Post #684069 by thePorpoise on Sun, Jun 30, 2013 12:08 PM

TikiTacky- you are correct; and, so are the above responses.

If you're going to mix through the hundreds of tiki drinks in books out there, imo many are going to be very similar tasting. (which is perhaps why some cocktail enthusiasts pooh-pooh tiki drinks as just rum and juice).

what to me are the tiki drinks with the most name-recognition among cocktail and casual drinkers are the MaiTai, Scorpion, Fogcutter, Zombie, and Navy Grog. they are distinctive drinks (altho the scorpion and fogcutter are quite similar, with one being more orangey and the other more lemony).

I encourage you to continue exploring tiki drinks for several reasons:

--you will learn a lot about rum. Rum is an overlooked spirit by most, even though it is inextricably tied in to the history of this country and region. until i looked into tiki drinks, i really didnt know about Spanish v. English v. French styles of rums. (given what the economy has done to whiskey and cognac prices, this is an opportune time to explore rums.)

--tiki drinks are good party drinks. (chicks especially, dig the tiki drinks). the scorpion is always a party hit served in a communal bowl.

--tiki drinks frequently have cool historical stories to their creation. Most classic cocktails were created before Prohibition. Tiki drinks comprise the second wave of cocktail creativity- mostly from the 40's and 50's. Seems like every city has a local tiki bar/restaurant history with fondly remembered drinks and cuisine.

so, if you're getting bogged down in the tiki menu, try a re-set with different styles of rums, and drinks that have unique flavor profiles.