has nothing to do with Polynesia. Wearing a silly shirt and having a fruity drink in a palm frond hut is an escape from modern life. It is not a representation of Hawaiian culture. Only a fool would think so.
Sipping on a Mai Tai, watching a 10 hour looped RU-vid video of sunsets, and burying my toes in cat litter. It's not the beach but it's close (even factoring in the cat shit and angry cat).
The bartenders at Jungle Bird in San Juan, PR were the first folks I encountered who distinguished Tiki drinks (invented by mostly mainland American bartenders) and Tropical drinks (originated by local bartenders at tropical and subtropical vacation destinations). They're among the leaders in decolonizing Tiki.
At 0:47, you mentioned you wished 'Tiki' focused more on the cultures from which it draws inspiration. My dad and I ventured to Indianapolis recently for my birthday, and stopped into The Inferno Room; which prides itself on showcasing authentic antique artworks and sculptures expressly from Papua New Guinea, and pays homage to the forefathers of the genre. An immersive getaway experience to say the least, it was my first expedition to a tiki bar. -If ever you happen to be lost in this neck of the Midwest, The Inferno Room is my foremost recommendation; absolutely the place to be!
Idea for a video/series: “Cocktail Roulette” Using what you have in the bar, whether it be spirits, mixers, odd and ends that maybe wouldn’t usually go into a cocktail, put a number to each of them. Separate mixer numbers into one hat, spirits into another and so on. Pick out as many numbers as you see fit, and make the best cocktail you can out of it. I may have over explained it, I just want to see Greg somehow make a cocktail from cookies, gin and Mountain Dew or something like that😂
As a bavarian, I see Tiki in the way that people from other countries wear lederhosen, drink beer and have their little octoberfests. It's a bit of friendly fun, wearing silly costumes while drinking good stuff and in no way meant offensive. Just relax, people.
I would say, most people can at least point out on a map the country that lederhosen come from. Everyone understands that octoberfest is a celebration of germanic origin. There are so many pacific island cultures (quite distinct from each other) that have been misappropriated, it would be impossible to say that Tiki shacks celebrate a single culture the same way. Maori and Hawaiians may share some DNA, but their cultures are very distinct. I agree, most people are not out to be offensive. But its the ignorance that is offensive, not the rum and sugar drinks.
Exactly. The really important thing is intent. If tiki was intended to make a mockery of Polynesians, like blackface mocks black people, it'd be bad. Thankfully it's not. Malice is bad, ignorance isn't a big deal.
The wife had been asking for a Mai Tai for a long time. Finally managed to get all the ingredients. Only thing I didn't manage to get was El Dorado 8 year but the store had the 3 year. The drink still turned out fantastic. Thanks, Greg!
Excuse me? Excuse me, senor? May I speak to you please? I asked for a mai tai, and they brought me a pina colada, and I said no salt, NO salt for the margarita, but it had salt on it, big grains of salt, floating in the glass...
Regarding coconut cream (aka coconut milk), it never comes from coconuts naturally. Basically it's coconut meat (the white hard stuff when a coconut is mature) mixed into water and strained. It's like any other nut milk - soy milk, almond milk, etc. You're right that coconut water from young coconuts is a different thing, but mature coconuts also have this. Young coconut meat is soft and fleshy, and is delicious when scraped off the inside of a young coconut. It doesn't have a lot of flavour but the texture is kind of gel-like.
I've always thought of tiki as sort of a fun novelty nod to some of the influence of the cultures it borrowed from. Definitely not a way to learn about Polynesian culture but still a well meaning thing.
It's not really well meaning, though. It doesn't exist as a method of educating about the cultures that it (didn't) borrow from (tiki merely borrows aesthetics). Tiki was created for profit. As a child, I totally believed tiki represented faithfully 'Hawaiian' cultures. It wasn't until I became an adult that I learned otherwise. We're not told that tiki is an artifice, so most folks kinda just assume it's true.
Something I've been making to escape quarantine is a coconut mojito, I first had the drink in Thailand and I think I pretty much nailed the flavor and heres the recipe because its delicious I use: Muddle 1 teaspoon brown sugar, a couple sprigs of mint leaves, and half a lime in a shaker Then 1oz coconut rum, 1oz white rum (I use bacardi for both) 1/4 cup coconut cream all in the shaker then shake with a bunch of ice Then pour everything into a tall glass and top with seltzer
Would love to see you tackle the Blood and Sand, Teddy Roosevelt's favorite drink and mine too. Scotch, Cherry Heering, Sweet Vermouth, a splash of Blood Orange and Lemon to brighten it is the way I make em and they're my go-to drink now.
