Craving a tropical getaway, sans flight? One of L.A.’s top cocktail teams can’t whisk you off to palm fronds, clear waters and white sands, but it can bring a bit of vacation vibes to you. The new Lost Parrot Tiki arrives at your home in a rolling pink and white truck, dropping off cocktails kits across Los Angeles as a summer-only pop-up with everything you need in one bag.
A collab between the beverage consultants at Cocktail Academy and South Pasadena’s Lost Parrot Café, Lost Parrot Tiki delivers pre-mixed cocktails with crushed ice, swizzle sticks, plastic tiki tumblers and colorful garnishes, and can scale up your order with a punch bowl and tropical shirts and hats. There’s even a corresponding tropical playlist compiled by the NoMad’s Matt Chavez to set the mood.
The format is quick and easy: Each Lost Parrot cooler bag includes the makings of four cocktails and runs $49.95—once it arrives, you put the ice in the cup, you add the drink from the bottle, you stir. There are six options to choose from, and many of the drinks themselves are a mix of old and new: The Lost Parrot Swizzle, for instance, swap’s out the iconic drink’s rum and adds mezcal for a smoky edge, while the bright purple Funky Polynesian combines classic tiki-drink ingredients such as rum, coconut and pineapple, then adds dragon fruit to the mix.
If you’re really itching for a vacation, the pop-up is set to add a few extras to the online shop soon, including a large-format Conch Punch—which naturally arrives in a festive punch bowl, at $69.99—plus tees, Hawaiian shirts, bottles of rum and ceramic tiki mugs.
Orders can be placed online, with that roaming pink and white truck stopping through neighborhoods by day of the week: Expect stops in the Valley and the likes of Silver Lake and Echo Park on “Tiki Tuesday”; Culver City, Venice and Santa Monica during “Fruity Friday”; and Mid-City, West Hollywood and Beverly Hills on “Silky Saturday.” The truck will make the rounds between noon and 5pm, with a notification system to let you know your order’s getting close. Of course, if you’re near South Pasadena and the Lost Parrot Café, you can order your kits for pickup from Thursday to Saturday and pick up the party in a bag—and a little tropical vacation in a glass—on the day of your choosing.
Lost Parrot Tiki delivers cocktail kits on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays all summer long; drinks are also available for pickup Thursday to Saturday at Lost Parrot Café, which is located at 1929 Huntington Dr in South Pasadena. Order online.