Forget about those ’70s-style umbrella drinks. Tiki cocktails are about so much more, says Olive or Twist co-owner Scott Gremillion.
There’s been a recent national resurgence of the craft tiki cocktail, which combines syrups, juices, unusual fruits and multiple base spirits. The drinks are often served in coconuts, pineapples or tropical glassware shaped like Hawaiian gods or flowers.
Olive or Twist helped bring that trend to Baton Rouge with a tiki section added to its menu last fall. The six drinks call for at least seven ingredients each, blending items like papaya juice, pear-habañero syrup, shrubs, cream of coconut and ginger beer. While all the drinks contain rum, several of them also throw in tequila or vodka. For comparison, Gremillion points out that classic cocktails such as margaritas and daiquiris typically contain only 3-4 ingredients.
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“You’re really only limited by your imagination with tiki,” he says.
Despite containing so much alcohol, the drinks go down easy. The Venezui Nui cocktail mixes two types of rum, Velvet Falernum liqueur, cloves, pear-habañero syrup, and orange, lime, papaya and pomegranate juices. Nine ingredients, and you can barely taste the rum. The drink tastes more like a high-quality fruit punch.
When crafting the tiki menu, the Olive or Twist team drew inspiration from bars such as Latitude 29 in New Orleans and Three Dots and a Dash in Chicago, which Gremillion says have been instrumental in keeping old tiki recipes alive.
While he stresses that Olive or Twist will never be a tiki bar, he’s proud of the unique element the tropical cocktails have added to the menu. Ultimately, he says the beverages just make going out more fun.
“If by sitting there drinking a tiki cocktail you feel like you’re on a mini vacation of sorts,” he says, “then we’ve all accomplished our mission.”
Other Baton Rouge tiki drinks to try:
Beausoleil Restaurant & Bar serves tiki cocktails in wild, tropical glassware, too. Try the Zombie, which includes several different rums, absinthe, lime juice, bitters and Falernum.
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The Cove has nearly 10 tiki-inspired cocktails hidden in its novel-sized menu. Some of the drinks’ origins date back all the way to the 1920s.
Have you found other tiki drinks in Baton Rouge? Let us know about them in the comments!
Welcome to summer with 225 Dine. Our Summer Sippin’ series explores some of the Capital Region’s most refreshing drinks, from lemonade to cocktails to smoothies. Follow along with us each week to discover a different local beverage.