Post #732254 by bigbrotiki on Thu, Nov 27, 2014 10:38 AM

Indeed Ben, well-deserved!

But I am again baffled at the snobbery of those members of the craft cocktail generation that think "Tiki" is a just cocktail genre, and that any place that does not use a grocery shelf full of fresh spices does not deserve the term "Tiki".

Granted, the current craft cocktail movement has, thanks to Jeff Berry's contributions, done much to revive the appreciation of American Tiki culture. But Tiki is so much more than just rum mixology: It's a pervasive art genre that was (and is) expressed in a myriad of forms and concepts - and the Tonga Room is one of the best surviving original examples of it. This place has been around since way before any of the new kids could spell "Falernum", and it has inspired a generation of urban archeologists to seek other lost Tiki temples of its kind.

The Kahiki was one of them, and when I got to visit it and witness its grandeur, the drinks were sweet and red, and certainly not up to par to what we know today. So, would it not make the list, then?