Another banger from San Francisco mixologist Nathan Robinson, this is sort of a “Planters Grog” riff that includes some bold flavors and a little maple syrup to keep things warm and seasonal.
This is quite good, if you have the Liquid Alchemist Falernum like I do. If you don’t have Liquid Alchemist I’d suggest using your own Falernum at half an ounce in combination with a quarter ounce of Allspice Dram as this will more closely approximate the flavor. And if you use a little extra Maple Syrup I wouldn’t discourage you from doing so.
Bah Rumbug by Nathan Robinson 1 oz Lime Juice 1 oz Red Grapefruit Juice ¾ oz Bold Falernum (pref. Liquid Alchemist) ½ oz Maple Syrup 1½ oz Demerara Rum (pref. Hamilton 86) 1 oz Black Blended Jamaica Rum (pref. Coruba) Shake with crushed ice and pour into tall Zombie or Pilsner glass. Garnish with mint, if you have it.
Twenty six hundred and one days ago a man walked into a bar in Oakland and ordered an off menu Mai Tai at a tiki bar during their soft open.
the first Mai Tai
Since then I’ve had probably hundreds of Mai Tai there. Thanks to a stellar rum collection, high quality ingredients, and a professional crew they’ve nearly aways very good, sometimes stellar or mind-blowing. It was the first bar to serve the Ultimate Mai Tai and it is the venue where I’ve had the best Mai Tai of my life.
The Kon-Tiki closed last night but I had to have one final Mai Tai. The circumstances were terrible but the Mai Tai was nearly perfect, a rum forward concoction with sweet and savory notes.
Despite being a supposedly simple drink to make, there are plenty of bars (even good bars) that can’t make a Mai Tai that’s balanced or tasty or without weird flavors. But the Kon-Tiki never let me down and the Mai Tai was unbeaten.
Thank you to every bartender who’s ever shaken one up. Thank you to the Kon-Tiki for ever existing.
The Kon-Tiki Oakland First Mai Tai: Nov. 8, 2017 Last Mai Tai: Dec. 21, 2024
I got word that yesterday was going to be the last night for the Kon-Tiki and made it up to Oakland to snag a table with the family at opening.
Kon-Tiki Closing Night Checklist
_ Complete the DIY cocktail checklist by having the Pantera Rosa (lovely fruity tequila cocktail) and the Ma Kua for two (a bold sharable drink) _ Order a last Uma Uma for Mrs. Mai Tai, her favorite _ Eat the legendary Kon-Tiki Burger for the last time, the best thing in the building that has 200 rums _ Order a Mai Tai _ One last toast with Christ _ Order Kon-Tiki merch (a t-shirt) _ Say thank you to the crew _ Leave an extra generous tip _ Enjoy Yacht Rock in a tiki bar _ Say aloha to the Oakhana _ Enjoy eclectic tunes from the DJ _ Leave with my Expedition plaque _ Take group photo with the family _ One last photo of the neon sign _ Fail at trying not to cry _ Regret not visiting more often
Mrs. Mai Tai and I were in downtown San Jose for a show and stopped by 55 South for dinner and drinks. This is the fourth year that 55 South is participating in the Sippin’ Santa popup, and we’re still not sick of holiday bars so this seemed like the natural place to be.
Sippin’ Santa Cocktail
Having visited twoother Sippin’ Santa locations this year we were both extremely impressed by the quality and taste of the four cocktails we tried, each of which exceeded our expectations and compared better to the other sites. For example, my Sugar Plum Mai Tai was not overly sweet and had a truly delightful mouthfeel and long finish, so much that it was by far my favorite holiday Mai Tai this season.
I finally tried the Sippin’ Santa cocktail this year, the longstanding menu entry with aged Demerara rum, Amaro, citrus, and gingerbread mix. This had just the right amount of holiday spice flavors and remained balanced as I drank the cocktail. The Choquito also had a great balance of flavors and didn’t have any of the syrupy coconut consistency you sometimes find with a Coquito, nor did it lean too much in a chocolate direction from the Créme de Cacao. Mrs. Mai Tai’s Holiday on Ice was another standout, featuring creamy coffee flavors.
Our food and service were great at 55 South, consistent with previous visits. We arrived around 4:45 pm and the place was festively abuzz thanks to two work groups having holiday parties, so the atmosphere was delightful. Sippin’ Santa runs through New Year’s Eve at 55 South.
The Kon-Tiki is closing after service on Sunday but the place is going out with a bang as patrons from far and wide and coming for one final cheeseburger or cocktail. Wednesday was the last Ohana night, the day of the week when local tikiphiles have come to hang out on what is generally a slower night than the weekends. But this Wednesday was anything but slow, with a persistent full room and a wait out the door.
The Kon-Tiki staff were in full force, with all three service wells going at the same time to pump our drinks in a timely manner. There were several wait staff, several kitchen runners, and nice to see Jeanie Grant back in the house serving as the maître d’. We want to specifically call out Chris Parker and Kriss Cucuy for exceptional service for me personally this evening.
