Don the Beachcomber

Don the Beachcomber was the original “tiki bar” that started a craze that continues today. Opened in 1933 by Ernest Beaumont-Gantt in Hollywood, California, the initial bar was called Don’s Beachcomber. It was an instant success and became the preferred watering hole for many movie stars, such as Charlie Chaplin and Marlene Dietrich.

The following year, Gantt opened the larger Don the Beachcomber restaurant across the street. It served Cantonese food and the list of tropical drinks multiplied. Of the many cocktails first concocted at Don the Beachcomber, probably the most famous was the Zombie. The lethal drink was served to thousands of people at the 1939 New York World's Fair.

Gantt eventually had his name legally changed to Donn Beach. Other Don the Beachcomber locations opened around the country, and hundreds if not thousands of imitators sprung up, the most famous being Trader Vic’s. The original Don the Beachcomber has since closed and the only remaining one is located at the Royal Kona Resort in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. A new one opened in Huntington Beach, California, in 2009.

A Few Don the Beachcomber Cocktail Recipes

• Chi Chi
• Demerara Dry Float
• Dons Own Planters
• Mai Tai
• Missionary's Downfall
• Mystery Gardenia
• Navy Grog
• Test Pilot
• Three Dots and a Dash
• West Indies Punch
• Zombie

External Links

• Don the Beachcomber - Critiki
• Don the Beachcomber cocktail books
• Don the Beachcomber, Huntington Beach, California
• Don the Beachcomber, Royal Kona Resort, Hawaii