![LA Speakeasy Tiki Mugs](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/LA_Speakeasy_Tiki_Mugs.jpg)
A tiki mug is a large ceramic
cocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely across ...
drinking vessel that originated in
tiki bar
A tiki bar is a themed drinking establishment that serves elaborate cocktails, especially rum-based mixed drinks such as the Mai Tai and Zombie cocktails. Tiki bars are aesthetically defined by their tiki culture décor which is based upon a rom ...
s and tropical-themed restaurants. The term "
tiki
In Māori mythology, Tiki is the first man created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne. He found the first woman, Marikoriko, in a pond; she seduced him and he became the father of Hine-kau-ataata. By extension, a tiki is a large or small wooden ...
mug" is a blanket term for the sculptural drinkware even though they vary in size and most do not contain handles. They typically depict Polynesian, mock-Polynesian, tropical, nautical, or retro themes, and as the term is used generically do not always emulate a tiki. When used to serve drinks they are frequently garnished with fruit or decorative drink umbrellas and
swizzle stick
A swizzle stick is a small stick used to stir drinks. The original swizzle sticks were created in the 18th century at a rum plantation in the West Indies using the branch of the ''Quararibea turbinata'' (also known as the "Swizzle stick tree"). ...
s.
Outside of tiki enthusiasts, the mugs are not commonly seen in use beyond tiki bars and restaurants, but some collect them as examples of
kitsch
Kitsch ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as naïve imitation, overly-eccentric, gratuitous, or of banal taste.
The avant-garde opposed kitsch as melodramatic and superficial affiliation with ...
.
History
![Tiki4](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Tiki4.jpg)
What many would consider to be the earliest US "tiki mugs" were ceramics in the shape of a skull or an ordinary ceramic vessel with a hula girl-related motif. Mugs meant to emulate a
tiki
In Māori mythology, Tiki is the first man created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne. He found the first woman, Marikoriko, in a pond; she seduced him and he became the father of Hine-kau-ataata. By extension, a tiki is a large or small wooden ...
carving, what some would consider to be a "true" tiki mug, did not come to the United States until the late 1950s.
A little-known antecedent (and the possible inspiration) of these earliest US tiki mugs and other later US tiki-motif tableware, is a range of mid-century modern ceramic ware from New Zealand, made by Crown Lynn. Designed by Harry Hargreaves, the Wharetana Ware range assimilated
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
design, including tikis, in a contemporary way and, alongside items such as tiki ashtrays and salt and pepper shakers, included a tiki mug named "Ruru and Weku". This tiki mug dates from 1949, making it the earliest-known tiki mug in the world.
Donn Beach
Donn Beach (born Ernest Raymond Gantt; February 22, 1907 – June 7, 1989) was an American adventurer, businessman, and World War II veteran who was the "founding father" of tiki culture. He is known for opening the first prototypical tiki bar, Don ...
, the father of Tiki, did not originally serve his drinks in ceramic vessels. An undated menu from his restaurant is labeled as "Don the Beachcomber's Delectable Thirty", which states "this souveneir menu is available at fifty cents". The thirty drinks on the menu are shown in elaborate shapes and sizes, but the vast majority are in glassware and none depict a tiki. Discounting their shapes, the most unusual aspects of the vessels were for those serving the Pi Yi and coconut rum cocktails, which were hollowed-out baby pineapples and green coconuts, respectively. An expanded drink menu from 1941 that listed sixty drinks used similar illustrations, none depicting a tiki but still displaying hollowed-out fruit.
Trader Vic's
Trader Vic's is a restaurant and tiki bar chain headquartered in Emeryville, California, United States. Victor Jules Bergeron, Jr. (December 10, 1902 in San Francisco – October 11, 1984 in Hillsborough, California) founded a chain of Polynesi ...
1947 ''Bartender's Guide'' contains two pages of illustrations for the barware to be used with specific drinks.
It displays 30 different vessels, and as with Beach's menu the vast majority are glassware. Four of them are ceramic, however: a ceramic skull mug (for
hot buttered rum
Hot buttered rum is a mixed drink containing rum, butter, hot water or cider, a sweetener, and various spices (usually cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves). It is especially popular in the fall and winter and is traditionally associated with the holiday ...
and Coffee Grog), and a
scorpion bowl
A Scorpion Bowl is a communally shared alcoholic tiki drink served in a large ceramic bowl traditionally decorated with wahine or hula-girl island scenes and meant to be drunk through long straws. Bowl shapes and decorations can vary considerably. ...
