It’s been an eventful year so far for tiki bar fans in Honolulu, with the news in May that La Mariana Sailing Club had successfully extended its lease with the state Board of Land and Natural Resources and with the eagerly anticipated opening last month of Skull & Crown Trading Co. in Chinatown.
The tiki bar wasn’t created in Hawaii — drink enough mai tais and you’ll learn the history of Donn Beach and Victor Bergeron, who got their starts in California back in the 1930s and went on to create tiki empires as Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic, respectively — but the concept reached Waikiki within a few short years. Beach himself opened a Don the Beachcomber’s in the original International Marketplace, followed by a number of others in Waikiki through the ’60s, after which the tiki bar’s popularity began to fade.
LA MARIANA SAILING CLUB
In 1957, La Mariana set up shop at its first location at Sand Island, moving 50 feet inland in 1975 to its current home in a space that used to be a junkyard. It continues to thrive more than 60 years later, thanks not only to its title as Oahu’s last original tiki bar, but also because it consistently turns out some of the best drinks at the best prices in town when it comes to tiki standards.
The cocktails at La Mariana aren’t fancy, but they’re well-balanced — and that’s important when you’re drinking something made with two or three types of liquor and a variety of juices.
The bartenders here are all old-timers who have literally made thousands of mai tais, blue Hawaiis and lava flows behind the bar at La Mariana.
My pick when I visit is Daddy’s Rum Punch ($7), a blend of Malibu coconut rum and La Mariana’s own fruit punch; if I’m feeling slightly more classy, I’ll ask for a Haleakala martini ($7) made with Absolut vodka, Chambord liqueur and fresh pineapple juice.
La Mariana is at 50 Sand Island Access Road and is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Call 848-2800.
SKULL & CROWN TRADING CO.
Noa Laporga and Angelina Khan have taken their love for the theatrical to Chinatown and combined it with a slightly more spooky tiki vibe, in a nod to their history of producing haunted houses on Oahu for years. They were also behind last year’s Halloween-themed pop-up bar at Ala Moana Shopping Center.
At Skull & Crown Trading Co., they’ve taken a highly immersive experience and paired it with a murderer’s row of craft cocktails that showcase quality liquor accompanied by locally made ingredients. It will be difficult to find a Painkiller ($10) better than the one on the menu here; not only is it made with Pusser’s rum (which is technically the only rum you can use in a drink you call a “Painkiller,” or you could face legal action), but they also add a touch of pineapple Dole Whip soft serve to sweeten things up a bit.
Another must-try is the Old Kahakuloa Reviver ($13), which eloquently pairs the sometimes- misused funkiness of Ko Hana’s agricole-style rum with fresh Big Island honey and li hing mui. Luxardo maraschino liqueur is the spirit that helps tie everything together here, along with fresh lemon and lilikoi. You can still tell you’re drinking agricole rum with this one, but the honey really changes the mouthfeel of the drink — and it only gets better as the ice in your glass melts!
Laporga, who has taken to calling himself “Trader Noa” when behind the bar, also offers a namesake Old-Fashioned ($13) worth trying that’s smoked using kiawe wood he’s harvested himself.
The trading post mentality will carry on through the cocktail program, he says, because Skull & Crown will barter with local bartenders to get their creations on the menu here.
Skull & Crown Trading Co. is at 62 N. Hotel St. and is open from 6 to 10 p.m. daily (until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays). Call 372-9618.
LOOKING TO jump on the tiki train? There are plenty of options for quality tiki cocktails in Honolulu that aren’t necessarily served in a traditional tiki bar environment.
Here are a few worth trying:
BUZZ’S ORIGINAL STEAKHOUSE
413 Kawailoa Road; 261-4661
With a history in Kailua dating to 1962, Buzz’s is another original when it comes to tropical drinks on Oahu. You can’t go wrong with Buzz’s Kailua Passion ($11), a blended mix of Bacardi rum and lilikoi syrup that’s topped with a Myers’s rum float.
A more recent addition worth ordering is the 55 Years on the Beach, ($11), made with Naked Turtle rum and lilikoi syrup that’s shaken with amaretto liqueur, pineapple juice and creole bitters, then topped once again with a Myers’s rum float.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily (until 9:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays); buzzsoriginalsteakhouse.com/lanikai.
WAIKIKI
Various locations
It’s no secret that Waikiki has the highest concentration of tiki-style drinks in one neighborhood. Skip the mai tai or pina colada and dive a little deeper into the past with a number of other classic cocktails.
Want a tiki mug of your own to take home? Tiki’s Grill & Bar, 2570 Kalakaua Ave. in the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel, has a full lineup of mugs and souvenir glasses to go with tropical cocktails, and everything may be purchased. The Ocean Potion ($15) is a classic rum punch worth trying, but if you can get here with three other people, try the Pele’s Volcano ($40), served in a take-home ceramic volcano that’s guaranteed to be a conversation-starter.
Over at the Princess Kaiulani Hotel, 120 Kaiulani Ave., Splash Pool Bar is the place to visit a couple of Donn Beach classics. Try the Navy Grog ($12), made with three different types of rum along with fresh grapefruit and lime juices, or a Three Dots and a Dash ($12), which Beach created during World War II.
And Tropics Bar & Grill at the Hilton Hawaiian Village has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity since being repeatedly featured on the filmed-in-Hawaii television series “Hawaii Five-0.” Pay tribute to local tiki royalty — Harry Yee, the longtime head bartender at the Hilton Hawaiian Village credited with inventing the blue Hawaii — and try a tropical itch ($15.50), still served with a backscratcher, the way Yee served them decades ago in Waikiki. Another fun pick is the Lovely Hula Girl ($14.50), described as a “secret” drink made by Hilton bartenders back in the day.
MINA’S FISH HOUSE
Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina; 679-0079
Stop in at Mina’s Fish House at the Four Seasons for a tiki lineup reminiscent of the menu at another of chef Michael Mina’s establishments on Oahu. Mina enlisted mixologist Andrew Woodley to develop the drink menu at Fish House; he’s also behind the recent revamp of the menu at Myna Bird Tiki Bar inside Mina’s The Street Food Hall at the International Market Place.
Woodley was one of the first to put a cocktail in a Spam can, and the Fish House still offers his original If Can, Can ($18), made with a choice of base spirit alongside orange curacao, orgeat and fresh pineapple, lilikoi and lime juices. His riff on the classic tranquilizer ($18), using El Silencio mezcal and Giffard banana liqueur along with fresh kiwi, pineapple and lime, will change your attitude about mezcal if you haven’t been able to find a drink you like made with the stuff. The Run Home Jack ($18) is another eye-opener, introducing flavors of peach and papaya into the mix alongside Mount Gay’s Eclipse rum.
Hours: 3-10 p.m. daily; dinner service starts at 5 p.m.; 808ne.ws/minafishhouse.
