Top 10 Mai Tais of 2019 – The Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai

This was my summary post for my Top 10 Mai Tais of 2019.

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I had a lot of great Mai Tais in 2019 and it was difficult to pick the top 10. I easily had dozens more worthy of inclusion. 10. Molasses Mai Tai at Fred & Ginger's Exotic Cocktail Bar and Lounge This is the only home tiki bar on the list. The Mai Tai was made with Molasses Syrup and the rum was Appleton Reserve. Rich and delicious. 9. 1944 Mai Tai with Appleton 12 at Trader Vic's Emeryville I like the scratch 1944 Mai Tai at Trader Vic's and it's even better when you sub a higher quality rum. Appleton 12 is my go-to single rum sub. 8. Mai Tai at Club 33 This was a good Mai Tai, but an amazing venue. It's not often you have a three Mai Tai lunch at a park where booze isn't served. 7. Mai Tai at Forbidden Island Made special by Brian Rechenmacher. It's always nice when the bartenders get to know your preferences. 6. Mai Tai at Lono A high-quality Mai Tai with Rhum JM, Appleton Signature, Smith & Cross, Coruba, and Lemon Hart 151. 5. Halekulani Mai Tai The best Mai Tai in Waikiki is a tweak to the 1944 recipe with more lime, orgeat, sugar, and Lemon Hart 151 as a float. A great Mai Tai with a simple twist. 4. Mai Tai with Appleton 12 at Skull & Crown Trading Company The S&C Mai Tai comes with rhum agricole and is very good. But this one made just with Appleton 12 was even better. My favorite Mai Tai in Hawaii. 3. National Mai Tai Day Mai Tai at Smuggler's Cove This special event featured Appleton/Wray rums, so this is 2 parts Appleton Reserve, 1 part Appleton 12, and 1 part Wray Overproof. 2. Mai Tai with Appleton 12 at Rhumba The standard Mai Tai comes with rhum from Martinique and was great, but by now you should know I preferred it just with Appleton 12. One of my top 3 Mai Tais of all time. 1. The Ultimate Mai Tai at The Kon-Tiki The Mai Tais at Kon-Tiki have gotten better over the year. But this one was the best, which isn't a surprise since it features my own rum blend: Appleton 12, Smith & Cross, Plantation Xaymaca, and Plantation OFTD. I can't thank the Kon-Tiki team enough for doing the special menu on the night I completed the rum list. This has been my best Mai Tai in a commercial bar, ever! Cheers to 2019!

A post shared by Search for Ultimate Mai Tai (@ultimatemaitai) on Dec 31, 2019 at 7:55am PST

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