, kava bowl, and a tall
Fog Cutter
The Fog Cutter is a vintage tiki cocktail frequently attributed to being invented by Victor Bergeron that calls for a mixture of several liquors (rum, brandy, gin), the juice of lemon and oranges, orgeat syrup, and cream sherry. It is high in ...
mug all depicting islands scenes with native women. As the use of ceramic mugs started to expand many remained fairly basic, such as plain ceramic coconut shells or miniature rum barrels, but mugs became more stylized and some began to bear the name of the tiki bar that served them.
Those in the shape of Easter Island statues (
moai
Moai or moʻai ( ; es, moái; rap, moʻai, , statue) are monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people on Easter Island, Rapa Nui in eastern Polynesia between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main mo ...
) are among the most common, fueled in large part by the popularity of
Thor Heyerdahl
Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer with a background in zoology, botany and geography.
Heyerdahl is notable for his ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition in 1947, in which he sailed 8,000&nb ...
's 1947
Kon-Tiki expedition
The ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition was a 1947 journey by raft across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands, led by Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl. The raft was named ''Kon-Tiki'' after the Inca god Viracocha, for ...
and 1957
Aku-Aku
''Aku-Aku: the Secret of Easter Island'' is a 1957 book by Thor HeyerdahlThor Heyerdahl, ''Aku-Aku: The Secret of Easter Island'', / 9780345238412 / 0-345-23841-9. Hardcover published July 1, 1958 by Rand McNally & Co.; Paperback published 19 ...
novel.
Steven Crane is largely credited with making "
real tiki" carvings a major design theme in south seas inspired restaurants. The origin of who created and what was the first true tiki-shaped mug is frequently debated and has not been decided.
While some tiki mugs were meant to be close to accurate renditions of actual tiki carvings, regardless of whether such tikis were Polynesian, many also were simply aesthetic estimations meant to evoke a tiki image to mainland American consumers who would not know the difference. Asian themed mugs grew in popularity as well, depicting monikers for drinks such as the Karate Punch or Sumo Flip. Some mugs also became eponymous with the drinks they were served with and vice versa (examples including the
Suffering Bastard,
scorpion bowl
A Scorpion Bowl is a communally shared alcoholic tiki drink served in a large ceramic bowl traditionally decorated with wahine or hula-girl island scenes and meant to be drunk through long straws. Bowl shapes and decorations can vary considerably. ...
, and Fu Manchu).
The 1960s saw the ceramic craft market, such as Holland Mold Inc., release tiki mug molds for the hobbyist to make and customize at home. Vintage mugs, whether made by a professional manufacturer or by hobbyists, were once found in abundance on the shelves of
junk shop
A junk shop is a retail outlet similar to a thrift store which sells mostly used goods at cheap prices. A low-quality antique shop may border on being a junk shop. Shoppers who frequent junk shops are often referred to as "junkers", "pickers", ...
s in the 1980s and 1990s but became a sought-after item for those who were responsible for the revival of interest from tiki's heyday. Such historical mugs were first systemically catalogued in 2003 by ''Duke Carter'' in a self-published book that was considered important to the renaissance of
tiki culture
Tiki culture is an American-originated art, music, and entertainment movement inspired by Polynesian, Melanesian and Micronesian cultures. Inspired by Oceanian art, influential cultures to Tiki culture include Australasia, Melanesia, Micrones ...
. Some tiki mugs have become quite valuable, with one estimation of a single mug's worth in 2019 for the ''Parksmith Fertility Goddess Decanter'' coming in at over $5,000.
Sizes
![Volcano drink](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Volcano_drink.jpg)
Although some mugs can be quite big, larger vessels are required for drinks meant to be shared. A
scorpion bowl
A Scorpion Bowl is a communally shared alcoholic tiki drink served in a large ceramic bowl traditionally decorated with wahine or hula-girl island scenes and meant to be drunk through long straws. Bowl shapes and decorations can vary considerably. ...
(also known as a kava bowl or tarantula bowl) is an oversized ceramic bowl meant for communal drinking through straws. A variation is the flaming
volcano bowl
Volcano bowls are ceramic drinkware originally associated with mid-20th century American tiki bars and tropical-themed restaurants. Drinks served in volcano bowls are typically rum-based, mixed with tropical fruit juices and other liquors such as ...
, which has a raised crater reservoir. This reservoir is typically filled with a small amount of
overproof rum (151 or 160) and carefully lit on fire.
Large shells or their ceramic counterparts are also sometimes used for communal drinks, such as in the
Chin Tiki Special. The
Mr. Bali Hai
Mr. Bali Hai is a tiki drink served in a special mug at the Bali Hai restaurant on Shelter Island in San Diego, California. The drink has had different recipes over the years, but a prominent version from the 1970s calls for 1 1/2 oz of dark Ja ...
mug comes with a lid that has two holes in it for multiple straws and sharing.
