Garnishes

Cocktail Umbrella

A cocktail umbrella is a small paper parasol on a toothpick-style stick, set on a tropical drink as decoration; it adds no flavour and is not eaten. Harry Yee, a bartender at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, said he put the first one in a Tapa Punch in 1959, though other accounts trace the look to the California tiki bars. Add it just before serving, angled off the rim.

Quick Facts

Our keeping timeIndefinite, kept dry.

Storage

Dry and sealed until use; damp softens the paper and makes the colours run.

The ingredient

About Cocktail Umbrella

Paper, a stick and nothing to taste

The umbrella is a paper or card canopy on a pointed stick, sometimes with plastic parts. It brings no flavour, no aroma and no chill, and nobody eats it. Its job is to look the part on a drink that is already tropical, which is why it has no house recipe and no keeping time beyond staying dry. Bought in boxes of dozens, folded shut, they last indefinitely until the first splash of drink, after which they are spent.

Its origin rests on a bartender’s own account

Harry Yee, who ran the bar at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki, told an interviewer in 1998 that he put a parasol into a Tapa Punch in 1959, and that he had put the first Vanda orchid into a drink in 1955. Other accounts trace the umbrella further back, to the California tiki bars of the 1930s. Each is a claim rather than a record.

The umbrella against the tiki garnishes that are eaten or smelt

Cocktail umbrella

Eaten: No
Scent: None
Keeps: Indefinitely, kept dry
What it adds: A signal of style

Orchid

Eaten: Edible if sold as food; usually left
Scent: Faint
Keeps: Several days, refrigerated
What it adds: Colour

Gardenia

Eaten: No, lifted out
Scent: Strong
Keeps: A day or two, refrigerated
What it adds: Scent

Pineapple wedge

Eaten: Yes
Scent: Fruit
Keeps: About a day once cut
What it adds: Something to eat

Garnish	Eaten	Scent	Keeps	What it adds
Cocktail umbrella	No	None	Indefinitely, kept dry	A signal of style
Orchid	Edible if sold as food; usually left	Faint	Several days, refrigerated	Colour
Gardenia	No, lifted out	Strong	A day or two, refrigerated	Scent
Pineapple wedge	Yes	Fruit	About a day once cut	Something to eat

It goes in last and leans out

Add it as the drink leaves the bar. Push the stick into the ice or through a pineapple wedge so it leans away from the straw, and use one. On a stirred, spirit-forward drink it reads as a joke at the drink’s expense, so leave it in the box.

Using it

Using Cocktail Umbrella

Usage

Pushed into the ice or a fruit garnish at the last moment, leaning off the rim, clear of the straw and the drinker’s nose. One is enough. It belongs on drinks that already look tropical: tall, over crushed ice, with fruit on the rim.

Pro Tip

Stand the umbrella in the garnish rather than the ice when you can. A pineapple wedge or a cherry holds it at the angle you set; crushed ice lets it slump as it melts.

Top Tips

Add it last. Paper takes up water and printed colours can run.
Lean it outward, away from the straw and the side the drinker sips from.
Use one. A second umbrella adds nothing the first did not.
Keep the box sealed and dry between uses.

Possible Substitutions

Paper parasol clip
Cocktail flag or pick
Citrus wheel garnish (for visual impact)

Production Method

A paper or thin card canopy on a toothpick-style stick; some use plastic for the stick or the catch.

History & Context

Harry Yee, of the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki, told the journalist Rick Carroll in 1998 that he popped a tiny parasol into a Tapa Punch in 1959. Other accounts link the look to the earlier California tiki bars. No contemporary record settles who was first.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

What is a cocktail umbrella made of?

Paper or thin card, folded into a small canopy on a stick like a toothpick. Most are paper and wood throughout; some use plastic for the stick or the catch that holds them open. They fold shut like a real umbrella, which is how they are sold and stored.

Who invented the cocktail umbrella?

Nobody can say for certain. Harry Yee, who tended bar at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, said in a 1998 interview that he put a tiny parasol into a Tapa Punch in 1959. Other accounts point to the earlier tiki bars in California. No dated record settles it.

Why do tiki drinks have umbrellas?

As decoration that announces the style. Nothing about the umbrella changes how a drink tastes, smells or stays cold; it tells the drinker a tropical, playful drink has arrived. That is why it suits a tall, fruit-garnished glass and looks out of place on a short, stirred one.

Where should a cocktail umbrella go?

At the edge of the glass, leaning outward, pushed into the ice or through a fruit garnish. Keep it clear of the straw and away from the drinking edge, so the paper does not meet a face or block the scent of any mint or citrus.

Can you reuse cocktail umbrellas?

Not really. The paper takes up liquid and the colours can run, and a wet umbrella dries crinkled. Treat them as single use. Keep unused ones dry and sealed, where they last indefinitely; damp storage softens the paper before it reaches a drink.

Do any of your cocktails need an umbrella?

None of our recipes names one as its garnish, and no drink depends on it. It suits the tall, fruit-garnished tropical drinks, served over crushed ice with a pineapple wedge or a cherry already in place, where it adds a signal and nothing else.

From the Guides

Garnishing Like a Pro: the complete guide

Make something

Made with Cocktail Umbrella

Featured In These Cocktails

Virgin Colada

Often Used With

Updated 10 October 2026

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