Post #121420 by TIKIBOSKO on Sun, Oct 24, 2004 3:39 PM

Swizzle sticks are a hobby of mine and Tiki sticks are at the top of my list. Since the topic came up I thought I could share a little info and a few from my collection.

The oldest swizzle sticks are as ancient as Polynesian Pop itself, if you look at early Don the Beachcomber bar menus you’ll notice them holding the garnish.

The stick pictured is made of wood with the logo burned into it, I have two different styles of these.

Some of the oldest swizzle sticks had paper inserts, or had the logo etched into the glass, shown a glass stick from Trad’r Sam San Francisco but it’s silk screened so it’s probably not too old.

By the early 60’s plastic sticks had become an art, some of these swizzles are unbelievably amazing in detail. One of the benefits of finding an old stick is you can get some idea of how big an operation the establishment had going. The more money they had the more elaborate the sticks (generally) where.

Although it’s a good idea to do research I don’t recall seeing many Spir-it Tiki sticks, they may be out there but I haven’t seen them. Like classic Tiki bars, the great companies from the 50’s and 60’s that made the best sticks are long gone.

My very best Alohas,

Bosko

[ Edited by: TIKIBOSKO on 2004-10-24 15:48 ]