The last stop on our SoCal trip was an overnight in Solvang where we made sure to visit High Roller Tiki Lounge before dinner. The nice thing about High Roller is that they are open early in the day and stay open as late as Midnight on the weekends, plus they have some great merch and friendly service. They only have a wine and beer license, so the “rum alternative” they use in some of their drinks is a lower ABV variant with additional ingredients.
The vibe inside was very nice with a tiki compilation showing on the TV plus great retro music. The Mai Tai was just fine in this format including a good amount of alcohol and Mrs. Mai Tai’s cocktail with Chai was very good. Had I been feeling a little better we would have stayed for a second round or returned later in the evening, but I was tired at the end of a long trip.
It has been a while since our last experience in the back room at Strong Water Anaheim that is called the Captains Quarters and features a separate bartender and a more intimate environment. The section is themed to the inside of a marooned ship, including faux night sky above and Victorian era decor, though the music in this section varied from this strict theme. We included dinner in our experience including some shell-on garlic shrimp, sweet chili salmon, and grilled chicken, all wonderful and a good value given the quality and quantity.
I started the cocktail experience with a Bitter Mai Tai, a riff featuring Campari but still really great. Next, I challenged the bartender with an off-menu order for a Planter’s Punch, a drink that can vary depending on where you get it and how they make in. In this case, it leaned fruity and featured Hamilton 86 Demerara rum and even though it didn’t lean spicy or with Jamaican rum I still loved it.
Tales from the Black Lagoon
Meanwhile Mrs. Mai Tai revisited the complex flavors of the Tales from the Black Lagoon, an outstanding Strong Water original that includes butterscotch and banana notes. Next she tried Velvet Banana that is an inspired riff on the Espresso Martini. Since we were seated at the bar we got to see the cocktail preparation including the smokey Cannon Fire that inspired us to order it ourselves. This Old Fashioned style cocktail has bourbon and allspice, wonderful in this format.
Cannon Fire
We continue to be impressed by the quality of the food and drinks at Strong Water, along with high quality service as well. The Captains Quarters concept is available in other venues but few are executed as completely as it is at Strong Water.
One of the highlights of any trip to the Disneyland Resort is a visit to Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar at the Disneyland Hotel, one of the best tiki bars anywhere in this writer’s opinion. We love the vibe inside and more often than not do also truly enjoy the cocktails as well, though I will usually request a change from the tourist-friendly rums in the Mai Tai and choose something that’s bolder. Called rum Mai Tais have been deep in the Top 5 of our yearly Mai Tai rankings in several years, thanks to the skills of the bartenders. With fairly high temperatures, having lunch at Trader Sam’s was a welcome place to cool off and we were able to get bar seats indoors after just a short wait.
The menu at Trader Sam’s was recently updated and expanded, keeping most of the longtime favorites and adding several new cocktails that previously were only available on some of the bartender’s original “secret menu” options. The Temple of the Forbidden Rye by Melissa Nickoloff finally moves from cult classic to the spotlight, a twist on the template by pairing traditional tiki spice elements such as ginger and allspice with rye whiskey – and it’s fantastic. I also thought that Kelly Merrell’s Notes of Adventure really elevated the Saturn template through the use of fruit juices and made for a wonderful refresher.
Notes of Adventure
Of most note to me was the change in rums for the HippopatoMai-Tai. Previously this used Bacardi Superior and Coruba, and the new blend continues the light/dark rum combo with Flor de Caña Extra Seco and Planteray Original Dark. I was immediately suspect of this new blend since I have gripes with Original Dark generally since it isn’t actually dark, for one, and also has added sugar – different from the richer flavors of the Coruba it is replacing. The bartender free pouring all the ingredients didn’t do anything for my expectations and the balance for this Mai Tai was off – too sweet and without enough rummy flavors.
HippopatoMai-Tai
I appreciate that the combo of a light rum and a dark Jamaican rum goes back to the Mai Tai that Trader Vic introduced to Waikiki in 1953 – and that as a tourist destination that Disney might want to choose something that is more “approachable” for those tourists. I just wish they’d use a better dark rum and made sure to measure in exact portions.
Still, even a so-so Mai Tai ain’t bad at Trader Sam’s where new guests are amazed as the interior decor, exotic music, and special effects and shenanigans from certain drink orders. It’s always a great time for us and this was no exception.
We were treated to a visit to the Club 33 Lounge during our recent visit to Disneyland, thanks to an invite of friends who know members. We had a delightful time keeping cool and enjoying the ambiance and the high quality cocktails. We are grateful to our friends and the members for the invite and hospitality.
A highlight for me was the two Mai Tais I ordered, the first of which was their standard off-menu option. It was a really good Mai Tai and our bartender was up to the challenge to make it a little more “punchy” for a second one that was even better featuring Jamaican and Martinique rhums.
In celebration of Disneyland’s 70th anniversary, there are some special cocktails with glassware themed to one of the original lands. Mrs. Mai Tai loved the Fantasyland cocktail and the glass designed by Mookie Sato.
Downtown San Jose’s singular tiki bar Dr. Funk is launching an expanded cocktail menu on Tuesday, June 24, coinciding with their weekly Traditional Tiki Tuesday with DJ Ship Rex playing vintage 1960s music. We spoke with GM Alena Aaron about the menu changes and tasted a few of the new additions.
