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Since that fortuitous day I found Latitude 29 (and returning twice more on the same trip), I\u2019ve come to grasp the potent appeal of this subculture. First, the immersive setting is paramount. \u201cIdeally, when you walk into a tiki bar, it\u2019s like walking onto a movie set,\u201d says Garret Richard, who is the chief cocktail officer at Sunken Harbor Club and co-author of Tropical Standard<\/em><\/a>. This idea has been a key pillar since the very beginning. \u201cDonn famously hooked up a hose on the tin roof of his Hollywood location and would turn it on at night to trick his guests into thinking it was raining outside,\u201d Smuggler\u2019s Cove<\/a> owner Martin Cate tells me. Nearly a century later, this craving for escapism hasn\u2019t faded, with immersive experiences trending across industries. \u201cYou see bars designed like spaceships, train dining cars, or crashed airplanes; all of these places are trying to transport guests somewhere else,\u201d says Alex Lamb, director of the documentary The Donn of Tiki<\/em><\/a>. \u201cIn a lot of ways, that traces back to Donn Beach\u2019s original goal of giving people not just a drink, but an experience.\u201d<\/p>\n The cocktails themselves deserve their own dissertation. While many trendy tipples of our times rely on minimal ingredients, layering to achieve complexity is a hallmark of tiki cocktails. A return to fresh juices, homemade syrups, and evocative spices swirl together for cocktails that are both bold and balanced. (A recent drink order at Sunken Harbor Club combined a blend of Martinique rhum with wormwood amaro and falernum\u2014heaven!) And though rum is the focus of most tiki menus, other spirits are entering the conversation. \u201cContemporary recipes in today\u2019s neo-tiki bars use different base spirits,\u201d Berry explains, \u201ca lot more gin and whiskey, cachaca, pisco, tequila and mezcal, to keep up with modern tastes.\u201d<\/p>\n So what keeps me coming back? The thrill of being transported to another reality while sipping on something special, ultimately. It would be easy to write this notion of tiki off as kitsch, but upon examining the history and cultural context<\/a> of the genre, I\u2019m left eager to learn (and taste) more. Tiki\u2019s origins are rooted in colonialism and imperialism, but with this revival, the insensitive iconography is giving way to a reimagining of what an immersive experience can look like.<\/p>\n Below, a brief guide on where to order your next tropical cocktail.<\/p>\n 4427 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThe Tiki-Ti has been family-owned since 1961.\u00a0The house specialty is the Ray\u2019s Mistake, a secret recipe that regulars (myself included) have been trying to figure out for decades.\u00a0If you\u2019re not driving, try a Great White Shark, which has a bite like one.\u201d \u2014Jeff Berry<\/p>\n 100 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003<\/em><\/p>\n Billing itself as a \u201ctropical hellscape,\u201d this satanic tiki bar serves up tropical classics in a goth-inflected setting, complete with an eight-foot altar and bat taxidermy.<\/p>\n 650 Gough St, San Francisco, CA 94102<\/em><\/p>\n Named one of the World\u2019s 50 Best Bars, this San Francisco tiki destination feels like the belly of a pirate ship, complete with over 1,300 rums.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n