This month, all roads lead to rum. With its sweet essence, beachy aura and Caribbean roots, the spirit made from molasses or sugarcane is a quintessential summertime sipper. It’s also the most important ingredient in any tiki cocktail. And since LA is the birthplace of America’s first tiki bar (Don’s the Beachcomber in Hollywood est. 1933), we got in touch with a true appreciator of all things Tiki kitsch.
Joe Swifka shaking up a Tiki cocktail to remember. Image courtesy of Lanee Lee
Who better to ruminate on rum than with Joe Swifka, the Hawaiian shirt wearing, Scorpion Bowl slinging barkeep at Salt's Cure in Hollywood? Almost single-handedly re-igniting the Tiki trend in LA when he launched Tiki Tuesday at
La Descarga back in the day, Joe knows rum and how to mix it up Polynesian-style. Now running the Salt’s Cure cocktail program, his signature tropical tipples, like the Zombie (so potent you can only order two per person) and the Mai Tai, are back in action. Although Salt’s Cure isn’t a Tiki-themed bar like nearby
Tiki No or
Tonga Hut, you can still get a pink umbrella in your drink and learn a thing or two about Tiki culture in LA.
In honor of National Rum Day (and month), we asked Joe where he goes to drink like a pirate in Los Angeles. Away we go with Joe, yo, ho, ho and a bottle of rum!
Salt's Cure
Hollywood, $$
Joe Swifka: I'm not above shameless self promotion. But there are few better ways to kill an afternoon than with a Zombie Punch and a mess of grilled oysters on our patio. Oh, look, it’s 6 o’ clock! Ok, I'll have 6 more grilled oysters, the Capicollo, and the roast chicken. And a glass of Plantation Jamaican. Or three.
Zombie = limit two per guest. No joke. Image courtesy of @saltscure
Club Tee Gee
Atwater Village, $
JS: Their rum selection is crap, but I love this bar and will plug it any chance I get. Great dive bars are a dying breed these days. Strong drinks, nice bartenders, and an interior unchanged by time, yet surprisingly clean. Someone clearly gives a shit here.
Silverlake, $$
JS: What can I say? It's an institution.
On the beach
Anywhere in the World, $
JS: Ok, so this isn't a bar. But you said PLACES. Anyway, if you haven't polished off a bottle of rum on a sandy beach, you haven't done a very good job at this life thing. Go do it now.
Tis’ the month to swap that water for rum.
R Bar
Koreatown, $$
JS: Again, not the best rum selection in the world. But it feels like you're deep in the bowels of some abandoned ghost clipper. Dead men tell no tales…
Hot tip: Know the password for access. Image courtesy of R Bar LA
Tonga Hut
North Hollywood, $$
JS: Marie King and her staff have put in the good work of returning this once neighborhood dive to its previous Tiki glory. Solid cocktails, great tiki interior, and an extensive rum list for sipping.
LA’s oldest Tiki bar. Image courtesy of @tongahut
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Lanee Lee is the co-founder of VoyageVixens.com, an award-winning, female-centric travel blog. She also is a food, drink and travel writer for mags like Nat Geo Traveler, Rachael Ray and Robb Report. Follow her on Instagram @laneelee.
Featured image of Salt's Cure Chi Chi courtesy of Jenn Wong
