The Tiki Era

Don the Beachcomber opened in Hollywood in 1934, three days after Prohibition ended. He invented Polynesian fantasy out of whole cloth — rum, fresh juices, exotic syrups, faux-Pacific glassware. Trader Vic followed. For thirty years, tiki dominated American cocktail culture. The Mai Tai, the Zombie, the Painkiller, the Hurricane — all from this golden age of tropical drinks. Most are still misunderstood today; the originals were balanced and powerful, not the slushy disasters they became later.