We were so impressed with Crafthouse Cocktails Mai Tai we naturally had to compare it to our previous favorite Tip Top Proper Cocktails Mai Tai. Seeing that we still had some cans of Straightway we threw that into the mix as sort of a control group, and we blind tasted all three of these with our family of four adults.
The results were interesting since we all chose the same canned Mai Tai as our favorite, though the difference between our top two picks was very narrow and a couple of us had to go back and forth a few times to declare a winner.
Nonetheless, we did unanimously pick Crafthouse Cocktails as our winner of the blind taste test, a shade above Tip Top Proper. Your mileage might vary but for us there was a clear best in show.
Summary
Straightaway – clearly in last place for everyone by a wide margin, artificial citrus aftertaste, not very rummy. 25% ABV / 100 ml.
Tip Top Proper Cocktails – a very close second on all our ballots, with a great rum finish and a good balance of sweet and sour notes. 26% ABV / 100 ml.
Crafthouse Cocktails – the unanimous winner, a delightful rum flavor and complex notes of orange and almond, with a rich mouthfeel. 16% ABV / 200 ml.
When we started evaluating RTD Mai Tais a few years back most of the ones we tried were in large cans and barely tasted like a Mai Tai, but there have been so many quality entrants in the last few years providing ready to drink cocktails that actually taste like a cocktail you might make from scratch. These tend to come in smaller bottles or cans, usually with an ABV +/- 20%, and there are now many good ones to choose from.