The Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai
Traveling the Bay Area and beyond to find the best Mai Tai in the world! Tiki, cocktails, and adventures by Kevin Crossman
In case you’ve missed this amazing new cocktail channel, now would be a great time to head over to Make and Drink on YouTube and see all the videos @makeanddrinkderek has been doing for Mai Tai month.
Derek says “This is something you level up to. It is as good of a Mai Tai as you’re ever going to have.”
While Mrs. Mai Tai spent some quality time with the retail stores, I took another opportunity to relax at Margaritaville. Having tried a Margarita the day before I thought it would be an opportune time to try a rum cocktail. I remembered seeing the Rum Runner on the menu the day before so I ordered it without ever looking at the menu.
The bartender seemed to be far from relaxed but made the cocktail. It was served over ice and incorporated the berry and banana flavors the cocktail is famous for, and it was actually pretty good. The rums used were not very assertive but at the same time this wasn’t too sweet either.
I looked at the menu finally and couldn’t find the Rum Runner in the Boat Drinks section. I finally spotted it in the Frozen drink section – which reminded me that this was a cocktail that was originally served blended. And then I saw that this cocktail is supposed to be made with Myers’s Jamaica Rum and Cruzan 134. So, rums that are quite a bit more assertive! I asked the Bartender for another served frozen according to the description.
It’s always interesting to see a bartender in scramble mode, and this was most certainly the case here – looking here and there and up and down for the rums. I guess they don’t make them according to the menu, or this guy was a newbie. But soon enough a blended Rum Runner appeared.
The frozen version actually wasn’t quite a flavor bomb, though was more so after I mixed in the Cruzan 134 float. Frozen drinks often aren’t quite as sweet, the same as solid vs. melted ice cream. Nonetheless, it was quite reasonable and got the job done. I appreciated that the banana flavor came through quite nicely.
That’s the cocktail name, not a description. The Perfect Margarita is as close to craft as they get at Margaritaville, the themed restaurant chain named from Jimmy Buffett’s most famous song. It is described as “Margaritaville Gold and Silver Tequilas, Margaritaville Triple Sec, Orange Curaçao and lime juice served on the rocks… for margarita aficionados only” though that lime juice is bottled and not fresh. I always order without salt and appreciated that at least this wasn’t blended.
Was this perfect? No, though it was a pretty nice break from the shopping and all the people in the mall. The tequilas used here are fairly mild, which is just fine by me.
An epic day in Oakland for the inaugural Oakhana Summer Swizzle home tiki bar crawl and fundraising event. This was a very well-run event, so we thank the entire organizing team, bartenders, and all the event volunteers.
The day started at The Dragon’s Den, Jeff Hall’s house. We enjoyed the dark ambiance and some cocktails and pupus. The drinks were done well, featuring Tanduay and Rum Fire rums, and bartenders Carlos and Christian kept up with demand like the pros that they are. I especially liked the Mai Tai that was even made with Latitude 29 Orgeat (Rum Fire is great in a Mai Tai). Groovy music was provided by DJ Wiley Coyote.
We then moved over to Pearl’s Hideaway, hope of Laura and Woody Miller. DJ Ship Rex switched music with a couple tight sets from the Reefriders – including an incredible version of “Taboo.” Drinks were from Doc Parks and he and Julio also did great including a blended cocktail with banana. I liked Doc’s spin on a Jungle Bird using Rum Fire to counterbalance the Campari. We also had dinner here, and many enjoyed swimming in the pool.
The event featured a silent auction to raise money for Oakland’s Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, and bidding at closing time got a little crazy. We did win a couple items and look forward to delivering the Mai Tai Happy Hour experience that was an item in the auction. There was also a second fundraiser, a raffle of new and used items that people brought to the event, and the funds there are going to Maui.
We can’t thank Laura, Jeff, Woody, and all the Summer Swizzle planning team and volunteers enough for putting on such a great event. Let’s doing it again!
One of the highlights of my visits to The Kon-Tiki is to check out their rum selection and to try something new. Such was the case on Wednesday when I tried two varietals of Kō Hana Kea Hawaiian Agricole Rum. These rums are distilled from the crushed cane juice from different types of sugar cane, providing each expression with unique and interesting flavors.
First was Kalaoa, harvested in December 2020. I tried this neat and found it to be similar to the Kea varietal I have at home but a bit more mild and less briney. Very satisfying to sip.
Next was Lahi from June 2019 and for this varietal I had it in Kon-Tiki’s excellent Mai Tai. This rum is so flavorful that it really punches through and makes for a fantastic cocktail. You can taste the savory flavor profile from the Kō Hana Rum, and no grassy aftertaste like sometimes get with this style of rum distilled from sugar cane juice.
The Kon-Tiki had a nice collection and we thank Carlos for the suggestions.
We’ll be visiting the Kō Hana distillery next week on O’ahu when we attend the Tiki in Waikiki event. There’s a lot of focus on local businesses and cultural activities for this tiki weekender event, including some fundraising for Maui relief efforts.
Many friends and fans gathered at The Kon-Tiki in Oakland last night to pay tribute the late “Tiki Tommy” Nigman who recently passed away.
Tommy was an Oakland resident who sold his wares at various vintage and tiki events for many years, and he was a regular attendee on Wednesdays at The Kon-Tiki. His warm spirit and friendly nature were present in all my interactions with him, and his presence will be missed. Thank you to Joe Kent and many others for helping Tommy so much in his last months.
The Kon-Tiki has placed a tribute to Tommy just inside the bar. We continue to appreciate The Kon-Tiki ownership and team members for recognizing and paying tribute to our fallen comrades. Aloha, Tommy.
We wanted to visit the iconic Foshay Tower in downtown Minneapolis, but their 32nd floor observation deck is only open Fri-Sun. The 30th floor museum is open every day, though, and is worth a quick visit. We made do by visiting the Prohibition Bar on the 27th floor for some great cocktails and also some nice views through the windows.
My cocktail was the Sidecar (without a sugar rim), which is my usual go-to for places like this where ordering a daiquiri is sometimes refused like it was this time (though I sometimes wonder if the server thinks a blender is needed…). And Prohibition’s Sidecar was really great.
There was sort of a mix-up with the cocktail. The server asked if I wanted brandy or cognac and I asked for cognac. The actual spirit used was middle-tier rather than lower-tier from the list (I didn’t call a specific brand, neither did the server), so it was a little pricier than I expected. But, like I said, the cocktail was fantastic. We worked it out with the server in the end.
The trendy W Hotel has a great lobby bar on the first floor of this iconic building. It’s a really interesting building to check out in Minneapolis.
