Cheeky Tiki: Top Ten Tiki Mug Backsides
How many tiki mugs spend a majority of their existence sitting upon a collector’s shelves? Sure, there are occasional mug enthusiasts who journey into the world carrying with them ceramic cocktail vessels, but those endangered species are few and far apart. Sadly, the world of the tiki mug is spent mostly inside a bookshelf and behind glass doors.
When a collector receives a new mug in the mail they inspect it thoroughly… checking the piece over for chips, cracks, and little pinholes where air bubbles in the glaze burned off in the kiln. The vast majority of tiki mugs get used once or twice and are then stashed away in a case somewhere. Since most mugs are displayed in collections with their front sides out, this brief inspection period may be the only time in a tiki mug’s life when its backside sees the light of day. The rest of the time the tiki bum is relegated to the back of the bookshelf where, one could point out, the sun does not shine.
The disparity of viewership between the front and back of tiki mugs is exacerbated by the empty spaces sometimes intentionally left blank on the reverse side of a mug, so that commercial bars around-the-world can add their logos. These blank spaces can become wonderful mementos of a person’s travels… but they can also become an excuse to only half render a mug. Perish the thought! This deprives the discerning tiki mug connoisseur of one of the supreme joys of tiki mug collection: the appreciation of the sculpted tiki derrière!
This is, in part, why I deemed an article focusing on the backside of mugs as necessary. I want to highlight a few works from folks who focus on the little things… creating the details that most people won’t see (or in some cases, may actively avoid.) But no, not here! We celebrate tiki craftsmanship in all its forms, including that of the drawing, modeling, sculpting, firing, glazing, shipping, and display of the tiki rear. These artists are the unsung heroes of tiki mug production. With that thought, I present to you my nominations for the world’s Top Ten Tiki Mug Backsides:
#10: Bruddah Opihi Tiki Mug From Beachbumz
Starting off our list at #10 is TikiPop’s Bruddah Opihi mug. TikiPop is a Maui-based ceramics artist that sells tropical wares both online and through his Beachbumz storefront. He has created many mugs that would be worthy contenders on this list, but his overall best backside belongs to Bruddah Opihi. Just look at the size of those cheeks! Bruddah Opihi is one of the safest tiki mugs to bring with you to a cocktail bar… his heavy-set bottom forms a very stable base. We wouldn’t blame you for thinking Bruddah Opihi belongs higher on this list… we are second guessing the decision ourselves!
#9: Tambu Mug By Tiki Diablo (Kon-Tiki Ports Edition)
Based out of Los Angeles, Tiki Diablo is a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to tropical escapism. He builds bars, carves tikis, and produces limited edition cocktail mugs in the United States. As it turns out, he is pretty adept at sculpting booties as well. Coming in at number nine on our list is Tiki Diablo’s Tambu Mug. Our favorite glaze is the Kon-Tiki Ports edition, but the booty remains more-or-less the same from one version to another.
Tambu’s derriére is more than sufficiently wide, adding significant carrying capacity to the volume of this mug. Urban legend would have you believe each of Tambu’s cheeks add an additional 1 oz. of storage. Designated drivers may want to think twice before bringing Tambu to their local drinking establishment and opt for a mug that is less well-endowed.
#8: Tap Tap Mug By Lost Temple Traders
Tap Tap from Lost Temple Traders is inspired by abandoned concept art for a walkaround character in Walt Disney’s The Enchanted Tiki Room. Looking at Tap Tap’s behind, it is hard to imagine any reason why an Imagineer would table the design. In our opinion, Tap Tap wipes out the tiki competition faster than a roll of Charmin Ultra. It has a backside that is both youthful and rotund and a glaze that enhances the mug’s sculpt. Munktiki Imports’ black wipe provides a separation of cheeks more defined than the United States’ separation of church and state. Congress should take notes. Well done, Lost Temple Traders. Well done!
#7: 2013 Coral Reef Mug By Wendy Cevola
Not all mugs are sculpted from memory. This may have been the case for this tiki mug made for the 2013 Sacramento Tiki Crawl event and designed in tribute to the Coral Reef Restaurant. Legend has it that master mug maker Wendy Cevola’s very own husband Dan was the model for this tiki mug’s rumpus. Well, Dan, congratulations! Your buttocks have officially been recorded in history as some of the world’s top ten tiki seats! We’re a sucker for a classic tiki mug… and the symmetry present here is truly a masterwork. Sacramento should be proud to be the lower back tattoo on this one.
