Author: Kevin Crossman

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Happy Hulaween

Had to stop by @thekontikioakland for their Hulaween festivities last night. Some great rum samples and cocktails from O’ahu rum favorites @kohanarum. I enjoy their rum expressions, though their heavy cube-shaped bottles are… divisive. But the juice is fab, no doubt. I also hear great things about their distillery tour, so check them out the next time you’re on the island.

The Oakland Ohana costume party was in full swing and I came up with a simple but effective costume to pay tribute to Kon-Tiki’s co-owner @christaivaliotis, who’s well known for his amazing hospitality but also his amazing chest hair. Thanks @laurasmurphy for the photo.

The music was a spooky playlist covering a variety of genres and I really dug the mix. I was going sans-glasses for the costume so I think there was some Halloween decor but I can’t be sure.

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Golden Fez Shock the Monkey Lowball Glass

I purchased this very nice glass from our friends at House of Tabu. When you order you also get some additional goodies including a recipe card from Tiki Lindy, a pin, and a sticker. Very nice.

I don’t have a ton of these smaller “lowball” glasses, so this seemed like the opportune time to toe-dip into House of Tabu’s “Order of the Golden Fez” brand (or maybe it is a cult, I’m not sure). The glasses are still available, along with a pre-sale for the new issue of Exotica Moderne where I have an article about local favorites The Kon-Tiki in Oakland.

The Mai Tai was made with a freshly prepared bottle of Ultimate Mai Tai rum blend. That’s equal parts Appleton 12, Plantation Xaymaca, Smith & Cross, and Plantation OFTD. Rich, boozy, and delicious.

The orgeat comes from our buddy Tony Dunnigan who lives in San Jose. Tony’s homemade orgeat is pretty easy to make even if you’re lazy like I am. But I was happy to trade a couple rum samples for some of Tony’s orgeat. I noticed Tony has a couple Order of the Golden Fez mugs, so I guess he’s part of the secret society, too. Oops, maybe I have said too much.

Orgeat by Tony Dunnigan
2 cups Unsweetened Almond Milk
4 cups Granulated Sugar
Heat in saucepan and stir until the sugar dissolves
Add 1 “light” teaspoon of Orange Blossom Water
Add 2 tablespoons of Almond Extract
Add ⅓ Cup Cognac
Continue to stir, then bottle

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1934 Zombie

I keep trying Zombie variants but aways come back to this one. Don the Beachcomber really got it right the first time, as future variants, while interesting, do have the complex and transformative characteristics of this Planters Punch on steroids.

The glassware features a stylized Jeff “Beachbum” Berry, who through sleuthing and relationship building was finally able to piece together Donn’s original recipe. The Zombie chapter in Berry’s book Sippin’ Safari might be my favorite chapter in any book I’ve ever read. So many historical details, written in Detective-style first person as only the Bum can. If you don’t have the book, you need to get it now. The 10th Anniversary edition is printed in beautiful hardback with additional material compared to the original 2007 paperback version.

The glass is available from Cocktail Kingdom and is the perfect compliment. And if you need the recipe it’s right on glass for easy reference. Enjoy a Zombie today.

Books and glasses and more are available at beachbumberry.com.

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Trader Vic’s Canned Mai Tai Available in 38 States

RTD is A-OK

Up an hour early today to take the dog in for surgery. Shitty week at work seeing how many colleagues are vax deniers. Then an hour wait to pick up the dog (she’s fine, but surgery wasn’t cheap). So it was a heck of a day.

So this tasty canned Mai Tai seemed like a great idea.

I purchased my canned Mai Tai at BevMo locally, but these are now available to order online and shipping to 38 states!

Order Now: drinktradervics.com

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Simplified Zombie Attempt

It is October, so that means that it is Zombie season at Ultimate Mai Tai HQ.

Tonight we took a run at tweaking the Zombie (Simplified) recipe by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry in his book Beachbum Berry Remixed.

Zombie (Simplified)
¾ oz Lime Juice
1 oz White Grapefruit Juice
½ oz Cinnamon Syrup
½ oz 151 Proof Puerto Rican Rum
1 oz Dark Jamaican Rum
 

My tasting notes from the last time I made this indicated the cinnamon was too forward. I’ve also felt that Grenadine is an essential component to the Zombie, so I made an adjustment to the syrups. I used a fresh Ruby Grapefruit.

You know I prefer heavier rums, so I used my Ultimate Mai Tai rum blend instead (which is actually around the same ABV as the two rums above). For those new readers, the Ultimate Mai Tai rum blend is equal parts Appleton 12, Smith & Cross, Plantation Xaymaca, and Plantation OFTD.

Zombie (Simplified) – Adjusted
¾ oz Lime Juice
1 oz Rudy Grapefruit Juice
¼ oz Cinnamon Syrup
¼ oz Grenadine
1½ oz Ultimate Mai Tai rum blend
 

This wasn’t terrible but honestly tasted a little flat. Definitely missed the additional spice elements in the 1934 Zombie recipe.

They can’t all be winners.

Glassware: Beachbum Berry Zombie Glasses

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Tiki Tom’s

We’re late to the reopening party, but perhaps that helped our experience on Sunday. Mrs. Mai Tai did some shopping in Walnut Creek and we hit Tiki Tom’s for dinner and drinks. Everything they say about the remodel is true and even more so. It is gorgeous inside with all kinds of cool Hawaiian and Tiki elements. I loved the mug displays and nods to Disney and TV shows, plus some very immersive lighting and Hawaiian music that was totally on point.

Several people have told us that drinks were inconsistent, but my Mai Tai was really quite good. Mrs Mai Tai had the Dole Whip with a Dark Rum float that tasted very nice, and I also tried the original cocktail Blowfish Intoxica. This Hemingway Daiquiri riff with Rhum Agricole was really well prepared and balanced.

For food, I had the Shrimp and Pork Lumpia and also the Kalua Pork Sliders, while Mrs. Mai Tai had the Beet Salad and Coconut Nice. All the food we had was great, though since the kitchen is small the plates came out in pairs. Our server was quite earnest and friendly.

Patrons seem to be digging the new Tiki Tom’s. There weren’t any Frat bros or jocks on our visit, and one group even asked to be seated in the fantastic nautical-themed booth just past the bar.

If there’s a downside, the food and cocktail prices are at least ~$3-5 more than you’d expect to pay. We know the rent in downtown Walnut Creek is high, but prices seemed higher than Oakland or San Francisco. Nonetheless, we loved our visit to Tiki Tom’s and can’t wait to return.

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Boozy Cocktails at Forbidden Island

Had a really great couple of cocktails at Forbidden Island the other night. I started with a vintage cocktail, the Tradewinds. FI’s preparation was quite nice and I enjoy this cocktail that’s a combination of citrus, coconut creme, rum, and apricot brandy.

Next up was the Bombo, an old fashioned riff that features Forbidden Island’s barrel selection of Balcones Rum from Texas. The rum is high proof and very full flavored similar to Jamaican or Demerara rums. The cocktail features the Balcones rum over crushed ice along with dark brown sugar and fresh nutmeg on top. It was really outstanding.