Month: June 2024

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Top 10 Mai Tais of 2024 (so far)

It’s June 30, which is halfway through the year so this is a great time to review our list of the best Mai Tais we’ve had at commercial or home tiki bars so far this year.

Note that many of these feature custom rum orders compared to the standard-issue at these locations. Sometimes you want a Mai Tai with a special rum, and if you ask nicely the bartender will typically be able to accommodate the request. This can often lead to an excellent cocktail.

10. Mister, Might I… by Doc Parks at The Kon-Tiki
Besides being a great Mai Tai, this was served with a side of pineapple juice that allows the customer to decide what to do with it. Some might incorporate it into the cocktail, but I took it as a chaser.

9. My Tie, Youse Tai
Served at the home tiki bar of Stephan Curran, this elegant cocktail used premium aged rums from Jamaica: Appleton 15 and Appleton 21. I felt like a celebrity drinking this amazing upscale Mai Tai.

8. Stray Pirate
The standard-issue Mai Tai at Vegas’ newest immersive bar is really great and uses Jamaican and Martinique rums.

7. Matiki
I was totally blown away by this outstanding Mai Tai at Vienna’s modern tiki bar. It uses Rhum Saint James Agricole along with Appleton 12 and Smith & Cross Jamaica rums.

6. The Beachcomber
Fans of Rhum Agricole know The Beachcomber is the place to be in London. Their off-menu Mai Tai is savory and sweet and just as good this year as it was last year.

5. Strong Water Anaheim
The strong cocktail program at Strong Water means that their standard Mai Tai is really great, using Demerara Rum and Jamaica Rum.

4. Dr Funk ($8 MTM)
The quality control problems in this San Jose tiki bar seem to be addressed with their formidable Mai Tai back on track. This one was only $8 for Mai Tai Monday and still uses Appleton 12 and Smith & Cross. So good.

3. Trader Sam’s 1944 w/Smith & Cross by Maddie
Skipper Maddie killed it with some off menu cocktails and her presentation for a classic Mai Tai nailed the look and the taste. Amazing.

2. Kon-Tiki with Hamilton Pot Still Blonde
When tasting rums at The Kon-Tiki I’ll often have them in a Mai Tai. I’m such a fan of Pot Still Blonde and the bartenders made it perfectly.

1. The Sinking Ship at Tiki-Ko with Rhum J.M Terroir Volcanique
I couldn’t believe how much I loved this Mai Tai made just with Rhum Agricole aged in heavily charred casks. The sweet orgeat rounded off the smoky edges from the rhum and it was heavenly.

Runners up:
11. Mai Tai with Appleton 15 at Rumpus Tiki Budapest
12. Trader Vics’s Emeryville
13. Zombie Village with Saint Benevolence Rum Clairin
14. Lost Inferno
15. The Fink
16. Trader Vic’s San Jose Airport
17. Trailer Happiness
18. Equiano Rum Mai Tai at The Shipwreck

Honorable Mentions:
Wilfred’s Lounge, Our Big Luauski, Trader Vic’s Munich, The Formosa Cafe, Red Dwarf, Hula Hoops (Lilikoi Tai), Golden Tiki

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Matiki Vienna Has Amazing Craft Cocktails

The charming Spittelberg neighborhood is the home of Matiki, a modern tiki bar that has truly outstanding cocktails. We visited early on a Friday and passed the outdoor seating to decide to sit inside. There are some sparse tiki displays inside plus windows, so this isn’t a dark tiki bar. Nonetheless we enjoyed our visit thanks to the service and craft cocktails.

Tutti Flirty

Every tiki bar decides to emphasize specific things, and Matiki’s is the cocktails. Some really interesting menu items here, including a section of highballs, and each tiki drink comes in a specific mug or glass. There were a few classics and several more inspired originals including the Tutti Flirty with gin, amaro, port wine, falernum, and juices. That cocktail was garnished with a candy and a little love note where you could add your telephone to give to new friend. Mrs. Mai Tai also liked the Humuhumunukunukuapua’a with gin, orgeat, lemon, and Peychaud’s. She liked the mug so much we even bought one.

Meanwhile, I was totally blown away by Matiki’s amazing Mai Tai. Billed as having rhum agricole and Jamaica rum, I pretty much got the same Appleton 12/Smith & Cross notes I’ve had at other tiki bars – and sure enough that’s what they were using in addition to Saint James aged agricole. One of the best Mai Tais of 2024 so far. I also loved the If You Like, a petite colada variant with cream topping, and also Pu Er Sour with gin, brandy, amaretto, and Pu Er Tea syrup.

Mai Tai

Matiki had some of the highest quality and varied cocktails that we’ve had in a while. Some savory popcorn is also provided when you sit down and overall we really enjoyed the vibe inside and talking to the friendly staff who understood by my Aloha shirt that we were not there by accident. We exited and soon found a wonderful Austrian restaurant to have dinner outside in the square. This one a wonderful evening in Vienna.

Pu Er Sour
If You Like
Humuhumunukunukuapua’a
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Rumpus Tiki Bar Budapest

We had a great time at Rumpus Tiki Bar in Budapest’s inner city area, and this place is doing a lot of things right by any standard. We were seated in the entry bar area at a table and had a great time interacting with the friendly staff and seeing the flow overall. The venue is very large, including more interior seating plus a second floor with two additional rooms and one additional bar.