#6: Tiki Tony's Tangaroa Tiki Babies (2nd Edition)
Number six on our list of all-time booties is Tiki Tony’s Tangaroa Tiki Babies. This mug serves as an important reminder that sometimes less isn’t more. Why have just one tiki butt, when you can have two? This mug packs twice the punch of your typical cocktail mug and it will have you seeing double before you imbibe a single drop of alcohol. Do we need to repeat ourselves here? Two booties are better than one!
#5: BigToe's Lava Letch Tiki Mug
In this day and age when everything on Instagram has been touched up in Photoshop, it is refreshing to see a more realistic spin on the ol’ tiki skin! Tom “BigToe” Laura delivers here with a fresh take on what some real-world tiki flesh looks like. Plus, this Lava Letch mug was released at one of our all-time favorite tiki bars in Las Vegas… the one and only Frankie’s Tiki Room! The mug has been released in a variety of editions over the years… including some hand painted versions by the legendary Toe himself. Ooh la la!
#4: Four Eyed Frankie From Frankie's Tiki Room
Would it really be a “Top Ten” list of anything tiki-related without at least one mention of the artist SHAG? Four Eyed Frankie is another mug from local Las Vegas haunt Frankie’s Tiki Room and it was manufactured by John Mulder and his team at Eekum Bookum. Unlike the more realistic interpretation of the tiki buttocks outlined above, this tiki has a more postmodern bum. The typical tiki cheeks are replaced with an upside-down heart, the kind you would see on a traditional deck of playing cards. Is there a metaphor here? Could this mug represent the kind of gambling and sex that form the beating pulse of Las Vegas? I don’t think many would disagree with us. Four Eyed Frankie has the fourth best tiki backside of all-time.
#3: Tiki Diablo's Ngero Mohoao From TikiCat
Just the mere mention of “TikiCat” has us crying. The Kansas City joint did not last long, shuttering its doors just a short while after opening… but the legend lives on! People still talk about the amazing bar that used to be. Fortunately for us tiki collectors, we have another mug by Tiki Diablo to help us wipe away the tears. Ngero Mohoao made it into our top three Cheeky Tikis of all time with its wide-set derrière. While many traditional tiki mugs have just one line to separate cheeks, this mug needed two. The result of the “V” shaped indentation are two perfectly plump spheres that form a wide base for easy handling and plentiful cocktail consumption. In honor of TikiCat we say, “bottoms up!”
#2: Kuhiko (Sunken Ku) Tiki Mug From Smuggler's Cove
Smuggler’s Cove, a San Francisco drinking establishment, sells one of the most famous tiki mugs of all-time. The mug is easily recognizable from its appearance on the cover of Martin Cate’s cocktail recipe book, which shares the same name as Cate’s bar. As if that wasn’t enough, Kuhiko (Sunken Ku) was designed by Crazy Al, one of the world’s greatest tiki carvers (in both wood and clay).
Sadly, the backside of Kuhiko is not as well-known as its face. History should right this wrong! If it were up to us (it isn’t), we would insist any future Smuggler’s Cove cocktail recipe books be released with the backside of Kuhiko positioned prominently on their covers. Let’s give that booty the fame it deserves!
Kuhiko’s cheeks may have spent a decade under the sea, but they remain as perky as ever. If you’re still not sold, just ask yourself one question. Has any other mug made you jealous of being a barnacle? I didn’t think so!
#1: Crazy Al's Māori Hei Tiki Mug
Here it is folks… the number one greatest Cheeky Tiki of all time! When making this list, there really was no question which cocktail mug deserved to take the number one spot. Crazy Al’s Māori Hei Tiki Mug has the largest, widest, most intricate tiki buttocks in the history of mug making. No other mug even comes close. It is one of the more traditional mugs on our list and is inspired by real art of the Māori people. It serves as a reminder to us that throughout history the human race has always admired and been enchanted by the body. “Art is an imitation of life,” as they say.
So what do you think of our list? Do you agree with our choices, or did we leave out your favorite tiki buttocks? Should we write more tongue-in-cheek articles like this one? We would love to hear your opinion in the comments below. If you enjoyed this content, please consider subscribing to our digital newsletter. We do have a Patreon as well, but please do not subscribe to it for more content like this… it is not that kind of Patreon!
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