The
U.S. Bartender Guild's San Antonio chapter is official hosting its own celebration of all things tiki this week (the group had previously operated under Austin's USBG chapter while working towards chapterdom) from September 12 through 18.
Tiki cocktails — a remnant to tiki the pervasive tiki culture that took over the U.S. post WWII and later fizzled in the 1970s — aren't new to San Antonio. Javi Gutierrez first gave the trend a home at
The Brooklynite and now the rum-filled drinks can be found across greater San Antonio and downtown. And what's not to love about ultra-boozy, sweet cocktails made with fresh juices and amazing, funky garnishes? Well, a lot if you've listened to
this NPR article, but let's focus on cocktails, shall we?
Throw on your favorite Hawaiian shirt, throw on some coconuts, and check out the list of parties you can crash this week.
Monday, September 12: The official kick off party goes down at
Paramour where sponsors Appleton, Flor de Caña, and Ron Abuelo will be poured. If you tire of the city's skyline, party goers will have a chance to enjoy a river barge cruise.
8pm, 102 9th St., Suite 400.
Tuesday, September 13: A tiki blowout at the place that started it all for SA.
The Brooklynite will celebrate with drinks, food and music.
9pm, 516 Brooklyn Ave.
Wednesday, September 14: The Pearl will get in on the festivities as
Blue Box,
Jazz, TX,
Viva Tacoland,
Stay Golden Social House and
Sternewirth inside Hotel Emma all feature tiki drinks on their menus for the evening.
9pm-2am, at participating bars.
If you'd rather not stay out too late, Plantation Rum will host a happy hour from 5 to 6 p.m. inside Blue Box.
5-6pm, 312 Pearl Pkwy.
Thursday, September 15: The party extends north to
Park Social in Olmos Park for their weekly Tiki Thursday bash and the St. Mary's Strip where
TBA,
The Squeezebox and
Paper Tiger will all feature tiki cocktails on their menus. At
Rumble, bar manager Stephan Mendez and Jagermeister (which is making a serious comeback) will host a tiki soiree as well.
Friday, September 16: Not ones to bogart all the fun, Texas Tiki Week will spread even further north with tiki menus and specials at
Whiskey Cake,
George's Keep, and
The Green Lantern.
9pm-2am
, at participating bars.
Saturday, September 17: If you can't tiki until the weekend, Saturday night will feature a crawl of sorts through Southtown and Downtown with tiki cocktails at
Bohanan's Prime Steaks and Seafood,
The Esquire Tavern,
Juniper Tar,
The Last Word,
Haunt,
Frank,
Francis Bogside and
Hot Joy.
9pm-2am, at participating bars.
Sunday, September 18: Tiki can't last forever, so the USBG SA closing party will be held at
The Squeezebox, with sponsor Sugar Island Rum. King Pelican will close out the week's worth of pineapple-filled drinks with plenty of surf rock tunes.
9pm-midnight, 2806 N. St. Mary's St.
For more details visit
satikiweek.com.