Manufacturers
Though hobbyists and ceramic artists, in a small capacity, have continued to make these mugs at home, larger manufacturers have mass-produced restaurant and bar promotional souvenirs. The two largest mass producers were Orchids of Hawaii and the Otagriri Mercantile Company (OMC). Other smaller manufacturers included Daga and Westwood, with most made in either Japan or Taiwan. While some were marked with manufacturers' stickers or etched with mold numbers, many were blank and were designs stolen from competitors. Some vintage knock-off mugs were of poor quality, while others were as crisp as the originals. There is speculation that in some cases the same manufacturer may have sold the same mug under two different company names.
![Tiki7](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Tiki7.jpg)
The "tiki revival" of the 1990s and then 2008 onwards saw both the new production of historical styled mugs as well as variations that would have in the past seemed potentially out of place in traditional tiki bars due to advancements in glazing and other ceramic technologies. Custom tiki mugs started to be made as an advertising tool for use outside of establishments that would be considered strictly as tiki bars. Examples included a mug for the podcast ''
Tiki Bar TV
''Tiki Bar TV'' was a web series distributed in the pioneering field of video podcasting or "vodcast." Each episode features a problem that is rectified by the episode's namesake cocktail, which is scribbled on a prescription pad by ''Dr. Tiki'' ...
'', as well as a complete set of ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
''-themed tiki mugs.
21st-century variations
While the main Polynesian and nautical themes for traditional tiki mugs still remain, newer tiki mugs continue to stray much further from the standard formula that was used by Orchids of Hawaii and OMC.
Mugs depicting actual people or characters such as
Don Ho
Donald Tai Loy Ho (August 13, 1930 – April 14, 2007) was a Hawaiian traditional pop musician, singer and entertainer. He is best known for the song "Tiny Bubbles" from the album of the same name.
Life and career
Ho was a singer of Native ...
,
Jeff "Beachbum" Berry,
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
, Sven Kirsten, Donn the Beachcomber, and
Magnum P.I.
''Magnum, P.I.'' is an American crime drama television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator (P.I.) living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from December 11, 1980 to May 8, 1988 during its first-run broadcast on th ...
started to be produced.
Tiki's historical basis with drinks such as the
Zombie
A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...
and
Corpse Reviver, along with the use of early skull-shaped and shrunken-head mugs, became a catalyst for more overt "monster"-themed mugs.
In a similar fashion, Tiki's link to
Atomic cocktails and drinks such as the
Test Pilot
A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...
, Astronaut and Space Needle eventually led to mugs in the shape of rocket ships and early science fiction robots with names such as "Tron the Beachcomber".
As aspects of
tiki culture
Tiki culture is an American-originated art, music, and entertainment movement inspired by Polynesian, Melanesian and Micronesian cultures. Inspired by Oceanian art, influential cultures to Tiki culture include Australasia, Melanesia, Micrones ...
became more mainstream, virtually any uniquely styled ceramic mug began being labeled as a "tiki" mug, which saw some pushback among purists.
Gallery
File:Tiki mug from the Purple Orchid Exotic Tiki Lounge.jpg
File:Tiki6.jpg
File:The King And All Of His Men.png
File:Tiki3.jpg
File:Tiki5.jpg
File:Tiki Mug Bamboo Ben.jpg
File:Tikinator Tiki Mug.jpg
File:Tiki2.jpg
See also
*
List of glassware
upTypical drinkware
The list of glassware includes drinking vessels (drinkware) and tableware used to set a table for eating a meal, general glass items such as vases, and glasses used in the catering industry. It does not include laboratory glass ...
*
Exoticism
Exoticism (from "exotic") is a trend in European art and design, whereby artists became fascinated with ideas and styles from distant regions and drew inspiration from them. This often involved surrounding foreign cultures with mystique and fantas ...
*
Tiki culture
Tiki culture is an American-originated art, music, and entertainment movement inspired by Polynesian, Melanesian and Micronesian cultures. Inspired by Oceanian art, influential cultures to Tiki culture include Australasia, Melanesia, Micrones ...
*
Tiki bar
A tiki bar is a themed drinking establishment that serves elaborate cocktails, especially rum-based mixed drinks such as the Mai Tai and Zombie cocktails. Tiki bars are aesthetically defined by their tiki culture décor which is based upon a rom ...
References
Further reading
*
*
*
{{Authority control
Products introduced in 1949
Drinkware
Tiki culture
Moai