Landed in the French Quarter and decide to kick off the evening with this fan favorite.
I decided to go with the “light” version which was on crushed ice rather than frozen. And you that this drink doesn’t really have a great rep among cocktail snobs but for a limeade cocktail this wasn’t bad at all, and not so unbalanced that the booze overpowers. Way better than the Hurricane at Pat O’Brien’s if you’re looking to choose which tourist cocktail to try.
Wasn’t nearly the “most powerful drink” I had. The Navy Grog at Latitude 29 was way boozier.
There are a million cocktails made a million different ways with this name, the only constant being banana, of course, but sometimes real banana and sometimes banana liqueur and occasionally both. We don’t need another variant of this cocktail, do we?
Yes, friends. Yes we do.
I’m pleased to tell you the Banana Hammock I was appreciative to try at The Kon-Tiki is legit awesome. Damon did a great job suggesting and making this and it was rich and complex, very approachable but not overly sweet. It has bourbon and rum and banana and cinnamon and it’s fantastic and hopefully will be coming soon to an official menu update at downtown Oakland’s still very essential tiki bar. Ask nicely and maybe they’ll make it for you.
I make no apologies for loving Pumpkin Spice season, and in the past I’ve done Pumpkin Spice Mai Tais with the now discontinued Captain Morgan Jack-o-Blast rum. This year we encountered another product that’ll let you add those fall flavors to everyone’s favorite tropical cocktail.
The key ingredient is Williams Sonoma Pumpkin Butter, a blend of pumpkin, brown sugar, and fall spices. It works great as a spread on toast or english muffins, and indeed it works well in a Mai Tai. We replaced the rock candy/demerara syrup with two teaspoons of this pumpkin butter and shook it really hard with cubes to make sure everything was incorporated. Also used is the rich Grand Marnier orange liqueur, adding more bold flavors, and the standout blended rum Denizen Merchant’s Reserve.
Pumpkin Spice Mai Tai 1 oz Lime Juice 2 tsp Williams Sonoma Pumpkin Butter ½ oz Orgeat ½ oz Grand Marnier 2 oz Denizen Merchant’s Reserve Rum Heavy shake with cubes, then strain over crushed ice. Garnish with spooky swizzle and black cherries.
This cocktail is the perfect companion to the newly issued Tiki Goth Club Tiki Nomicon vol. 1, now available at tikigothclub.com. Over 30 full color pages and some great page layout means this is a steal for only five bucks plus shipping. If you like the dark side of tiki, the Tiki Goth Club that our friend Ray Wyland has been leading for the last couple of years is a must-join experience. At the very least, pick up the magazine that includes an article by yours truly about Goth/Tiki experiences in Vienna, Austria.
The question comes up from time to time about what kind of lime juice is appropriate for a Mai Tai or other craft cocktails. Limes have been super expensive in California lately and the lime juice in the plastic bottles appears to be a cost savings. But does it make for a good cocktail?
I tried this one day in a Mai Tai and found it to be suitable. Something seemed to be missing but not terrible in a pinch and seemingly potentially a reasonable option.
The next day I made two Mai Tais with Denizen Merchant’s Reserve rum and blind tasted them. The Mai Tai with fresh lime juice had a zingy taste that was so much better, whereas the bottled lime juice Mai Tai was simply flat. Maybe this was due to me opening the bottle the day before, but for bottles like this they aren’t typically emptied on the first day, so I think this was a reasonable test.
Though not terrible coming from a bottle, it really does make a difference when you use fresh lime juice.
Had a pretty good Mai Tai at Pacific Catch, a Bay Area seafood restaurant chain. We like the food here and their cocktails have been consistently a cut above the likes of Applebee’s and Chili’s.
The Mai Tai is listed as having Flor de Caña silver rum, Lahaina dark rum, lime juice, Wray & Nephew overproof rum, and house-made “POG”. Which is to say it’s far from an original 1944 Mai Tai but still with plenty of rum flavors and by no means sickly sweet. Pretty balanced, which can be tricky with POG juice.
I’d be meaning to make this and it was featured on this weekend’s video from Derek on Make & Drink on YouTube. Derek highlights the difference between Trader Vic’s original 1946 recipe from his Book of Food & Drink with the commonly seen modern Queen’s Park Swizzle using colorless rums and a gigantic float of Ango on top. That style looks great on menus and social media, but leans closer to Mojito territory and doesn’t hold up to the Ango as well. And let’s remember Trader Vic’s noteworthy description of this cocktail, “Queen’s Park Swizzle is the most delightful form anesthesia given out today.”
So, I went with the classic Trader Vic’s recipe that originally called for a Demerara rum. I’m actually out of 86 proof Demerara rum, so I used the Hamilton Florida Rum Society blend that’s 60% Demerara and 40% Jamaican rum, and I compared it to my boozy Jamaican-forward Ultimate Mai Rum blend to see which I preferred.
Queen’s Park Swizzle by Trader Vic Half of a Large Lime Mint Leaves 3 oz 86 proof Demerara Rum (Lemon Hart or Hudson’s Bay) 2 dash Angostura Bitters ½ oz Simple Syrup Squeeze lime wedges and drop shells with mint leaves at bottom of 14 oz glass. Fill glass with shaved ice, add most of ingredients and swizzle until glass frosts. Garnish with sprig of mint.
Comparing the two drinks, the Florida Rum Society rum provided some of the classic Demerara rum smoky notes and overall worked better in this cocktail. The Ultimate Mai Tai blend didn’t work as well because I went a little heavy on the Ango which seemed to overpowered the rum. You definitely want a bold rum in this style of drink.
The Kon-Tiki recently jettisoned the Sci-Fi themed menu it introduced last year in lieu of a smaller menu before they transition to a forthcoming major revision. The new menu brings back the $44 Samaroli Mai Tai, includes classics like the Mai Tai and Saturn, continues to include stalwarts like the Uma Uma and Kon-Tiki Grog, and adds some new cocktails.
I tried a couple of the new ones and am pleased to report that the cocktail quality that Kon-Tiki is known for is continuing.
Red Lantern
Red Lantern: Japanese Whiskey, Passionfruit, Pomegranate, Lemon This Port Light riff leans dry and tart, but is quite flavorful and is a great change of pace for those looking for a spirit besides rum. The Japanese Whiskey does not overpower the cocktail and this is overall pretty good.
Pongo Pongo
Pongo Pongo: Pisco, Don’s Mix, Lime Even better is this lovely blend featuring Pisco, the South American brandy. The combo of grapefruit and cinnamon in the Don’s mix pairs very well.
The Kon-Tiki put it out there a few weeks back that they were struggling with utility costs and decline in a downtown workforce, but there’s been a noticeable uptick in patrons the last few times I’ve come in. Let’s support our friends while we still can, and with these wonderful new cocktails there’s always a great excuse to visit.
