Author: Kevin Crossman

Posted on

Mai Tai Day at Trader Vic’s

Trader Vic’s Emeryville put on a very nice event in honor of the Mai Tai’s 77th birthday, a day earlier than the official Mai Tai Day of August 30. Held in the parking lot, the event featured some art vendors including Woody Miller, Match Accessories, and B-Rex, along with Trader Vic’s merchandise. A raffle benefited the Easter Island foundation. There was a table for rotating rum samples, and a station from Liquid Alchemist. Hawaiian performers started the entertainment, and then we got to experience a couple excellent sets by Tikiyaki 5-0. I really love the surf sounds of 5-0, and due to being outdoors it played better than the softer exotica leanings of the full Tikiyaki Orchestra.

There were several bar stations, including one serving Trader Vic’s drinks, a station with the Mai Tai boat and slushy, one featuring the Conga Lounge Mai Tai, and station with rotating bartenders. Mrs. Mai Tai wasn’t drinking and said the Mai Tai slushy was pretty good. Meanwhile, I liked my Trader Vic’s Mai Tai but was most impressed by the premium Mai Tai made by Doc Parks and Adrian Castaneda using Appleton 12, Clement VSOP, and Doctor Bird.

Food wise, there was a station for a few grab and go options, including my favorite the Crab Rangoon. Or you could order takeout based on a somewhat limited food menu from the restaurant. The food options were pretty good for this event. Everyone received a bottle of water in the event package and a souvenir Mai Tai glass to commemorate the occasion.

Trader Vic’s CEO Rhett Rosen led the toast to the Mai Tai, and the Trader Vic’s team did a great job running everything. The staff was super friendly and everything seemed to go off without a hitch. Mahalo.

Best of all we got to see some old friends and make some new ones. So nice to see so many people in an outdoor setting on a breezy afternoon in Emeryville. Long live Trader Vic’s, long live the Mai Tai!

Posted on

Turkey Grog

I wanted to do a grog riff that used Bourbon and Jamaican Rum as the base, so I chose two popular spirits that are both a little boozy. Smith & Cross (57% ABV) is a wonderful Jamaican rum that leans a bit funky, and is used widely in high-quality bars and restaurants. Wild Turkey 101 is a bold and boozy Bourbon that won’t break the bank. With more than two ounces of higher proof spirits, this cocktail pays homage to boozy forbearers such as the Navy Grog.

The two spirits seemed like a good combo, but this cocktail went through a few iterations. Thanks to the members of the “South SF Bay Area Tiki Ohana” group on FB for input, especially @laurasmurphy who provided tasting notes and suggestions.



Everything here should be pretty readily available, which is one reason this is calling specifically for Ruby Grapefruit and not the more traditional but harder to find White Grapefruit.

Turkey Grog by Kevin Crossman
¾ oz Lime Juice
½ oz Ruby Grapefruit Juice
½ oz Honey Syrup (1:1)
½ oz Velvet Falernum
½ oz Don’s Spices #2
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
¾ oz Smith & Cross Jamaican Rum
1½ oz Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon
Shake with ice, garnish with mint. Serve in glass of choice.

Don’s Spices #2: Equal parts Vanilla Syrup and Pimento Dram/Allspice Liqueur.
If you have non-alcoholic Falernum syrup then drop the amount to ¼ oz.

Posted on

Mai Tai Joe (and his little brother)

I finally picked up Trader Vic’s iconic Suffering Bastard mug, aka Mai Tai Joe. They threw this in for free on a recent promotional offer, so it pays to get onto Trader Vic’s mailing list.

Earlier this year I purchased the entire line of minified Trader Vic’s mugs, including a tiny Mai Tai Joe. In either format, this is an iconic mug.

The Trader Vic’s Suffering Bastard cocktail is different from the historical cocktail created by Joe Scialom in Cairo during WWII. It is basically a boozier version of the Mai Tai, but garnished with a cucumber peel.

Suffering Bastard (1970s)
3 oz Trader Vic’s Mai Mix
1 oz Light Puerto Rican Rum
2 oz Rhum St. James

This is from the 1972 Trader Vic’s Bartender’s Guide and the Trader Vic’s Rum Cookery and Drinkery (1974). Contemporaneous Mai Tai recipes called for 2 ounces of Mai Tai Mix with 2 ounces of Trader Vic’s Mai Tai rum. Which is to say that if you made a Suffering Bastard from scratch you’d just use more of the lime, orgeat, curaçao, and sugar, and then just use three ounces of rum rather than two.

Also noteworthy: Trader Vic specifically calling for Rhum St James, a Rhum Agricole, in a recipe that’s basically a Mai Tai.

Suffering Bastard (2005)
3 oz Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Mix
½ oz Lime Juice
2 oz Dark Rum
1 oz Silver Rum
Garnish with Cucumber Peel, Mint Sprig, and spent Lime shell.

This is the recipe in the Trader Vic’s Tiki Party book. Once again you basically have a Mai Tai made one-third larger, though this time it calls for more traditional Dark and Silver rums.

Posted on

Walt Disney’s Annette and the Mystery at Smuggler’s Cove

Found this 1963 tome at an antique store. This seems like a tween novel version of one of Annette’s movies (at one point she even breaks out in song, I’m not kidding). The plot involves Annette and her blonde friend Babs who “borrow” a small ship from their boyfriends Rod and Neil and then crash the ship on rocks in Smuggler’s Cove. There are subplots involving the planning and execution of Annette’s big Luau party and a stolen painting that has connections to exiles of a Central American country.

Smuggler’s Cove is described as a local Southern California cove where “rum-runners had a shack there during the prohibition era many years ago. The palm trees had been a landmark.” It is far less exotic than the title of the book suggests. There’s a Spanish-speaking family living nearby that help Annette and Babs after they crash land, but (spoiler alert!) are also connected to the exiles.

It’s all very melodramatic and features plenty of casual white privilege seen in early 60’s media.

Posted on

Light Cocktail Night

Did a riff on the Hawaiian Sunset cocktail, a vintage recipe from the Aku-Aku restaurant in Las Vegas, as appearing in the book Sippin Safari by Jeff Beachbum Berry.
 
Hawaiian Sunset
½ oz Lime Juice
½ oz Lemon Juice
½ oz Orgeat
1 tsp Grenadine
1½ oz Vodka
 
I try to avoid vodka when I can, and I had a full ounce of Lemon Juice so I did a little riff. The cane spirit on hand was Batavia Arrack, which has a great flavor a thousand times more interesting than vodka.
 
 
Riff Recipe
1 oz Lemon Juice
½ oz Orgeat
¼ oz Grenadine
1½ oz Batavia Arrack
Shake with ice and strain. The coupe glasses were in storage so I used this little Trader Vic’s glass instead. 
 
Very tasty.
Posted on

Long Island Iced Tea

I guess this is the trendy drink this week, after a video by The Educated Barfly and a discussion this week on the always entertaining Life Behind Bars podcast.

Long Island Iced Tea
1 oz Lemon Juice
1 oz Simple Syrup
½ oz Vodka
½ oz Gin
½ oz Tequila
½ oz Rum
½ oz Triple Sec
Build in tall glass with ice, top with cola. Lightly stir.

I was never a Long Island Iced Tea guy back during the years when most people have these. Wasn’t really much of anything but a beer guy, actually. But this wasn’t too bad. The tequila was the spirit that pushed through more than the others, which was fine I guess but I would have preferred the gin or rum.