Build a tiki bar that is right for you! In a tiki bar, the right ingredients are like the perfect island soundtrack – they set the mood and make the whole experience. Tropical fruits and rums bring warmth. Flavors and sweeteners – falernum, allspice dram, and orgeat – bring in depth, transporting you straight to paradise.
The Structure of a Tiki Cocktail
When you build a tiki bar, it is important to know how and why. Almost every tiki cocktail has at least three main ingredients:
- Alcohol
- Citrus
- Flavors & Sweeteners
Additions and garnishes may add additional complexity to every cocktail.
This is the challenge with tiki cocktails. They can be demanding! When reading a recipe, it may call for a specific, hard to find rum, fresh juice, unique mixer and more. It can feel overwhelming.
Casual Tiki is making tiki cocktails easy for anyone.
Build A Tiki Bar Easily
Casual Tiki has organized cocktails and every ingredient into Tiki Bar Tiers so anyone can easily build their bar and know which tiki drinks they can make. Each tier adds additional ingredients you need to expand your bar and increase the number of cocktails you can make. Casual Tiki offers 75 recipes available using the Casual Tiki model.
- Base Base: 6 Cocktails Available – The Base Bar is the bar everyone that enjoys a cocktail should have. Casual Tiki uses the All Recipes: All the Bar Essentials You Need To Build a Well-Stocked Home Bar.
- Tier 1: 47 Cocktails Available – The starter tiki tier uses the ultimate tiki cocktail as a guide: the Mai Tai.
- Tier 2: 60 Cocktails Available – Upgrade your bar and expand your menu.
- Tier 3: 86 Cocktails Available – Further expand your capabilities and tiki library.
- Tier 4+: 102 Cocktails Available – The most advanced tier is a bit deceiving. Many of these cocktails will use a Martinique style of rum. Others require specific and uncommon ingredients.
These tiers break down each core ingredient category to help you create your ideal bar:
There is also a guide to the bar tools you may need.
Please know that garnishes are not taken into account when cocktails are placed in tier bars, since they are optional. Essential garnishes are placed in Additions.
Alcohol
The most important aspect of every tiki cocktail is the alcohol. While the most commonly known tiki drinks are made with rum, that is not always the case. Tiki cocktails may include tequila, vodka, gin, bourbon and more.
Rum is one of the key ingredients in many of them, but the variations between rums is significant. Easily classifying rum can be complicated. Casual Tiki uses Minimalist Tiki’s Six Essential Tiki Rum Categories to simplify recipes.
Further, we make recommendations based on recipes, recommendations from r/Tiki, and our own personal preferences.
| Alcohol | Base Bar | Tiki Tier 1 | Tiki Tier 2 | Tiki Tier 3 | Tiki Tier 4+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London Dry Gin | Any | Any | Any | Any | Any |
| Tequila | Any | Any | Any | Any | Any |
| Bourbon | Any | Any | Any | Any | Any |
| Vodka | Any | Any | Any | Any | Any |
| Lightly Aged/Filtered Rum (White) | Any | Cruzan Aged Light Rum | El Dorado 3 | Banks 5 Island | Flor de Caña 4 Extra Seco |
| Moderately Aged Rum (Gold, Black) | Any | Bacardi Gold | Gosling’s Black Seal | Chairman’s Reserve Original | Mount Gay XO |
| Aged Jamaican Rum | Coruba Dark | Worthy Park 109 | Smith & Cross | Plantation Xaymaca | |
| Overproof Demerara Rum | Hamilton Overproof 151 | Lemon Hart 151 | Lamb’s Navy 151 | ||
| Aged Demerara Rum | El Dorado 5 Year | Lemon Hart 1804 | |||
| Aged Agricole Rum | Clement VSOP |
Shopping Lists: Base Bar | Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | Tier 4+
If you are looking for more guidance, here are some helpful tools:
- Casual Tiki’s Find A Tiki Cocktail will match your bar level with drinks you can make.
- Casual Tiki’s Common Tiki Cocktail Ingredients.
- Minimalist Tiki’s Rum Categorization List to identify traditional tiki rums.
- Minimalist Tiki’s Rum Flowchart to identify other rums not on the list.
Citrus
Every Casual Tiki recipe uses some type of citrus. While the majority of the time it calls for juice, Casual Tiki places some citrus-based liqueurs in this category.
| Citrus | Base Bar | Tiki Tier 1 | Tiki Tier 2 | Tiki Tier 3 | Tiki Tier 4+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lemon Juice | Any | Any | Home Squeezed | Home Squeezed | Home Squeezed |
| Lime Juice | Any | Any | Home Squeezed | Home Squeezed | Home Squeezed |
| Orange Juice | Any | Any | Any | Home Squeezed | Home Squeezed |
| Orange Liqueur | Any | Dry Curacao Pierre Ferrand | Triple Sec | Cointreau | Campari |
| Pineapple Juice | Any | Any | Any | Home Squeezed | |
| Apricot Liqueur | Giffard Abricot Du Roussillon Lique | ||||
| Grapefruit Juice | Any | Any | Home Squeezed |
Shopping Lists: Base Bar | Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | Tier 4+
Casual Tiki’s Find A Tiki Cocktail will match your bar level with drinks you can make.
Casual Tiki’s Common Tiki Cocktail Ingredients may assist in understanding ingredients.
