Happy National Rum Day!: 5 Great Rum Cocktails At 5 Great L.A. Bars

Ray's Mistake at Tiki-Ti

There can only be one Best Rum Bar in Los Angeles, and it's Tiki-Ti. Basically, it's as simple as that. Because while Cuban-themed high-end speakeasies and Caribbean-style gourmet lounges are all well and good (and we mean that, both those places are high on our lists), for the experience of drinking rum cocktails in America, the old-fashioned tiki bar is king. And Tiki-Ti, a family-owned hole in the wall that's been bumping since the Kennedy administration, isn't just one of L.A.'s best hidden-gem bars, it's one of L.A.'s greatest landmarks, period. Even the details that might annoy snootier bar patrons– the miniscule bar space (it seriously fits about 30 people), the "I can't believe you can do that" indoor smoking (as an owner-operated bar with technically no employees, it exploits a crazy loophole), the "erratic" hours of operation– all stand as wonderfully unique eccentricities in an era where most bars are dominated by the cover-our-asses policies of the corporate ownership group. We'd tell you to simply spin their famous drink wheel to determine your beverage, but if you insist on choosing something specific, their house specialty, called Ray's Mistake, is a top secret blend of syrups, botanicals, passion fruit and a dark rum float. You'll be floating out the door after three. Tiki-Ti, 4427 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, (323) 669-9381 [via]