Chow.com article - Zombies Come Back from the Grave! - General Tiki

B bigbrotiki Tiki Socialite Tiki Island, above the Silverlake Joined: Mar 25, 2002 Posts: 11621	B bigbrotiki Posted posted on Sat, Apr 3, 2010 12:33 AM It IS indeed hard to remember which of the many Tiki Cocktail revival articles published recently have been posted here already. What a well written article! Among the many put in print recently, this one really packs a punch. This piece again proves how the cocktail craft revival has become the new ambassador of Tiki culture. I especially appreciate how it clearly places Jeff Berry at the nucleus of it. One of the reasons for mixology standing for Tiki culture these days might be that not only has the media become tired itself of announcing a Tiki revival every year now for ten years, but that the gourmet cocktail genre might be least un-p.c. element of Tiki. Alcohol and cocktails are clearly part of party culture, and so one can "seriously" engage in and discuss the craft of gourmet mixology, without stepping on the slippery slope of aesthetic good/bad taste, (and such questionable outgrowths as Witco), or even worse, the use of religious icons in a recreational context. One indicator of that is that many of the new bars seem to take great pains to explain that their version of Tiki will not be the "old stodgy" Tiki bar that some of us know and love as "classic Tiki", as if that label has already become outdated for the second time. It seems the Tiki revival itself has become an old hat. I believe there are two reasons for this: 1.) Financial: Nowadays it has become unaffordable for many proprietors to build a floor-to-ceiling Tiki restaurant, so for new Tiki bar owners to explain that "This is OUR version" of the style allows them to go more lightly on the the decor and the money spent. 2.) Lack of public awareness and subsequent appreciation: While many on this board are specialists and aficionados of the style (case in point: TC's new Home Bar section), the general public often cannot tell a Trader Vic's from a Trader Joe's. Many of the newly built fully decked out Tiki revival bars of the Tiki revival have lasted only a few years, but not because the choice of style was "wrong", it just did not suffice to create a steady flow of clientele, because the majority of said clientele is generally not "educated" about Tiki and can thus not enjoy it as we can. All this is not a critique of "classic" vs "nouveaux" Tiki, merely one of my many observations of the state of things in Tikiland.

It IS indeed hard to remember which of the many Tiki Cocktail revival articles published recently have been posted here already.

What a well written article! Among the many put in print recently, this one really packs a punch. This piece again proves how the cocktail craft revival has become the new ambassador of Tiki culture. I especially appreciate how it clearly places Jeff Berry at the nucleus of it.

One of the reasons for mixology standing for Tiki culture these days might be that not only has the media become tired itself of announcing a Tiki revival every year now for ten years, but that the gourmet cocktail genre might be least un-p.c. element of Tiki. Alcohol and cocktails are clearly part of party culture, and so one can "seriously" engage in and discuss the craft of gourmet mixology, without stepping on the slippery slope of aesthetic good/bad taste, (and such questionable outgrowths as Witco), or even worse, the use of religious icons in a recreational context.

One indicator of that is that many of the new bars seem to take great pains to explain that their version of Tiki will not be the "old stodgy" Tiki bar that some of us know and love as "classic Tiki", as if that label has already become outdated for the second time. It seems the Tiki revival itself has become an old hat.

I believe there are two reasons for this:

1.) Financial: Nowadays it has become unaffordable for many proprietors to build a floor-to-ceiling Tiki restaurant, so for new Tiki bar owners to explain that "This is OUR version" of the style allows them to go more lightly on the the decor and the money spent.

2.) Lack of public awareness and subsequent appreciation: While many on this board are specialists and aficionados of the style (case in point: TC's new Home Bar section), the general public often cannot tell a Trader Vic's from a Trader Joe's. Many of the newly built fully decked out Tiki revival bars of the Tiki revival have lasted only a few years, but not because the choice of style was "wrong", it just did not suffice to create a steady flow of clientele, because the majority of said clientele is generally not "educated" about Tiki and can thus not enjoy it as we can.

All this is not a critique of "classic" vs "nouveaux" Tiki, merely one of my many observations of the state of things in Tikiland.

Post #521734 by bigbrotiki on Sat, Apr 3, 2010 12:33 AM