Many of Dr. Funk’s best regarded cocktails are staying as is, including the Mai Tai, Zombie, Rum Barrel, Shipwreck, and Phoenix Rising. The Puka Punch remains the go to option for a shared bowl and the overall cocktail count increases from 16 to 22, meaning there’s room for some more diverse offerings and more classics such as Three Dots & A Dash. There’s even the wonderful Espresso Oasis that features coconut rum, tiki syrups, and cold brew. With the Espresso Martini being the number one cocktail in the country and also Mrs. Mai Tai’s favorite, I can assure you this tropical variant is legit.
Espresso Oasis
Aaron told me the menu is intended to appeal to tiki cocktail fans as well as the non-tiki audience that packs San Pedro Square during late night and the weekends. The first adjustment of note is 86ing the divisive Cruzan Black Strap rum in the Jungle Bird and replacing it with a Jamaican rum. The beer list is also updated, leaning into the tropical genre with a pineapple-mango cider and one selection from Maui. But there’s no adjustment needed for the Mai Tai, a top seller and ranked as one of the Top 10 in the World on UltimateMaiTai.com, nor for the namesake Dr. Funk cocktail.
Longtime patrons will recognize a few cocktails returning to the menu, including the Myers’s Storm with Dr. Funk’s private barrel rum and ginger beer. Another returnee is the creamy Thai Chi, which Aaron says is favorite of the staff and which this writer found to be delightful. A milk punch is slated to be a permanent and consistent addition to the menu as well.
Thai Chi
The new Boozy Beachbum is a well-executed spirit-forward blend of rums with cinnamon, lemon, and chocolate bitters that has a fantastic texture and lingering flavors. Another new standout is the Laiki Luau which includes vodka, a nod to casual cocktailers who look for it on the menu, paired with Wray & Nephew rum that will blow the minds of those tiki newbies and make tikiphiles smile. The Laiki Luau is a fantastic and crushable cocktail that leans on lychee and passionfruit, perfect for drinking during the summer on Dr. Funk’s expansive outside patio. Also new: swizzle sticks based on the venue’s prominent entrance tiki carved by Notch Gonzalez.
The menu itself also features some traditional tiki bar components, including a new cocktail/mug combo with the amazing Funky Grog that soft launched a few months back. The menu references Dr. Funk’s new rum club and finally has a QR code to view the venue’s expansive and ever-changing rum list. While there are plans to adjust the food menu in a more tropical direction, Aaron says that change will come down the line. In the meantime, Dr Funk’s new cocktail menu arrives just in time for summer and offers returning patrons something fresh and now more than ever has something for everyone.
Dr Funk’s new cocktail menu arrives just in time for summer and offers returning patrons something fresh and now more than ever has something for everyone.
As we arrived right at opening and sat at the bar, we saw the featured item for our visit: the Hawaiian Room, a 1940s cocktail from the Hotel Lexington in New York City. This balanced cocktail was Mrs Mai Tai’s choice and has pineapple, lime, orange curaçao, apple brandy, and white rum. I looked at the rest of the cocktail menu and picked the Kingston Negroni, also quite great and using Smith & Cross Jamaican rum as it should.
Shortly thereafter, the bartender showed us a Tiki Tuesday menu of classics such as the Scorpion, Jet Pilot, and Navy Grog. I mentioned I was surprised there wasn’t a Mai Tai listed on this or on the main cocktail menu, but he pointed out the $45 Vintage Mai Tai that includes Foursquare 2011 rum from Barbados, along with marcona almond orgeat and Martinique rhum. He then suggested that people know they can get a good Mai Tai here anyway, at which point I suggested that it never hurts to list it explicitly because sometimes even craft cocktail bars can’t make it, when they don’t have orgeat, or sometimes they make it with pineapple or orange juice.
Mai Tai
Nonetheless, the confidence of the bartender made me think that ordering a Mai Tai would be worth it, so I asked for it with Planteray Xaymaca rum that I saw on the back bar. As I watched the prep I could see the inclusion of another spirit and I determined that they are so used to including Martinique rhum that they didn’t consider I wanted a single rum Mai Tai. I braced for a difficult conversation but after tasting the cocktail I decided that Martinique rhum did actually improve it after all, resulting in a fabulous Mai Tai that had a great orgeat and rum flavor.
A few more regulars started filtering into the bar, we decided two drinks were all we needed before going back to Disneyland for the evening. Tiki Tuesday at The Cellar was really fantastic.
The Wooden Pearl is a new restaurant and cocktail bar now open in the Anaheim Packing House, with an enclosed space that’s fairly immersive considering its location in a food hall. We went in for cocktails and enjoyed the vibe and shells placed as decor.
My cocktail was That Koko is So Hot Right Now, described as “Blue Steel? Le Tigre? No. KOKO” and contains Mijanta Blanco Tequila, Yuzu, Lactose, Guava, and Strange Water Sparkling Coconut. It’s served on fire, though without the extravagant display common at tiki bars, and I sure love a good Zoolander reference. Even better was the taste, tropical and refreshing.
