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Disgruntled Mai Tai

This delicious Mai Tai riff comes from Sam Ross of Attaboy in New York City. Ross is a Bartender of the Year winner from Tales of the Cocktail and has been a staple of the NYC cocktail scene for two decades.

The drink is elaborately garnished with a little bottle of Underberg, a bitter German herbal liqueur. It also splits the rum base with Aperol, leaning into pleasant orange flavors.

Disgruntled Mai Tai by Sam Ross
1 oz Lime Juice
½ oz Orgeat
½ oz Curacao
1 oz overproof Jamaican rum, preferably Smith & Cross
1 oz Aperol
Whip shake with a small amount of crushed ice, then strain over crushed ice in double rocks glass. Then remove cap and paper cover from Underberg bottle and place nose-down into the cocktail. Garnish with mint sprig, lime wedge, freshly grated nutmeg, and cocktail umbrella.

I thought this was fantastic, though the Underberg didn’t really incorporate into the cocktail. In fact, I drank the whole thing and then lifted out the Underberg bottle which was still nearly full. So, I poured the contents out over the ice, added about ¾ oz of orgeat and then topped with soda. The orgeat balanced the bitter flavors and I found it to be quite pleasant.

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Pacific Catch’s Juicy, Boozy Mai Tai

We had a great lunch at the Pacific Catch location in Dublin, including a really great Poke bowl. This west coast chain is a favorite of ours.

I also enjoyed the juicy Mai Tai that includes POG juice and lime along with Flor de Caña silver rum, and overproof rum, and Lahaina Dark Rum. I asked for the dark rum on the side just to taste it, finding it to be mild in flavor and light in body. It is made from a stock of molasses produced a decade ago when Maui still had a sugar refinery, which is a nice bit of history even if the rum itself isn’t really anything noteworthy. I did notice they’re using Kuleana rums from the island of Hawai’i as well, so it’s nice to see Hawaiian rums in widespread use here.

Pacific Catch’s Mai Tai has a ton of flavor and leans a little boozy, making this is one my favorite island style Mai Tais.

 

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Welcome to Sugar Town

Most spirits aficionados are aware that many rums contain added sugar. During my visit to Dr. Funk I chose two that are most noteworthy in this practice.

Planteray/Plantation 20th Anniversary XO has a base of aged Barbados rum and then adds a heavy dose of sugar, making this very easy to sip with hints of coconut. This wasn’t nearly as sweet as I remember, though still very far afield of typical Barbadian rums.

XO has a rep for being really high on those added sugar lists, but was practically dry compared to Papa’s Pilar which tasted basically like maple syrup it was so sweet. That one I didn’t finish.

Having a neat pour of rum can give you insights to the brand and understand the diversity of the rum category. Some expressions are those you return to again and again. And there are others you don’t.

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Rum Tasting at Dr. Funk

Had an impromptu visit to Dr. Funk to knock out a few more runs from the Rum Asylum rum list. These were pretty good, even the Havana Club which tasted a bit more rounded than I remember.

I’d probably rank them like this:

  1. Coruba
  2. Flor dr Caña
  3. Rhum Barbancourt
  4. Diplomatico
  5. Havana Club

I need to get busy and finish the level II list before the next quarterly meetup in March.

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Mai Tais at Trader Vic’s Atlanta

Locals told us that Trader Vic’s Atlanta makes all Mai Tais using the Mai Tai Concentrate syrup unless you order by calling for a “1944 Mai Tai” so we put this theory to the test by ordering multiple Mai Tais over the couple nights we were in town. Hard work if you can get it, I know.

Original Mai Tai

Indeed, our order for an “Original Mai Tai” resulted in a Mai Tai that used the Concentrate rather than orgeat, orange curacao, and rock candy syrup from the original recipe. Thankfully the 1944 Mai Tai was made using scratch ingredients and is a wonderful representation of a Trader Vic’s Mai Tai. Our ’44 on Thursday was truly fantastic (apart from the tiny mint) and the one Friday was also very good, reminding us why we feel in love with the cocktail many years ago.

There you go Mai Tai nation. At least for now this is the practice in Atlanta and those in the know can choose their own adventure.

This Vic’s location has their own Mai Tai glass design (pictured above) that’s fantastic and pays homage to the Barney West carving on the back patio. I don’t need more Mai Tai glasses but I had to get it.

1944 Mai Tais at Trader Vic’s Atlanta

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Frozen Delights with the Peachtree Punch and Grasshopper at Trader Vic’s Atlanta

Two highlights from our visits to Trader Vic’s Atlanta were a couple of frozen drinks that are designed for very easy drinking.

The Peachtree Punch is the signature cocktail for this location, described as including light rum, peaches, oranges, and “a soft southern whisper of coconuts”. Using peaches, Georgia’s state fruit, makes a lot of sense and the flavor profile was mild and not overpowering, a plus for me. I enjoyed the punch and for me was a very good change of pace from the boozy tiki drinks I’m usually imbibing.

Peachtree Punch

Meanwhile, Mrs. Mai Tai fell in love with Trader Vic’s Grasshopper, featuring crème de cacao, crème de menthe, and vanilla ice cream ordering it both nights were there. As desert cocktails go, this creamy blend was excellent and a true palette cleanser. Highly recommended.

Grasshopper

The Sea Dreams and Koana Puffer cocktails were also very good, comparable to other Vic’s locations. We’ll cover the Mai Tai in a separate post.

Sea Dreams and Koana Puffer