Mai Tai Monday is getting a little brighter with this cool aqua shirt from Trader Vic’s.
Presidio Afternoon at Walt Disney Museum and Sessions
Julie and I took our sons our for the afternoon at the Presidio in San Francisco. We started with a visit to the Walt Disney Family Museum, which is featuring a wonderful special exhibit on Disney during World War II. Photos aren’t allowed inside but there are some truly fascinating exhibits that chronicle not just the studio’s animation output but also putting some fo the things into cultural and political context. Highly recommended. We also did a quick run through the main museum which we have visited several times before and is always a delight. I am especially fond of the last room chronicling Walt’s media diversification in the 1950s starting with television and then with Disneyland.
Dinner was at Sessions, which we enjoyed earlier in the month during the May 4th special event with Smuggler’s Cove. The food here is gourmet, though pricey. This time we tried the beignets and they are so great. Wait service was disappointingly slow (like it was last time), though.
There are only a few cocktails on the menu. The Rum and Pineapple-based Sarlacc Shrubb was okay, though more tart than I prefer. Much better was the Golden Gate Mile, featuring Bourbon, Grapefruit, Honey, and Ginger. Julie liked the Presidio cocktail with Gin, Lemon, Hibiscus, and Prosecco. If you’re a wine fan, there are dozens of Skywalker Vineyards selections, which seemed popular with the patrons.
We finished the day by visiting the Yoda statue nearby.
Wine Tai
Aloha Friday! I decided to play around with some wine leftover from one of Mrs. Mai Tai’s fab family dinners this week. It’s a “Mai Tai” made with wine as the only alcoholic component. And as much as I figured I’d hate it (I’m not a wine fan) I actually liked it.
I chose Lemon Juice to pair with the wine, since I thought it would be a little brighter. And I chose Orange Bitters to sub for the Orange Curacao.
Wine Tai
1 oz Lemon Juice
½ oz Orgeat
½ oz Demerara Syrup
2 oz White Wine
2 dashes Orange Bitters
New Trader Vic’s San Jose Airport Opens May 27
Only for those on the inside of security, but open any time planes are flying near Terminal B, Gate 22-23. Restaurant and bar, with Outpost grab’n’go.
Update: the Outpost opens on May 27. The bar/restaurant opens mid-June.
Update #2: the Outpost opening is delayed slightly and will not open on the 27th, due to COVID related training snags. Stay tuned.
Update #3: The Outpost is now open.
Update #4: Trader Vic’s San Jose is now fully open
Balcones Rum: FI Barrel Edition
Got to try this new rum last night at Forbidden Island. It’s rum from Balcones Distilling (makers of Texas Whiskey) and the Forbidden Island edition is a spicy pot still rum that isn’t half bad. The representative compared it to Jamaican rum, which is honestly a bold move to compare yourself to the world’s best rum (I expect nothing less from a Texan). But, I give those folks from Texas credit for swinging for the fences.
The rum is quite potent, bottled at cask strength. Give it a try the next time you’re at Forbidden Island. There is a “general public” release this Friday 5/21 from 5-7 p.m.
There are a couple cocktail specials using this rum. I tried the “Over the Falls” with citrus, spices, orgeat, and absinthe. This is a wonderful tropical cocktail and while you definitely taste the absinthe it doesn’t overpower. What might be more than you expect is the ABV – this is a very boozy cocktail! Quite delicious though.
Ohana Night at Forbidden Island
Fantastic time tonight for Ohana night at @ . This was our next toe-dip back into indoor dining and it was so nice to see so many familiar faces at Forbidden Island tonight. Wasn’t quite like the before times (hello, marks!) but still some fabulous FI cocktails and hospitality.
Mrs Mai Tai had the Chi-Chi, while I indulged with a classic Mai Tai with Appleton 12 and Plantation Xaymaca. It was a very good Mai Tai! Along with the Guac and Chips and an Ester Williams tropical movie on the TV, it was just like old times.
Holmes Cay Belize
This niche release from Holmes Cay won acclaim last year, even from rum fans who generally prefer Jamaican and Barbados rum styles. I finally decided to get a bottle myself, and boy am I glad I did.
The rum from Belize is 100% Column Still distillate, but has been tropically aged for 15 years and contains no added sugar or additives. Nonetheless it is quite flavorful and has a sweet vanilla finish. The rum is bottled at cask strength at 61% ABV, yet is still pleasant to sip neat.
As expected, I also made a Mai Tai with this rum. The flavor is different than my usual Jamaican-heavy blend, but is still quite satisfying. The rum’s characteristics do pull through even in the cocktail format, delivering a sweet flavor and a long finish.
These bottles won’t be around forever, so if you have the opportunity to purchase (and can accord the ~$100 price of this limited release) I’d encourage you to take the plunge.