Flavors & Sweeteners
Flavors & Sweeteners is the third component in almost every tiki cocktail. Only two cocktails in the Casual Tiki database do not include any flavors or sweeteners.
| Flavors & Sweeteners | Base Bar | Tiki Tier 1 | Tiki Tier 2 | Tiki Tier 3 | Tiki Tier 4+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grenadine | Any | Any | Any | Any | Any |
| Simple Syrup | Any | Any | Any | Any | Any |
| Coffee Liqueur | Any | Any | Any | Any | Any |
| Coconut Cream | Any | Any | Any | Any | |
| Orgeat | Any | Any | Any | Any | |
| Demerara Syrup | Any | Any | Any | Any | |
| Passionfruit Syrup | Any | Any | Any | Any | |
| Honey Syrup | Any | Any | Any | ||
| Blue Curaçao | Any | Any | Any | ||
| Falernum/Allspice Dram | Any | Any | |||
| Cinnamon Syrup | Any | Any | |||
| Cherry Liqueur | Maraschino Liqueur | Cherry Herring | |||
| Donn’s Mix Syrup | Any | ||||
| Vanilla Syrup | Any | ||||
| Benedictine | Any | ||||
| Blackberry Brandy | Any | ||||
| Banana Liqueur | Any |
Shopping Lists: Base Bar | Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | Tier 4+
Casual Tiki’s Find A Tiki Cocktail will match your bar level with drinks you can make.
Casual Tiki’s Common Tiki Cocktail Ingredients may assist in understanding ingredients.
Additions
Cocktail additions can be almost anything that is not a citrus, flavor nor sweetener. However, categorizing each of these is difficult, and others may feel an addition may be better organized elsewhere.
| Additions | Base Bar | Tiki Tier 1 | Tiki Tier 2 | Tiki Tier 3 | Tiki Tier 4+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ginger Beer | Any | Any | Any | Any | Any |
| Club Soda/Soda Water | Any | Any | Any | Any | Any |
| Egg White | Any | Any | Any | Any | Any |
| Nutmeg | Any | Any | Any | Any | Any |
| Angostura Bitters | Any | Any | Any | Any | Any |
| Mint Leaves | Any | Any | Any | Any | Any |
| Brandy/Cognac | Any | Any | Any | ||
| Herbsaint/Pernod/Absinthe | Any | Any | |||
| Bittermens Mole Bitters | Any | ||||
| Sherry Wine | Any |
Shopping Lists: Base Bar | Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | Tier 4+
Casual Tiki’s Find A Tiki Cocktail will match your bar level with drinks you can make.
Casual Tiki’s Common Tiki Cocktail Ingredients may assist in understanding ingredients.
Garnishes
Garnishes may not be essential to a cocktail, but they sure are fun! Recognizing that garnishes may be excluded (or swapped for other options), Casual Tiki includes essential garnishes or inclusions in Additions. Mint and nutmeg, as examples, are listed in both categories.
| Garnishes | Base Bar | Tiki Tier 1 | Tiki Tier 2 | Tiki Tier 3 | Tiki Tier 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cherry | Any | Any | Any | Any | Any |
| Cinnamon Stick | Any | Any | Any | Any | Any |
| Nutmeg | Any | Any | Any | Any | Any |
| Mint Sprig | Any | Any | Any | Any | Any |
| Lime Wheel/Wedge/Twist | Any | Any | Any | Any | |
| Orange Wheel/Wedge/Twist | Any | Any | Any | Any | |
| Umbrella | Any | Any | Any | Any | |
| Pineapple Wedge | Any | Any | Any | ||
| Flowers | Any | Any | |||
| Banana Chips/Slice | Any | Any |
Shopping Lists: Base Bar | Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | Tier 4+
Casual Tiki’s Find A Tiki Cocktail will match your bar level with drinks you can make.
Bar Tools & Hardware
Bar tools and hardware are essential aspects of any bar, especially for tiki drinks. There are a number of necessary items, many of them likely already in your collection, as most are common bar tools.
Basic tools you’ll need:
- Jigger
- Shaker
- Strainer
- Mixing Glass
- Stirring Spoon
- Cutting Board
- Paring Knife
- Peeler
- Blender
Juicer
Citrus is obviously a key ingredient in most tiki cocktails. While you can use store bought juices, most tiki aficionado’s (and regular bartenders) only use fresh squeezed juice. This is easier said than done for many juices. Lemon and lime juice are relatively simple, but getting enough orange juice is more work. Pressing fresh pineapple or passion fruit juice is another story.
Here are a few options for juicers depending on how far you want to go:
Electric Juice Press
An electric juicer is the fastest, easiest and more economical way (after the initial purchase). Pressing citrus with a machine will give you more juice and faster.
Small Electric Juicer
A small juicer is another option. You’ll be able to use it for lemons, limes and oranges – but anything larger is going to be difficult.
Manual Juicer
A pull down juicer, handheld juicer or countertop juicer is the most affordable option. It is going to take a lot of squeezing and pressing to get what you’ll need – but it will work.
Keep in mind that fresh juice will only last so long. While some may freeze juice after they make a lot, it still makes it difficult to enjoy a fresh tiki cocktail on a regular basis. I won’t like, I regularly use store-bought juice for my drinks.
Ice
A significant aspect of tiki is ice. Most tiki drinks require crushed or pebble ice. This isn’t something that most bars already have, but there are many ways to make it.
Ice Machine
The most expensive option is an ice maker. I own the GE Profile Opal 2.0 and absolutely love it. But, it may be out of the budget for beginners.
Crank Ice Crusher
A much more cost effective method is a manual crank machine that will crush cubes.
Mallet & Ice Crushing Bag
An even more manual method is a bag that holds ice while someone hits it with a mallet. This method is still popular among mixologists.
Nugget Ice Tray
The last is a nugget ice tray. This may seem like the easiest method, but please know that most tiki cocktails require a lot of ice.