Month: December 2021

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Top Mai Tais of 2021: Number 7, Pacific Catch

Each year we celebrate the 10 best Mai Tais that we had the pleasure of tasting in the last 12 months.

Number 7: Lilikoi Mai Tai at Pacific Catch (Dublin, CA)

We were more surprised than anyone that we dug this Mai Tai at West Coast restaurant chain Pacific Catch. They did a special tiki menu for summer in 2020 and delivered a similar “Endless Summer” menu this year, including this Mai Tai. Regular readers know that Island Mai Tais are not exactly my thing, but the Pacific Catch Lilikoi Mai Tai was fabulous. I truly loved it and ordered a second that was just as good. The cocktail featured Flor de Cana Silver, Wray & Nephew Overproof, passionfruit, “house mai tai mix,” and a Lahaina dark rum float. This certainly leaned more to the sweet side rather than the tart side, but it wasn’t overpowering with fruit like most Island Mai Tais are.

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Top Mai Tais of 2021: Number 8, Foundation

Each year we celebrate the 10 best Mai Tais that we had the pleasure of tasting in the last 12 months.

Number 8: Foundation with Appleton 12 (Milwaukee, WI)

We really dug the decor and layout of Foundation, a neighborhood bar that had a tiki makeover a few years ago. I thought their standard Mai Tai was pretty good, but the one made with just Appleton 12 rum was even better. We’re so glad we were able to include Foundation on our road trip and even got to visit on “National Mai Tai Day” on June 30.

 

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Top Mai Tais of 2021: Number 9, Undertow

Each year we celebrate the 10 best Mai Tais that we had the pleasure of tasting in the last 12 months.

Number 9: Undertow (Phoenix, AZ)

We finally made it to Undertow, which has a reputation for immersive decor and a very strong craft cocktail orientation. The drinks at Undertow were all outstanding, including their Mai Tai with creamy orgeat. The spirits in this Mai Tai include Smith & Cross Rum, Rhum JM VSOP, and Cointreau Noir, a combination that we loved.

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Top Mai Tais of 2021: Number 10, Wilfred’s Lounge

Each year we celebrate the 10 best Mai Tais that we had the pleasure of tasting in the last 12 months.

Number 10: Wilfred’s Lounge (Napa, CA)

Wilfred’s is one of several new tiki bars that opened in 2021, and is a high-quality destination with a great bar program led by Daniel “Doc” Parks, a fine selection of food, and some well-implemented escapist decor. The Mai Tai features rums from Jamaica and Martinique, but the cocktail is not overpowering with funky flavors that might turn off tiki newbies in Wine Country. It is still quite satisfying, as was the rest of Wilfred’s. Be sure to seek it out.

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Top 10 Mai Tais of 2021: Honorable Mentions

Each year we celebrate the 10 best Mai Tais that we had the pleasure of tasting in the last 12 months.

Some of the Mai Tais involve rum substitutions from what the bar would normally serve. This presents the reader with more to consider when visiting these places, but highlights that making spirit substitutions is often what changes a good Mai Tai into a great one. A few of these involved tweaks to the sweet element as well.

For the list, we’ve limited each location to a single entry – otherwise Smuggler’s Cove and Trader Vic’s Emeryville would have dominated the list. So for those places we’ve chosen the best Mai Tai we had there and omitted some other great ones that would have landed further down the list. In both cases, the Mai Tai we chose isn’t the standard issue, but suffice to say that we think their default Mai Tais are pretty great too. Check later in the week to see where the Cove and Vic’s landed.

2021 Top Mai Tais: Honorable Mentions

These Mai Tais all had notable qualities and were enjoyable. If you have the opportunity you should definitely get the Mai Tai!

Here’s the list, more or less in order of preference. Sorry, Kon-Tiki, you just missed the top 10 but you won’t be sad when you see the final list, I assure you.

  • The Kon-Tiki
  • Tiki Tom’s
  • Tonga Hut Palm Springs “all Coruba and heavy orgeat”
  • The Cellar
  • Tangaroa Terrace “sub simple for agave”
  • Three Dots and a Dash
  • The Reef “heavy orgeat”
  • Trader Vic’s San Jose Airport
  • Forbidden Island with Amrut Two Indies rum
  • Bamboo Club
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Boulevard Beverage Mai Tai Fling

Festivus was the other day and I was thinking that I didn’t really have any grievances to air. The next day I bought this terrible ready-to-drink “craft cocktail” Mai Tai, so let’s call this a late Festivus because I have a lot of problems with this cocktail.

Cans are 8% ABV, so quite a bit less than the Trader Vic’s and Cutwater canned Mai Tais that are in the same market segment. This one isn’t even all rum, since it contains both rum and “neutral spirits.” There is supposedly lime and orange, plus natural flavors and colors.

Does that color look natural?

It’s like Mountain Dew and a Midori Sour had a baby. And it got all the worse genes from each parent.

It is terrible. Like pour out the entire four-pack bad. It definitely would take “feats of strength” to finish one of these.

It doesn’t taste anything like a Mai Tai, and honestly it doesn’t taste like any “craft” cocktail I’ve ever had. Maybe it tastes like cheap Margarita mix and Vodka, so if those are your two favorite cocktail ingredients then maybe Mai Tai Fling will be your thing.

HARD PASS