Twenty six hundred and one days ago a man walked into a bar in Oakland and ordered an off menu Mai Tai at a tiki bar during their soft open.

Since then I’ve had probably hundreds of Mai Tai there. Thanks to a stellar rum collection, high quality ingredients, and a professional crew they’ve nearly aways very good, sometimes stellar or mind-blowing. It was the first bar to serve the Ultimate Mai Tai and it is the venue where I’ve had the best Mai Tai of my life.
It was the Kon-Tiki Oakland.
The Kon-Tiki closed last night but I had to have one final Mai Tai. The circumstances were terrible but the Mai Tai was nearly perfect, a rum forward concoction with sweet and savory notes.
Despite being a supposedly simple drink to make, there are plenty of bars (even good bars) that can’t make a Mai Tai that’s balanced or tasty or without weird flavors. But the Kon-Tiki never let me down and the Mai Tai was unbeaten.
Thank you to every bartender who’s ever shaken one up. Thank you to the Kon-Tiki for ever existing.
The Kon-Tiki Oakland
First Mai Tai: Nov. 8, 2017
Last Mai Tai: Dec. 21, 2024
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