The overall design leans into caricature tiki designs that aren’t my favorite, but would probably be more recognizable to the average Hungarian. Some of the decorative elements including skulls and Hawaiian designs seemed more organic and authentic, and there are nods to Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic behind each bar. The mugs tended to follow this caricature tiki design mostly. So, if you’re a purist this won’t check all the boxes.

That said, we had a pretty nice time with our cocktails starting with reasonable Mai Tai made with Appleton and served in a cute banana mug by Niki’s Tikis. Niki is the daughter of the owner, Tiki Mamma, and there are number of her designs on sale in the bar and online if you dig the design. The Three Dots & The Dash was also pretty good compared to others I’ve had. Mrs. Mai Tai enjoyed her drinks as well. There’s a pretty reasonable rum collection here, so I scanned the shelves and asked for a Mai Tai made with Appleton 15. This Mai Tai was served along with a giant skull bowl of dry ice, which clouded our entire table! Even better was the fantastic Mai Tai with that Appleton 15 yr rum. That was truly a great Mai Tai.

Mai Tai and Skull Smoke

The bar was pretty active during our early Thursday evening visit, and the staff was so impressed with my gift of an Ultimate Mai Tai sticker that they put it out on the front door. There’s another Rumpus Tiki location by a lake about 20 miles out of town and plans to try and franchise the concept. I wish they’d use more authentic tiki designs, but overall we were impressed by Rumpus Tiki and definitely recommend it to any tiki traveler.

Niki’s Tikis
Downstairs Lounge
More Mugs for Sale
Cocktails with dry ice effects
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Rum Fire Cask Aged Rum

Mrs Mai Tai got me a little aging barrel for Christmas which I used to age a blend of unaged rums that was mostly the infamous Overproof Jamaica rum Rum Fire. That batch turned out great and came out quite dark, though I lost more than half to the angel’s share.

This time I refilled the barrel with Don Q Cristal rum from Puerto Rico. This lightly aged rum is filtered to remove color and like Bacardi doesn’t have a ton of flavor. After three months in the barrel I still lost half to the angels but the residual Rum Fire taste is mildly present and you can see that the liquid is a light gold color.



I made a Mai Tai with this rum and found the funky Rum Fire notes to still be present and quite nice in the cocktail. A Mai Tai made with this style of lighter rum highlights flavors from the orange curaçao and orgeat.

Not sure there’s much left in the little barrel. If you’ve used these more than twice, leave a comment with how it worked.

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Ruin Bar in Budapest

Szimpla Kert is one of the original Ruin Bars that are somewhat prevalent in Budapest. The concept is that these bars take over a building that is falling into ruin and they decorate it with found items, artwork, spray paint, and more to make for a space for people to gather. There’s a courtyard in the back, plus a second floor with additional seating. Our tour director warned us these were fly by night operations and potentially unsafe, but Szimpla has been in business for many years and seems to be very well trafficked and very “permanent,” and even has a Wikipedia entry. The building doesn’t look totally solid, though, one reason why we didn’t venture upstairs.

Szimpla is a vast space with at least four different bars inside, offering a variety of drinks. We kept things simple, ordering an Aperol Spritz and a shot of Unicum, the Hungarian herbal liqueur that is described as “thick, black, goopy.” Mrs Mai Tai couldn’t stand this but I thought it was nice enough to consume since I was drinking like a local. After a long walk through the streets of Budapest, this was a relaxing afternoon stop.

Just as we were leaving we saw a grandmother, daughter, and granddaughter wander through Szimpla’s patio. We also so several taxis drop people off and even during the day this place was quite active. We’re glad we got to check out one of Budapest’s unique cultural treasures, the Ruin Bar.

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Czech Mai Tai with Becherovka

We had originally planned to visit Rum House in Prague, but they were closed for a few days due to the holidays. But our hotel had a bar including a “Mai Tai CZ” which I guess is a Czech twist on our favorite.

The Grandium Hotel’s Mai Tai lists the ingredients as Becherovka, Ferrum reserva, Amaretto, and lime juice. Ferrum is a rum made in Czechia and Becherovka is an herbal liqueur also native to the country. Needless to say this wasn’t a traditional Mai Tai but it tasted pretty good and was plenty boozy. I ended up bring back of bottle of Becherovka and am looking forward to playing with it a little.

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Ink Blot Cocktails at Anonymous Shrink’s Office in Prague

There are several Anonymous bars in Prague, themed around the Guy Fawkes / V for Vandetta related Anonymous movement. The Shrink’s Office offers craft cocktails but the selection is unique and compelling.

Rather than being presented with a traditional cocktail menu, the staff hands you a series of cards with ink blots on them. This Rorschach Test is all you have to go on to choose your cocktail, though there’s a two or three word description on the back. That’s it. That’s all you have to go on to order the cocktails.

The Anonymous vibe is in full effect when the drink is brought to your table, though otherwise the staff aren’t masked. They did a good job walking us through the menu and asking if we had any allergies. After we were served they did describe the ingredients of the cocktails, for example the milky coffee cocktail was more than a mere Espresso Martini. This complex drink had sherry and cherry liqueur along with coffee to make quite a nice and different cocktail. Our other two drinks were also really great.

A second menu is available where they provide a portable CD player with some songs to listen to, and there’s a retail component with some very good spirits available. Small bites are also available for order in this basement bar.

Anonymous Shrink’s Office is located in Prague 1, and has a speakeasy entrance inside the Bulletproof Bar. We loved Prague and this was one of the highlights.