Post #787822 by EnchantedTikiGoth on Tue, Jun 19, 2018 7:45 AM

Unpopular opinion: I could really care less about the drinks... The concept of alcohol even being palatable to me is fairly new. It's all about the decor and vibe. My favourite "Tiki bar" in the entire world is the Enchanted Tiki Room in Disneyland, into which one can only bring some variation on pineapple juice, with or without Dole Whip. A non-Tiki bar with Tiki drinks have an interesting addition to the menu if coworkers take me to one, but it does not a Tiki bar make.

Now that said, they're perfectly entitled to do that. Tiki doesn't belong to anyone, and while we should respect the work of those who came before us in recovering these recipes and keeping the Tiki torch burning, elitism is an ugly thing. It goes back to something I said somewhere on this forum before, that cultures thrive by having a well-defined core rather than well-defined borders. The core keeps the culture centred while the fuzzy edges allow people to explore, innovate, have fun with it, and ease into it. Those people having a crappy Mai Tai at some normie bar might eventually find their way on here, building a home Tiki bar, or whatever.

Now THAT said, I'm not a Tiki purist and I don't feel unwelcome here. I don't know if that's just because I'm confident in what I like and Tiki isn't my all-consuming passion and "just walk away from the screen like...close your eyes haha" or what.