Post #767859 by AdOrAdam on Thu, Aug 25, 2016 1:53 PM

I've been in Spain for two weeks, the first week was in the countryside I drank:

• Cinanzo Bitter (like a pre bottled Americano cocktail)
• Damn Lemon (a canned shandy)
• Havana Club Ritual or Brugal Anejo Cuba Libres

The second week we headed into Barcelona & I drank:

• Huge Caipirinhas from the street festival that is going on
• Vermouth. Each bar has a house version on tap & serves it slightly differently.
• A vodka something in Finlandia / Star Wars themed Icebar

Now on to the main point of my post: 3 tiki bars are listed on Critiki in Barcelona (& one bar that serves tiki drinks) so we decided to hit up the 3.

First up was Kahala:

My partner had a Mai Tai (Trader Vics style with Bacardi Superior & Sailor Jerrys), I had a tasty orange & coffee drink. I quizzed the bartender what was in it - the mystery ingredient was... strawberry syrup!?!

Next Aloha:

My partner had another Mai Tai... well not quite a Mai Tai but was tastier than my brandy, cherry & orange concoction:

Aloha was tended by two older gentleman who looked like they'd been there since day one. On our way out it was amusing to see one of them tucking into a meal with a glass of cava while watching the football on a big screen.

Last was Kahiki:

My partner had another Mai Tai, she was disappointed that none of the bars seemed to be using the dry ice wells on the Porcelanas Pavon tiki mugs but then this smoking drink arrived:

You guess is as good as mine what was in it. I had a highly fruity drink picked blind off the Spanish only menu just because it came in a monkey mug:

I hadn't eaten yet so was definitely in need of something to steady me!

FYI:

The Spainish tiki style is really wacky & cluttered, the first two bars were definitely relics that looked like they hadn't changed much since they opened.

All the bars used Porcelanas Pavon mugs & provided bar snacks:

The mugs were for sale in Kahala ($40!) & not the other two bars... but a bit of conversation snagged me one in Kahiki for half that. They were all pretty ugly, I brought the most 'normal' one:

The only tiki staples on the menus were Mai Tais & Scorpion bowls - that there were no Zombies surprised me. There were the same Spainish drinks names popping up on each menu but I couldn't tell you what they were - the brandy, cherry & Orange drink was one.

I couldn't see any DTB style ingredients being used but plenty of sour mixes & fruit syrups instead.

Everything (except the first Mai Tai) was made with Spanish bottom rail brands I didn't recognise but they had better brands behind the bar. No Jamaican / Demerara / Martinique rums were used.

Drinks of the night: the orange & coffee one in Kahala tied with the blue guava Mai Tai in Aloha - I'd have either again. The rest were pretty off kilter & very fruity.

Bar of the night: Kahiki for being the friendliest & the decor (almost minimalist in comparison to the others).

If ever you're in town I'd definitely visit all three but not for the drinks - more for a bit of something different.

Cheers!