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Legit Great Drinks at Shipwrecked Paradise Island

Shipwrecked Paradise Island Tiki Bar is the Sacramento location and sister property of the original Shipwrecked in nearby Davis. Located in Midtown near Capitol Park, the bar is basically an adult version of Rainforest Cafe thanks to elaborate set pieces, animatronic snakes, and a jungle theme. They call themselves a tiki bar and while there aren’t tiki idols there are plenty of skulls and stone idols that fall enough into a “big tent” categorization of such things.

We arrived before 5:00 for dinner and drinks, enjoying the edamame and pot stickers. We were prepared for the drinks to be kind of terrible but they were anything but. The Mai Tai comes in a garish “tiki” glass and 99 times out of 100 with that glassware you’d expect it to be too sweet and heavy on juices, but Shipwrecked’s Mai Tai features Appleton 12, Smith & Cross, OFTD, and Clement VSOP rums and is truly excellent. It’s ¾ of the Ultimate Mai Tai blend and features house made orgeat that has flavors that accent the rums perfectly.

Our other drinks were similarly good, including the Ube Espresso Martini that Mrs. Mai Tai loved plus the sweet but not too sweet Banana Boat Bliss that I thought balanced the banana and coconut very well. Capt. Bob’s Bourbon Swizzle is basically a Queen’s Park Swizzle with bourbon replacing the rum, also well-done.

The main interior space features a bar along two sides with booths and a center strip of tall tables, though unfortunately the benches in the booths look like logs and are very hard to sit on. It’s nice and dark with some mostly retro leaning music and plenty of little things to look at amongst the larger set pieces. There’s a covered patio space with some additional booths and a temple theme which is a great option as well.

Patio

Shipwrecked Paradise Island is open Wed-Sun including mid-afternoon on the weekends, 21+ only. While not a traditional tiki bar, we really enjoyed our visit.

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Probitas Green Label Rum

Probitas is a blended rum collaboration between Barbados’ Foursquare distillery and Hampden Estate from Jamaica, known as Veritas outside the United States. The expression launched a few years ago as a 47% “white” rum with bolder flavors than your typical light rum. The blend of Coffey still rum from Barbados and a bit of Hampden’s heavy pot still rum means it has a ton of flavor in a daiquiri or other cocktails where you want the rum to be clear or nearly so.

The collaboration now has a second “green label” expression that is going after the dark rum category for use in Painkillers and Planters Punches. The new expression contains caramel coloring which provides color of course but also imparts flavor you’d recognize from many Demerara rums. The green bottle also ups the ABV to a hearty 57%! There’s no “Navy Strength” moniker here but it clearly is playing in the same area. It’s around $35-40 at retail.

This tastes pretty nice neat in a glass, though that caramel does come at you right up front. It works much better in cocktails including a Mai Tai where the higher ABV means you get a ton of flavor even as the drink dilutes. This seems like it would work best in cocktails without a ton of heavy ingredients, as it isn’t quite as funky as something like Smith & Cross Jamaica rum or rich as dark rums like Worthy Park 109 or Pusser’s Gunpowder Proof.

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World Cup Mai Tai in San Pedro Square

I had the day off and decided to check out the World Cup madness in San Pedro Square, arriving late in the USA vs. Australia match. The street has been pedestrian only for several years but during the World Cup drinks can be brought out onto the street as well so that you could watch on the big screen erected in the street or on the TVs on the patios of several venues. Street vendors were selling flags, hot dogs, and even street Margaritas and beer amidst the chaos. We even saw a giant tour bus decked out for fans of Turkey who are playing at Levi’s Stadium tonight.

I found my way past the crowd and landed in an empty portion at the bar of Dr. Funk, whose patio was crazy crowded and who had a TV showing the match as well. By and large this indoor crowd was more sedate than some of the wild fans outside, though we did see quite a few people wearing jerseys for their favorite country and some really going all-out with their outfits.

Somehow the sea of crowd parted and there was a lull in the orders, just as Justin asked for an order. Dr. Funk had a small menu offered but I didn’t even need to look at it, ordering a Mai Tai which was just as great as usual except being served in a plastic cup that I could travel with if I chose to. The USA match ended shortly thereafter, scattering some of the crowd.

Tiki purists don’t love sports on TVs in a tiki bar, but it would be financial malpractice if the good folks at Dr. Funk didn’t take advantage of this once in a generation opportunity to stay open later and serve the throngs of fans. And I have a lot of respect for the crew who I can tell are working very hard and even longer hours to accommodate this special event. Look for some of the crowds to die down in a couple weeks especially once teams are knocked out of the tournament.

There’s some good news for the tiki fans, though, as there are still plans to update the menu and make some interior improvements to coincide. So there’s plenty of traditional tiki bar stuff to be had soon at San Jose’s best tiki bar.

