Photos by Allyson Ferrara
At the newly opened Fuchsia Tiki Bar, found downstairs at Asian Fusion on Main Street in New Paltz, customers will feel like they’re a million miles away. The vibrant space offers specialty cocktail drinks made with rums from all over the world, a fun atmosphere with Polynesian flair, and small, shareable bites that complement the drink menu.
Developed in Los Angeles in 1933, the tiki bar concept flourished for about 30 years and then fell out of vogue. “Tiki is making a comeback for the first time in decades,” says Anton Kinloch, who developed the concept for Fuchsia Tiki Bar in partnership with Ada Xiao, owner of Asian Fusion.
Fueling the resurgence in popularity is the growing desire for craft cocktails made with fresh ingredients — like the ones that were the standard behind the original tiki bars — as opposed to drinks made with syrupy-sweet mixes. Kinloch, a Culinary Institute of America alum with more than 15 years of industry experience, spent months curating Fuchsia’s cocktail menu, “constantly creating and tweaking” the recipes.
High-quality rums set tiki drinks apart from most other cocktails. “We want people to start thinking of rum as a legitimate spirit, versus something that you simply mix with soda. Our cocktail menu elevates that idea and challenges our customers to think about rum in new, exciting, and delicious ways,” says Kinloch.
There are 12 tiki drinks to choose from — each served in their own unique glass — including an authentic Mai Tai, a Demerara Dry Float, and Three Dots and a Dash, made with rhum agricole, aged rum, allspice liqueur, velvet falernum, honey syrup, orange juice, lime juice, and a healthy dash of bitters. Groups can imbibe in one of the two oversized and shareable drinks including the “deadly” Scorpion Bowl.
“We’re excited to bring something new to the community,” says Xiao.
Open Wed–Fri, 5–10 p.m.; Sat, 5–11 p.m. 215 Main St., 845.332.2109
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