I’m working to complete another homemade “Kon-Tiki cocktail checklist” and knocked out a few cocktails and am ready to close it out on Sunday with Mrs. Mai Tai’s help. It’d been forever since I had the Zombie and found it to be pretty great – both potent and fruity, with a touch of spice. The Virgin’s Sacrifice was far too spicy for my mild tongue so I passed it over to Jeff as a bonus. Lastly, I had the Leviathan for Two (but just for me this evening) which I’d never had before and immediately liked. The cocktail has rum, bourbon, tangerine, and spices and was nice and rich and balanced. I’m going to miss the consistently high quality of cocktails here.
If you’re trying to get to Kon-Tiki in the next couple days, prepare for waits and treat the staff with kindness. It was so fantastic last night to see the crew working so efficiently on such a busy night – all to the sound of Yacht Rock that the Kon-Tiki used to play religiously and was a welcome return for me.
The Leviathan came in a nice Moai Mug that had a little tear-like drip that was all the more poignant as I left Ohana night for the last time.
We had a great time for the annual tiki mug swap at Forbidden Island last night. Thanks to Chad for organizing and hosting this, we put our wrapped mugs into the pile and ended up with some new ones. Mrs Mai Tai really loved hers, and while I thought the mini bowl was nice I was thankful for a trade.
There’s a nice holiday cocktail menu and Mrs Mai Tai loved the Tropical Hot Coder. Meanwhile I drank a couple rums from the rum list and gladly accepted the suggestion for a premium Mai Tai made with Monymusk 10 yr Jamaica rum. Very good Mai Tai with additional depth.
This BG Reynolds product started as a joke and then a kickstarter and eventually a product that was discontinued until it was brought back by another kickstarter-type funding round. And it has no reason to exist, except that it is amazing! And it is back on sale. Go to the BG Reynolds website and get Circus Peanut Syrupwhile you can.
It is exactly what it claims to be, a syrup version of your favorite childhood candy. Or someone’s favorite childhood candy, at least. But as much as you’d expect this to be terrible, the orange and banana flavors really work well in certain tropical cocktails. I guarantee that if you like tiki drinks that you will love Circus Peanut syrup.
Here’s a collection of recipes by Jason Alexander from Devil’s Reef, plus a couple from yours truly.
Recipes by Jason Alexander, unless noted
Barnum & Bailey Planter’s Punch ¾ BG Reynolds Circus Peanut syrup ¼ BG Reynolds Tiki Spices (Don’s Spices) 1 ½ dark Jamaican rum ½ Demerara 151 1 fresh lemon juice dash Angostura Bitters dash absinthe
Honey Glazed Nut Punch ¾ BG Reynolds Circus Peanut syrup ¾ BG Reynolds Honey Mix ½ BG Reynolds Cinnamon syrup 2 Demerara rum ¾ fresh lime juice ¾ grapefruit juice Ray’s favorite
Blair’s Mistake Dash bitters Splash of seltzer 1 oz lime ¾ oz circus peanut ¾ oz honey sirop ½ oz pineapple 1 oz 3 Star 1 oz Citadelle Gin Float 1 oz OFTD
My mistake was not adding the OFTD float
Not my Circus, Not My Monkey’s 2 dashes bitters Barspoon Zombie Mix 1½ oz lime 1 oz Clown Sirop ¾ oz Don’s Mix ¼ oz luxardo ¾ oz Plantation Xaymaca ¾ oz Plantation Original Dark 1 oz Plantation OFTD
Djumbo Grog 1½ oz grapefruit ¾ oz lime 1 oz Clown Sirop ½ oz cinnamon sirop ½ oz falernum 1 oz Plantation 3 Star 1 oz Plantation Original Dark 1 oz Plantation OFTD
Big Top Mai Tai ½ oz passion fruit sirop ½ oz almond sirop 1 oz Clown Sirop 1½ oz lemon 2½ oz Plantation Xaymaca
Clown Sling 4 dashes bitters 1 oz lemon 1 oz clown sirop ¼ oz cherry heering ¼ oz allspice dram 2 oz gin 2 oz seltzer after mixing
Chimp Cocktail by Kevin Crossman 1 oz Lime ½ oz BG Reynolds Circus Peanut syrup ½ oz Giffard Banane du Brésil (Banana Liqueur) 2 oz Ultimate Mai Tai Rum Blend or other heavy / Navy Rum
Hurriclown by Kevin Crossman 1 oz Lemon Juice ⅓ oz Passionfruit Syrup ¾ oz BG Reynolds Circus Peanut Syrup 1½ oz Dark Jamaican Rum ½ oz Overproof Demerara Rum
A Clown Got Us into This by Rodney Stanton 1½ oz Lime Juice 1½ oz Kuleana Rum Works Nanea ½ oz Overproof Jamaican Rum ½ oz Creme de Banana ¾ oz BG Reynolds Circus Peanut Syrup ⅛ oz Grenadine 2 Dashes Orange Bitters