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Crafthouse Cocktails Offers a Range of Quality Ready to Drink Options

We previously wrote about loving Crafthouse Cocktails‘ excellent canned Mai Tai, and the kind folks at Crafthouse sent us some others from their lineup to try out. As with any product ranges there are some that work better than others, so here are our thoughts.

Moonlighter Vodka Spritz includes some blanco vermouth and very light floral flavors but didn’t really do it for me, but I’m not really a Vodka Soda drinker and prefer bolder flavors. Surprisingly better for me was the Moscow Mule, another drink I rarely drink because I avoid both vodka and ginger beer, but the ginger was mild enough that I enjoyed the bubbly cocktail. A little better in the spritz category was the Paloma that had a nice grapefruit taste and just enough tequila to work, though I would have preferred a higher tequila ratio myself.

The Spicy Margarita has “spicy” in red letters on the label for good reason, as it’s quite heavy on the jalapeño. So, if that’s your thing I think you’ll like it as the tequila is a bit more forward than the Paloma. I was disappointed in the Pineapple Daiquiri which didn’t really taste like a traditional daiquiri or heavy on the pineapple, though honestly I haven’t like most of the pineapple-variant RTDs from other brands either.

By far the best of these was the Espresso Martini, nearly as good as the Mai Tai. This one was of specific interest to Mrs. Mai Tai who often orders these and deemed Crafthouse’s version to better than many she’s had at some restaurants and bars. The coffee and baking spice flavors really worked great and when shaken with ice even had a nice head as well.

The ABV for these 200 ml cans does vary a bit, and you can find Crafthouse Cocktails at select liquor stores or ordered from their website.

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Yuzu Fuzz and Improved Mai Tai at the Tikeasy in Livermore

Mrs. Mai Tai wanted to go to Livermore for a night out and we eventually found ourselves at Tikeasy at Rosetta Roasting. Julie expressed interest in trying the Yuzu Fuzz, Rosetta’s award winning original cocktail that features Japanese Gin, yuzu reduction, and lemon – garnished with a buzz button blossom. It’s really great and very well-balanced, especially if you like floral notes in a cocktail. The buzz button numbs the tongue if you take a little bite and I guess makes the drink taste sort of different, but it’s so good I don’t think numbing is an improvement. It’s a fun party trick if you’re out with friends, though.

We also tried an improved Mai Tai, now that Tikeasy is making house-made orgeat. It is definitely better than the previous version that used a commercial orgeat and it is still one of the best Mai Tais in the Bay Area. There are even a few new pieces of decor including a tapa cloth wall and the artwork that inspired the design of the Mai Tai glass.

We also tried some food at Tikeasy, including a wondering Polynesian flatbread plus spam musubi. Rosetta is famous for their cakes and the pistachio cake is really amazing. Livermore was hosting their annual Rodeo, so the Rosetta team dressed the part, even if we all know they’re rather be wearing aloha-wear.

The Tikeasy at Rosetta is open Wednesday to Saturday for cocktails and food in the evening, now doing a tiki menu every day they’re open. Be sure to check them out if you’re in the Tri-Valley.

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Happy 20th Anniversary to Forbidden Island

If we’re making a list of the most important tiki bars of the 21st century, Alameda’s Forbidden Island is a sure bet for the top 5. Opening in 2006, the bar set a new standard for the genre by combining the friendly confines of a neighborhood bar along with deep and traditional decor and a focus on craft cocktails. It made an immediate splash and set the template for the next decade of tiki bars.

Owner Michael Thanos at Tiki Central event in 2020

Forbidden Island has had a week of special events this week, and while we didn’t participate in any of the evening events or Sunday’s luau style event, we wanted to make sure to visit sometime this weekend. So Mrs. Mai Tai and I dropped in Saturday afternoon for a drink in between other things. We sat at the bar and enjoyed one of Miami Dave’s original creations called the Disco Ball, juicy, complex, and made with several rums. I tried the Infinite Coastline, a Blue Hawaii riff that now uses Mexican rum and is still fantastic. It was even better with a little pour of The Funk Jamaican rum that I checked off on my latest Kill Devil Club rum list.

Thank you to Michael and all crew members past and present for leading the tiki revival and keeping the flame burning though the rough waters of COVID, changing tastes, and local bureaucracy. Things have changed over the years (I loved the old jukebox), but Forbidden Island is still doing things right. From special events to Tuesday Ohana nights, plus friendly staff and great hospitality, Forbidden Island is one of the greats. Cheers!

Disco Ball and Infinite Coastline
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Tiki Brunch at Hula Hoops

Our San Francisco weekend finished with Sunday brunch at Hula Hoops in South San Francisco. We didn’t partake in any cocktails but enjoyed the Ube Waffles and Avacado Toast, both a good value given the portion size and quality. We also ordered the cornbread – Julie liked this more than I did but warm cornbread is always welcome.

The staff seated us in the tiki room built by Bamboo Ben, where there are two tables for four. We enjoy the quiet escape and relaxing feel of this space.