Bringing tiki back: 10 best bars to order umbrella drinks
Tiki bars may be fun, but traditionally haven’t served great drinks. That’s changing as the craft cocktail culture moves into the thatch and bamboo world of tiki-land. “You’re getting a good drink along with a lot of fun and décor,” says Niki Ganong, author of The Field Guide to Drinking in America: A Traveler’s Guide to State Liquor Laws (Overcup Press, $19.99) “They generally all have competent mixologists behind these colorful concoctions.” The spirits writer shares some favorite Polynesian-themed bars with Larry Bleiberg for USA Today.
Three Dots and a Dash
Chicago
This underground bar, whose name comes from a cocktail and the Morse code for “V” for “victory,” celebrates the early days of tiki with drinks like the Zombie Punch, a beverage for three or four that’s served in a skull mug that wafts off dry-ice smoke. “The bar itself is sophisticated, small and exclusive,” Ganong says. 312-610-4220;threedotschicago.com