The Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai
Traveling the Bay Area and beyond to find the best Mai Tai in the world! Tiki, cocktails, and adventures by Kevin Crossman
Smuggler’s Cove is running a special on their Formidable Dragon to-go cocktail. There is Wray & Nephew Swag available with purchase, a promotion to celebrate the use of Wray Overproof and sister brand Appleton 8 Reserve in the cocktail. It’s a delicious cocktail and the merch makes it extra fun.
I chose these fine W&N beach slippers, which will come in handy next week on vacation.
The promotion is available for a limited times, is get thee to The Cove before it is too late.
Mrs. Mai Tai and I took a drive to SF and got some fab cocktails from Smuggler’s Cove.
I’ve been impressed with the quality of the take-out cocktails from Smuggler’s Cove, which have been consistently excellent throughout their to-go period. These cocktails aren’t the cheapest, but man they’ve been fantastic and importantly better than I could make at home. Remember that post a few weeks ago where Mrs. Mai Tai and I tried three different Painkillers made with fresh ingredients? Not as good as the Painkiller we had from the Cove, and not even close.
The Tradewinds was my order, pictured with some take-out sushi from another restaurant. I’ve never had this amazing cocktail made with coconut creme and apricot liqueur before and now I have serious FOMO. So good.
Now, if only Smuggler’s Cove would offer a to-go Mai Tai!
Following up on yesterday’s post, I found this recipe online and it seems to be much closer to what I remember of the potent Mai Tai from the Bali Hai restaurant in San Diego.
This version omits the Orgeat, the key ingredient in a Mai Tai, and suffers for it. This tastes like the Bali Hai Mai Tai that I remember though, so I’ll compare this to the one served there when we visit on April 5th.
Bali Hai Mai Tai (redux)
2 oz Sweet and Sour Mix
1 oz Triple Sec
2 oz Light Rum (I used Cruzan)
2 oz Myers’s Dark Rum
The Bali Hai says that they have sold over 2.7 million Mai Tais since they opened in 1953. Good thing for us is that we’re staying within walking/stumbling distance of the restaurant.
See the Official Bali Hai Mai Tai Recipe
We’re heading to San Diego after Easter, so I’m trying to get into shape to prepare for the legendarily lethal Bali Hai Mai Tai.
We visited Bali Hai in 2017 and one of their potent Mai Tais nearly killed me. They famously “don’t contain any fruit juice.” This recipe was published so I thought I’d give it a try:
Bali Hai Mai Tai
1 oz Sweet and Sour Mix
½ oz Trader Vic’s Orgeat
½ oz Triple Sec
1 oz Light Rum (I used Cruzan)
1 oz Myers’s Dark Rum
Unlike my experience in 2017, this wasn’t bad. Though, it must be said that I used Cointreau as the triple sec and fresh lemon juice in my Sweet & Sour mix, plus Latitude 29 Orgeat, so possibly these are “top shelf” compared to what’s actually used at Bali Hai. Still, I’m thinking that this isn’t the real recipe. I would have noticed that orgeat in the cocktail, even back in 2017 when my palette was less refined and when my booze tolerance was less.
Time to search for the true recipe.
See the Official Bali Hai Mai Tai Recipe
There is no rest at Ultimate Mai Tai HQ where we continuously strive to refine the best version of the world’s greatest cocktail.
Nothing to announce yet. Also, perfection is difficult, especially when sociopolitical and price factors come into play.
Mrs. Mai Tai wanted to get Malaysian and Thai cuisine from Banana Leaf in Milpitas, so we ordered take-out and it was quite fab. We love the Roti and my Satay Chicken and Beef was amazing.
I paired it with the the Smuggler’s Cove version of a Planter’s Punch. The recipe was a suggestion by Trader Jay who recommended using Rum-Bar Gold as the featured spirit. It’s a great recipe and a good use for this rum.
These bottles are from before ~2015 when the V/X was rebranded as Appleton Signature. Still available at Bob’s Discount Liquors no.11 in Fremont, CA.
You never know what you’ll find in these dusty independent liquor store.
