‘Tai’ one on at Bourbon’s Tiki Week

Mother Nature has been playing a mean game of hot and cold this winter. But that isn’t stopping downtown Columbia’s Bourbon from spreading a bit of tropical cheer.

The popular Main Street bar and restaurant is putting on its third annual Tiki Week celebration.

“I love cocktails, I love cocktail culture, and one of the aspects that’s never represented around here is Tiki. And when it is, it’s done horribly,” said Kristian Niemi, Bourbon’s owner. “So we just went all out.”

And by “all out” he means it. From now through Saturday, Feb. 4, you can drink in a little extra sunshine at the watering hole as it’s transformed into all things Tiki, complete with a thatched roof built over the bar, bamboo to cover the walls and hand-carved Tiki masks.

And as you would expect, everyone gets in on the themed fun. Staff members wear Hawaiian shirts. Even customers don tropical wear. Niemi said he’s even seen a few women show up in grass skirts.

A separate menu of drinks (and food) is cultivated each year for a two-week stretch. Prepare to sip on mai tais in the style of Trader Vic Bergeron; zombies called “the holy grail of Tiki cocktails,” modeled after Don the Beachcomber’s original version; and scorpions, another classic popularized by Bergeron, made with Copper Horse Bold Rum.

Then there are Bourbon’s original Tiki drinks like the Surfer Rosa, Banana Hammock and the Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.

“Tiki drinks are not the sickeningly sweet, garish cocktails that so many bartenders have rendered them to be,” said Niemi. “The true cocktails that were invented by Don and Vic were very well-balanced cocktails, so that’s what we try to do.”

Niemi takes his Tiki very seriously. In total, the menu is made up of 12 specialty drinks. Charleston-based Cannonborough Beverage Company will provide a soda on tap. Local brewery River Rat created a pineapple pale ale for the occasion.

So if you’re in the mood for a little local R&R, head over to Bourbon for a taste of island life and a reprieve from the weather, whatever it may be.

Tiki that, Mother Nature!

This story was originally published January 25, 2017 at 12:01 AM with the headline "‘Tai’ one on at Bourbon’s Tiki Week."