Posts

Posted on

Straightway Canned Mai Tai

This brand of ready to drink Mai Tai was recommended and the 25% ABV on the label was a good sign, but unfortunately I found this RTD cocktail to be quite lacking. After pouring the drink you can likely see immediately what the problem is, since it is a clear color and doesn’t appear to have aged rum or rich orange curacao included.

Don’t get me wrong, though. I’ve had and liked plenty of Mai Tais made with light body, lightly aged rums (these type of Mai Tais were labeled Menehune Juice by Trader Vic), and in this format the drink is supposed to lean more on the almond and orange flavors from the orgeat and orange curacao. The problem with Straightaway is that you don’t get much of that flavor either, resulting in a very light rum taste which is bowled over by the tart and artificial lime flavors.

The label says this contains Jamaican and West Indies rum, but I didn’t taste any of Jamaica’s legendary funk here either. Most RTD Mai Tais in these smaller cans are usually worth seeking out, but I can’t recommend Straightaway.

Posted on

Livermore’s Latest Popup: Lost on Pigeon Island

Livermore’s Fat Pigeon has launched their latest themed popup experience, the pirate, tropical, and tiki inspired Lost on Pigeon Island. As with their previous popups, you can expect thematic decor and cocktails inspired by the theme.

When initially announced, this seemed to lean heavily on pirates, but in practice it is much more of a beach themed experience with tropical and tiki elements. The music includes surf, reggae, and Jimmy Buffett, and there are inflatable sea creatures and tikis within the venue and outdoor patio. This isn’t quite as immersive as the previous Wizard of Oz theme, in part because this is a more general concept.

The good news is that the cocktail options continue to be pretty strong. There are a variety of cocktails using different spirits, so there’s something for fans of bourbon, tequila, and gin, along with rum of course. I very much enjoyed Azure Bliss which is better balanced and more interesting than most of the Blue Hawaiian’s I’ve ever had, and comes with a gummy shark as a garnish. Our party also liked the clarified Toasted Trader which has good bourbon notes and actually uses Cinnamon Toast Crunch as a flavoring ingredient.

It should go without saying that for hardcore tiki fans that Fat Pigeon isn’t really the tiki bar you are looking for in Livermore, given numerous “party city tiki” type decorations, instead we’ll direct you to the nearby Tikeasy at Rosetta. But Fat Pigeon is open every day including early on the weekends, so is a very nice option for day cocktails and the service here is nice and friendly. A Pirate High Tea service is also coming soon.

Posted on

Denizen 8 Year Jamaican Rum Wanderer Series

Issued as part of Denizen’s new Wanderer Series, this is a Single Origin Jamaican Rum aged for eight years and finished in Port Casks for three months. Issued at 54% ABV, this new premium rum is a limited edition of four different pot/column still rums and does come with a higher cost than Denizen’s standard rum lineup.

The Port Cask is doing some really funky things to this rum, and I didn’t really find it to be particularly representative of a Jamaican rum. The bottle says “single origin” but said origin isn’t really provided. Comparing this to something like Dr. Bird, another Jamaican rum with wine cask aging, I feel like more of the Jamaican notes are lost and are replaced with some industrial solvent notes that reminded me of a Haitian Clairin. I don’t get any of the banana or caramel notes supposedly attributed to this rum in the marketing materials.

I made this in a Mai Tai and while it wasn’t undrinkable, I did find it lacking compared to Denizen’s other rums.

Posted on

Tikeasy at Rosetta is the Bay Area’s Newest Tiki Bar

Livermore’s Rosetta Roasting coffee roastery is going full tiki for their evening cocktail persona this summer and adopting Tikeasy as the venue branding. We’ve been big fans of the Nightcaps at Rosetta cocktail program, but have certainly noticed a gradual shift to more tiki decor taking over the space including a magnificent A-frame to serve as a portal to the tiki area. The staff said that additional traditional tiki elements are coming soon. The dimly lit booths work great with exotic music and superbly executed tropical cocktails, and nobody would peg this as a tiki bar from the outside. It’s a speakeasy, tiki style.

The official launch of Tikeasy was on Sunday including a Mai Tai flight featuring two of my Mai Tai recipes. It was a lot of fun to welcome tiki friends visiting the Livermore location for the first time, plus locals who’d experienced evening cocktails there in the past but who appreciated some casual Mai Tai education. The Rosetta Mai Tai features Hamilton Jamaican Pot Still Black rum and notably switches from orange curacao for orange bitters. The team did a great job with my Ultimate Mai Tai and Blue Mai Tai variants.

The team behind Rosetta Roasting are true believers in tiki, and they’re taking a chance by trying something a little different in downtown Livermore. There’s a menu of over twenty cocktails to choose from, all expertly prepared. We saw many customers order the Zombie-like Man Overboard and also The Privateer that features tequila. Rosetta’s coffee roots are a big influence on the Espresso Martiki, featuring creamy Gardenia Mix to help make a great foam head. We also heard good things about Pele’s Passion, Pearl Diver, and Rum Fashioned. If you’ve visited, leave a comment with your favorite.

The Tikeasy is open Wednesday-Saturday at Rosetta Roasting in downtown Livermore, with savory bites and deserts available as well. Reservations are available and recommended as the space is cozy, with outdoor patio seating also available.

Posted on

New Make and Drink Mai Tai Glass

Derek has come up with an all-new design for his Make and Drink YouTube channel’s Mai Tai glass. This one is much more elaborate than the previous incarnation, still sporting the Make and Drink logo but also including Hawaiian elements and even a Mai Tai recipe. The Mai Tai glass is available now and will be going up in price on June 1st, so “act now” as they say.

Derek’s favorite Mai Tai features both Jamaican and Demerara rums, hence the specific notation on the recipe, though of course it is always up to you how you use that two ounces of rum in the cocktail.

After you make the Mai Tai, be sure to check out Derek’s latest video which covers the oldest known Mai Tai recipe in print, a recipe “from the bartender at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel” that ran in the Memphis Commercial Appeal in 1958. That recipe features 1 oz of lemon juice and ½ oz of lime juice, so this version is definitely a little different than most Mai Tais you might have tried.

Posted on

Jungle Bird’s Amazing Tropical Itch

I had business near Sacramento again, so it was a perfect opportunity to check out Time Travel Tuesday at The Jungle Bird, the city’s leading tiki bar. The crew put together a cocktail special each week on Tuesdays and this week’s was one of Hawaiian bartender Harry Yee’s greatest creations, the Tropical Itch.

This version included Jamaican rum, bourbon, a Demerara 151 rum, passionfruit, orange curacao, and bitters – all for only $10 and not lacking in the booze department I assure you. It was honestly the best Tropical Itch I’ve ever had, staying potent all the way to the end and fighting against the melting ice all the way. It’s such as credit to Mariella and the team to come up with an affordable cocktail each week that’s still really great, an opportunity to try something new that’s not on the cocktail menu you’ve tried a million times before.

Speaking of a millionth cocktail, I did try a Mai Tai at Jungle Bird and found it to be nicely balanced and with enough rummyness to enjoy and that I think it would work great for some of the more casual cocktail fans who pack the bar on weekends. You know, when they’re not drinking Painkillers and boozy Dole Whips and are looking for something a little more sophisticated. The pot stickers and fried rice were really great as well, so I think that Jungle Bird is once again at a place that warrants a full-throated endorsement.

It was a blast hanging out with some of the Sacramento Ohana in attendance including Larissa, Matt, Nav, and Alissa. Plus Natalie who also got the same “in town for business, go to JB after work” memo that I did.