Author: Kevin Crossman

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3rd Best Mai Tai of 2020

Mai Tais at Gar Woods Grill and Pier (Carnelian Bay, CA)

Mrs. Mai Tai and I had a weekend away and ate lunch on Lake Tahoe on the sunny back patio at Gar Woods. This is one of the few places where you can get an officially licensed Trader Vic’s Mai Tai and the cocktails were fantastic. I tried the “Trader Vic’s Mai Tai” (made with Mai Tai Concentrate) as well as the scratch “1944 Mai Tai” and both tasted like they were made by the Trader.

With the calm lake waters lapping nearby along with fresh mountain air, this was the most relaxing Mai Tai of the year.

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4th Best Mai Tai of 2020

Mai Tai Smuggler’s Cove (San Francisco, CA)

In early February, I landed at the Cove due to unexpected circumstances and had a great Mai Tai along with an evening of rum tastings. On my previous visit in late 2019 I was disappointed that they changed their orange curaçao, so I was so pleased for the return to normalcy in 2020. Sadly, this was my last visit to the Cove pre-COVID.

Smuggler’s Cove includes Denizen Merchant’s Reserve rum and wonderful house-made Orgeat. It has been my go-to for Mai Tais in San Francisco for many years.

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5th Best Mai Tai of 2020

Buz-Tai at Hula Hoops (South San Francisco, CA)

Hula Hoops has a strong cocktail program, including this Mai Tai riff developed local tikiphile Buz Deadwax. The Buz-Tai has three kinds of rum and adds a little Allspice liqueur. It is a bold and brash Mai Tai riff, and this to-go cocktail traveled great and tasted wonderful.

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6th Best Mai Tai of 2020

Appleton 12 Mai Tai at Rum Sugar Lime (Reno, NV)

We were tipped that this was the place for great cocktails in Reno, so we had a short visit on a weekend getaway. The standard-issue Mai Tai from Rum Sugar Lime is very good, but I ordered a second one to-go. Everything was packaged nicely, including some fine crushed ice, and I prepared the cocktail in the hotel room. A truly outstanding Mai Tai made with Appleton 12 Jamaican rum, my favorite rum and go-to Mai Tai rum sub.

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7th Best Mai Tai of 2020

Coruba / Hamilton 86 Mai Tai at Fred & Ginger’s Exotic Cocktail Bar and Lounge (San Jose, CA)

My house Mai Tai blend is a mix of Jamaican and Demerara rums, so it’s no surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed this blend of Coruba Jamaican rum and Hamilton Demerara rum while enjoying front-yard cocktail hour with our friends the Fritchs. Their home bar is amazing and while we didn’t step inside, Terra Fritch still made an incredible Mai Tai.

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8th Best Mai Tai of 2020

1944 Mai Tai with Appleton Reserve at Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar (Anaheim, CA)

The date was March 8. Less than 10 days later everything would be shut down, but on this day I wandered into Trader Sam’s after a great Sunday morning at Disney California Adventure park. Unlike the evening two days earlier, Sam’s wasn’t at capacity and I was able to relax with a cocktail. It’s to the credit of the Trader Sam’s bartenders that they are eager to accommodate, especially when things aren’t crazy inside. Skipper Will made me a traditional 1944 Mai Tai made with simple syrup rather than the Sam’s standard agave syrup, along with Appleton Reserve Jamaican rum. This was the best Mai Tai I’ve ever had a Trader Sam’s.