Post #598232 by tiki mick on Mon, Jul 18, 2011 9:27 PM

Joe, why don't you try and find the book of tiki, or the second one, tiki modern. One quick read and you would know what I am talking about. It wouldn't take that much time to finish your bar and make it look rad. Tiki is all about mood and ambience. Dark, less lighting, less pre-fab stuff and less generic store-bought stuff. It not only should look good at night, but also in the light. Start with a good soundtrack like ANY martin denny or arthur lyman, or better yet, order the new tikiyaki orchestra CD, "aloha baby" to get yourself in the right mood. Would'nt hurt to try whipping up some rum based and authentic tiki drinks. Shitloads of recipes can be found right here in this forum. Try it for a whle and then decide if I am being a crazy purist or not. You are not from a place in the US where there a lot of examples of real tiki bars left, but go to the finding tiki section here and take a look at what is there. Lots of documentation of old and famous places to peruse. Once you catch the tiki bug, you will throw away your tequila and corona for good.