It started on the east side of Columbus, Ohio—at the legendary Kahiki Supper Club. A kid growing up on tiki torches, mystery, and late-night reruns of Magnum P.I. Somewhere between first crushes and first cocktails, it all stuck.
Years later, a first date at Tucson’s Kon Tiki lit the flame again. After more than a decade of work without a vacation, that long-overdue trip to Hawai‘i cracked something open—O‘ahu, Maui, the Big Island, Kaua‘i... and the realization that the rhythm of the islands was more than a fantasy. It was medicine.
The journey kept expanding: Costa Rica, Mexico, Japan, Korea. From west coast business trips that ended at Smuggler’s Cove or False Idol, to evenings with Five Decembers in hand and exotica vinyl on the turntable.
Mello Exotica was born out of these moments. A brand shaped by rum-soaked rituals, tiki escapism, pulp fiction, mid-century modern design and the pursuit of beauty, mystery, and good company—wherever in the world it may be hiding.
Rum, Rhythm, and Reverie,
Mello 🥃