My friend..... this couldn't be more timely. Thanks to your videos, in the last month and a half since I moved out on my own I have purchased Smuggler's Cove, many different rums, made my own syrups, and over the last week have been enjoying a tiki drink nightly. While I haven't made anything you've listed as a top five (give me time and I'll get there) I did make as my first drink a Pearl Diver based on your episode. Utterly fabulous. So this is my thank you. Thank you for putting out such great content and inspiring my own home bar for the love of tiki.
Currently on lockdown in Cambodia. I do tiki nights occasionally for the other guests here. Painkillers are super popular. Between the $11 bottles of Havana Club 3-year, and my home made creme of coconut, they don’t cost more than about 75 cents.
Hey, if I was running through my liquor stash as fast as a cocktail youtuber and couldn't restock as I went, I'd be playing it tighter with the pours too. Imagine having to restock after the quarantine, and I'm not sure if liquor can be written off on taxes, even as a business expense, lol!
Coco Lopez is totally the way to go when you need creme of coconut. I'm sure there's "better" more expensive options out there, but Lopez is ubiquitous, easy to find, very affordable, and very tasty.
Check out Distinguished Spirits. He goes into great depth about the drinks he makes (a lot of tiki), and makes some great drinks that aren't so mainstream at the moment.
Since quarantine I've made over 25 different tiki drinks. This channel and EBF motivated me a lot, thanks bros. I also agree these are some of the top tier tiki drinks. I like the new stuff too like angostura colada but something about the classics keep me coming back.
Maitai means "good" in Tahitian (Reo Tahiti/Maohi) - Never heard anyone in Polynesia criticizing Tiki Drinks. First of all, not a lot of people knows it is actually not drinks invented in the south Pacific, but most of all, I think it is more like understood (maybe wrongly) as an "hommage". There is a possibility that the "Tiki glass" can be sometimes taken as offensive by some Pacific Islanders, but not the drinks in themselves
It's his white guilt that makes him say that kind of stuff. Makes no sense. Just shut up about cultural appropriation already! Move on. Every day that passes the world becomes less racist especially America. All this guilt and finger pointing just keeps racism alive.
Well, Tiki is a Polynesian word with almost no association with Polynesian drinks, with maybe the exception of the scorpion Bowl (influenced from the kava bowl and also old school punches), and the Dr Fung. Its almost solely influenced by Carribean and South East Asian culture. The one thing about the Polynesians I know of, they don't get offended too easily....unless you call a Samoan a Tongan and vice versa. Anyway, check out the YT channel Distinguished Spirits. By far the best Tiki cocktail channel and I noticed Greg borrowed some photos from Distinguished Spirits, as he is probably the best guy for this genre, along with other cocktails.
My husband is half Samoan and half Hawaiian, born on Samoa, but grew up in Hawaii. When I met him I had been a long time tiki fan with my own collection of tiki mugs, 50's hawaiian music records, and hawaiian print dresses and was worried when he found out he was going to think I was racist and stop dating me lol. He didn't really know anything about tiki bars or modern tiki mugs because they are so far removed from anything actually Polynesian that he wasn't really exposed to it growing up on the islands. He started going to tiki bars with me and enjoys the experience, and he's even started collecting tiki mugs himself. He personally doesn't see it as offensive because to him it has nothing to do with Polynesian culture. It's an american fantasy based off a lot of different cultures, but based off them in such an out of touch way that it's not even related enough to that culture to be offensive. Of course he doesn't speak for all islanders. He wasn't raised with the traditional religions that tiki idols belonged to. So I try not to assume that just because he's okay with it means everyone is. I just wanted to share one islanders perspective on it!
Its a bunch of belly aching white 40 year old aunts screamin’ about other(lesser in their eyes) races being offended by celebrations of their cultures and iconography, when they really aren’t, just the Karens. Best to ignore it
Your videos on these drinks convinced me to make all these home ingredients and try most of these drinks, and I can't thank you enough. Ever since the painkiller video it has been one of my favorite drinks! Thanks again for sending me down the Tiki rabbit hole!
I feel that tiki is a little like Disney’s Hollywood studios. The park is described as “the Hollywood that never was but will always be” it’s representation is NOT accurate! It is definitely a rose color glasses situation, But it can be a gateway to fun and truth (if you do your own research and fact checking)
If it wasn't for things like Tiki Bars in LA and the Enchanted Tiki Room I wouldn't have developed the love and interest that I grew to have about Polynesian and Asian culture. Tiki is the gateway drug to higher learning and cultural appreciation, not appropriation.
Good video. Plain and simple Tiki bars are just a type of bar like a saloon, a pub, a cantina, and so on. I know when I see a bar called a tiki bar, it won’t be pushing old fashions like at a speakeasy style bar, or classic cocktail place, or pushing Guinness and a shot of Jameson like at a Irish pub. At a Tiki bar I’m going to see drinks like you just mentioned, with a tropical vibe and many from any other places, not just Hawaii. I’m glad you mentioned the pain killer because a great deal of tropical drinks get there heritages from the Caribbean because duh that’s where all most all the good rum is. Pirates and sailors pretty much invented cocktails. I think sure people can get offended by possibly some of the tiki mugs, if they are really digging, but I’m offended by everything I hear at any bar if I’m sober at 2am or last call.
Just in time for my personal challenge I call, "summer of tiki" where I challenge myself to make as many tiki drinks as I can and play with a group of cocktails I have never tried myself at really.
This intro is the most efficient argument against "well, we can't say anything anymore because of pc" : yes you can, and you can be funny about it. It's possible to be funny and not offensive. Well done.
Am I the only person with Gregs aversion to spiced rum that wants a spiced rum tasting episode? XD Although to be honest I would adore an episode on making your own spiced rums, looking at the "best" base rums to use and how each spice combo interacts with them.
If you're looking for a good spiced rum, I strongly suggest chairmans reserve spiced rum. It's a spiced version of their standard rum offering with citrus, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and clove tasting notes. I'm using it in a homemade eggnog recipe but it's great in a rum and coke too.
Aloha Greg. My wife and I enjoy watching your show. Just wanted to give you props for saying the name Halekulani correctly. As a Hawaiian I don't mind the tiki scene, the retro Aloha shirts (aka Hawaiian shirts, here we call them Aloha shirts) and the music like Martin Denny. Another great show. Mahalo
When you started talking about Film Noir, specifically, "There's a lot of stuff that fits the mould but wasn't made in the right time or place, so maybe it's not Tiki?" I just put down my drink and thought, "Wow! I love you."
I would love to see a video on Borderlands or Terraria themed cocktails as they are my favorite games, but of course up to you to make and I will respect your opinion no matter what and I will still love your content all the way.
Your explanation in the beginning about tiki sub genre is kinda how I got into/ appreciated actual Polynesian culture past the americanized cocktail culture. I love a dark n' stormy as much I love to hear about Polynesian mythology and history.
I started watching this channel 4 or 5 months ago and I caught the Cocktail fever from it. First episode I watched was the Tavern Punch one and it was just a really cool drink. Im still going through and binging older episodes. Good stuff 👍 inspired me to make some cocktails of my own.
Glad you included my favorite Tiki drink, the Jungle Bird! Also, I highly recommend visiting A House Without A Key if you get a chance. Hard to beat sipping a cold cocktail as you watch the sun set over the Pacific. I tend not to be a beach guy, but that was delightful.
Recipe sharing time! I've been experimenting with some variations on a Hurricane and I came across a recipe I absolutely adore. It's strong--VERY strong--and VERY tasty! 1.5 oz of citrus vodka* 1.5 oz of Bayou Rum Satsuma Rum 1.5 oz of Passoa 0.75 oz of London dry gin 1 oz of Fashionola syrup 2 oz of orange juice 1 oz of lime juice 0.5 oz of cranberry juice Shake all ingredients with cracked ice, pour ungated into a glass, garnish of maraschino cherries. * For the citrus vodka, I recommend making your own instead of using the pre-made stuff. Chop up two oranges, two limes, and two lemons. Put in a jar with a fifth of vodka. Let infuse for 3-5 days before squeezing the juice of the fruit back into the vodka and straining to make sure no pulp/seeds remain. Bottle and enjoy! Tastes great by itself and is awesome in cocktails.
I am not a tiki drinker because not because i prefer whiskey but because i hate fruit juice and sugar in my drinks... i prefer to drink everything straight my favorite coctail is either free pouring clam juice into a cup of vodka, or whiskey mixed with other types of booze just simple but you constantly give me things to serve guests so big thanks
I've been using the juice from Luxardo or Trader Joe's Amerana cherries in my Singapore Sling instead of cherry liqueur. I highly recommend for the quarantined.
I too used to make Painkillers with any old dark rum I had, till I just went ahead and got a bottle of Pusser's, and I really think it made a difference. I really recommend using the Pussers for the Painkiller. What I get from Pussers is caramel, not caramel sauce or candies, but burnt sugar-type caramel, as anyone who has made their own caramel would be familiar with. I think the modern versions of a 'Mai Tai' have an undeserved bad rap. I think they are delicious drinks in their own right. Honestly when I first had a 'true' Mai Tai, I was really disappointed. Maybe I will try to revisit it and give it another chance(I also realized, finally, that I really don't like rhum agricole, which was in that first recipe I tried). But I make a 'Mai Tai' , actually called 'Roy's Island Mai Tai', which I love. I got the recipe from the book Tiki Drinks from Nicole Weston and Robert Sharp. It has the pineapple, lime, and orange juices, but there is a blackstrap float. It tastes like a quintessential tropical drink; the tropical pineapple, orange, lime with rum, and that molassey flavor of the blackstrap is out of this world IMHO. So, yeah, maybe drinks like this should have been called something else, but I don't think they should be dismissed entirely.
@How To Drink greg since quarantine is also leaving some specific ingredients and drinks difficult to come by i reckon a video on good bastardisations of recipes could be cool, anything from switching a campari to an aperol too using a completely different recipe to try and get a similar drink. for instance i once went to make myself a mai tai and found i had no orgeat left, i ended up mixing simple syrup with bakers almond extract (a good quality one) and a pinch of coconut creme powder to give it some texture. tasted similar but was noticeably different but wasnt bad at all, i think it could be a fun video too see if there are any famous ones or if you got any ideas.
Greg my man, I miss the old tiki drink videos. I don't know how everyone else feels but I would absolutely love to see more of those. There's also some more contemporary tiki-style drinks that you might find interesting. Maybe have a look at the book Tiki: Modern Tropical Cocktails by Shannon Mustipher. It has a lot of interesting ideas (though I haven't tried that many yet). Still love the show though. Wanted to point out though you used the footage of the rhum agricole but said you liked using el dorado 8, so what actually is your favorite? What I like to do is use 3/4 oz of Smith & Cross, 3/4 oz. El Dorado 12 and 1/2 or 3/4 oz. of a nice rhum agricole. Also shaking with the lime, like death & co does, can be very nice.
I’ve loved the episodes since I’ve started watching. The history, the drink quality, the source material are all fantastic. However, you should change to the superior Piña Colada song, Two Piña Coladas by Garth Brooks.
I've been known to put Almond extract with lime juice, Rum, and Cointreau. Sort of a cross between a Daiquiri and a Margarita as the base. Also works well with Brandy.
Love the video brother. I have the Smugglers Cove book next to my bed and thanks to your work I realize I had been making my Jungle Bird wrong and I can’t wait to try the bourbon-based Tiki drink and the Singapore Sling! I had one of those (the Sling) at a bar overseas while in the Corps and I can’t wait to make a proper one and see if it brings back any memories from the late 80s! Thanks again for all your efforts. This old Jarhead appreciates you sir! Semper Fi. Keep your powder dry and your whistle wet! 👍
Wray & Nephew is an underrated rum. It would be interesting if someone tried to do a DIY barrel aging experiment with it because it could actually enhance different notes over time
the pretend aspect of it is what I find so cool about it. It's a sun drenched fantasy land fueled with large rum filled drinks. so what if it only exists in my head.
as someone who grew up in Hawaii and learned from a young age about colonialism and appropriation... tysm for talking about whether tiki is "problematic." we can enjoy these drinks while also knowing the truth.
Greg: You shouldn't call a painkiller a more mature Pina Colada. Also Greg in his Pina Colada episode: The painkiller really is a more mature Pina Colada.
My Mai Tai has 1 oz Smith + Cross, 1 oz Matusalem 7 year, 0.5 oz Plantation OFTD. And yes, half an once of orgeat is the way to go IMO 👌 Rhum Agricole doesn't belong in a Mai Tai IMO, but to each their own. The flavour is too 'grassy' and herbal, rather than deep molasses I'd look for. I've tried both ways in various ratios
Found out about the painkiller recently when I was on a cruise and dang they are good. I also just recently learned about how to make a ___ smash and they are fun to mess with.
Great episode, the Halekulani looks like something I would have a lot of. I never knew my beloved Mai Tai was soooo different from where they started. The 80s saw a big resurgence in people drinking Singapore Slings and Alabama Slammers, I remember seeing a lot of them served to the adults while on vacatation. This was so good, it almost got by us that you were doing a clip episode. :) Good work, man.
For years I have worn Hawaiian shirts - I even have a few toned down ones for work. Everyone always loved them and commented upon them and it makes them smile. I only finally got to Hawaii last year. I loved it - the people, the culture, the entire place. I don't think that "appropration" is much of a worry as it is not done as a representation of a culture so much as a beautiful mindset of being on a lovely island with lovely people. I will not be going about telling people Aloha - and talking about their gods. I am going to wear a nice shirt and drink.
Hey Great episode man. I made the Mai tai, jungle bird, and the painkiller this weekend with a fellow cocktail connoisseur at my house, played Cards and got hammered. Jeez I loooove tiki. It just makes people happy... and really drunk.
I've done the Raffles a couple-three times in the 60s, Singapore Slings and Sloe Gin Fizzes, and might have met some of those bar backs. Can't say the drinks shivered me timbers, but they certainly entertained my ladies of the moment, and is anything more important? The whole idea of rum in a tiki drink is ludicrous, the rum was long gone before reaching Tiki land, so we're really talking Carib. Hey, they're fun drinks, take w-a-a-y too many ingredients, but do the trick. Great video..!
