Category: Mai Tai

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Monymusk Special Reserve Rum

This was the third bottle the rum fairy delivered and it turned out to be really pleasant surprise. Monymusk went through a rebranding a couple years ago and the rum inside is a different blend than the Special Reserve I bought in 2021. The 100% column still rum comes from the Long Pond and Clarendon distilleries and is aged for ten years in Jamaica, issued at 40% ABV.

This expression is closer to Appleton than some of the super funky Hampden rums, so I decided to do a blind test with the old expression plus Appleton 8 and Appleton 12. It was fairly clear which ones were from each brand but it was immediately noticeable that the Monymusk rums had a higher degree of that funky Jamaican rum flavor. At the same time the new Special Reserve was a lot more flavorful than the old one, making this a great lower proof sipping option for those who want it a little more funky than the Appletons or those Myers’s Reserve or Single Barrel bottlings. The leather and tobacco notes from Monymusk Special Reserve are very approachable.

Those flavors do work well in my favorite cocktail as well, even with an ABV below what I usually go for. I absolutely enjoyed Monymusk Special Reserve in a Mai Tai.

If you’re looking for something different from Jamaica or a nice sipping rum to gift to friends, Monymusk Special Reserve is a great option to consider.

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One Love For Jamaica, Rum Relief Fundraiser

Trader Vic’s Emeryville is hosting a fundraiser with 100% of ticket sales and silent auction proceeds to support people in need in Jamaica, recently impacted by Hurricane Melissa.

The event is happening on Wednesday, November 19, 2025 at 5:00 pm. Each ticket includes a Mai Tai, rum tastings, and music by DJ Maiky.

One of the silent auction items is a private Mai Tai Happy Hour offered by us, offering education, rare rums, and a variety of Mai Tais for the winner and friends. We hope you will attend and support this event to send needed funds to Jamaica.

Tickets are available on Eventbrite

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Shelley Bowers Pearl Diver Class

Livermore’s Nightcaps at Rosetta hosted a special class with Shelley Bowers who discussed the Pearl Diver cocktail and how to make its seminal ingredient, Gardenia Mix. Bowers has been getting buzz for the Pearl Diver after well received appearances on Spike’s Breezeway Cocktail Hour and at this year’s Tiki Oasis. The event at Rosetta was held just before their Saturday opening and included some rum tasting, Pearl Diver and Mystery Gardenia cocktails, plus a delightful charcuterie glass.

The event was relaxed and started with understanding the rums in the Pearl Diver via some samples, then a deeper dive into Gardenia Mix. Shelley demonstrated some techniques for successfully making Gardenia Mix and then made Pearl Divers and Mystery Gardenia cocktails for those in attendance. Along the way, she answered questions from the audience including bartending techniques honed at Hale Pele in Portland and at various SoCal venues.

As our event was winding down, the lights in the back room of Rosetta Roasting dimmed, transforming the space into Nightcaps at Rosetta and running their usual Tiki Thursday menu rather than Sinatra Saturdays. We applaud the Rosetta team for trying something different with this event, and adeptly dealing with an unruly patron trying to crash the party. The team members worked well together with the transition to a very busy Saturday evening service.

Pearl Diver cocktail

The Nightcaps space includes several large tiki statues, bamboo touches, and some hanging jade tiles. Don’t call it a tiki bar, I guess, but the space was pretty dark and intimate with an exotica soundtrack playing to set the mood. Rosetta also now has Mai Tai glasses for sale, offered at a discount if you order their excellent Mai Tai.

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Sippin’ Santa at Beer Baron Pleasanton

It seems like just last week that we finished Halloween (actually, it was) but Christmas is already here as the Sippin’ Santa cocktail popup is launching at some locations this weekend. Produced by Miracle and Jeff “Beachbum” Berry, Sippin’ Santa features tropical cocktails and mugs that pay homage to tiki bars. These cocktails appear to the masses, so some hardcore tikiphiles might find them on the mild side.

Sugar Plum Mai Tai, Pineapple Upside Down Cask, Coco Ho Ho Ho

Pleasanton’s Beer Baron features Sippin’ Santa once again this year, and we noticed a large upgrade in the ceiling decor and bling, quite impressive. Our food and service were top notch again, too. Each venue sets their own prices and all Sippin’ Santa mugs at Beer Baron were priced at $20.

The cocktail menu is vastly different this year, with only well-executed favorites Sippin’ Santa, Jingle Bird, Holiday on Ice, and Sugar Plum Mai Tai returning this year (some in different mugs, though). Mrs. Mai Tai’s Holiday on Ice and Mai Tai were just as good as last year.

Every year there’s a new mug and this year it’s for the Pineapple Upside Down Cask which appropriately puts pineapple and cherry flavors to the front. The rum was somewhat mild but the mug is great in the hand and we made sure to take one home. I was even more impressed by this year’s hot cocktail, the Hot Buttered Grog. The grog is very rich and the blend of spices were outstanding. Coco Ho Ho Ho is very pandan forward, a plus or a minus, and maybe not as rich as you’d expect from a coconut cocktail.

Pineapple Upside Down Cask

The appealing set of tropical cocktails means Sippin’ Santa provides something a little different from many of the Christmas pop-ups, with delightful souvenir mugs and glassware if that’s your thing. Beer Baron’s only

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Premium Cocktails at Tiki Tom’s

We made an impromptu visit to Walnut Creek after drinks and dinner in Orinda hoping to catch at drink at Tiki Tom’s. We found two low seats near the end of the bar immediately and scanned the menu for something to try.

As I’m want to do, I ordered the Ultimate Mai Tai to make sure Tiki Tom’s is still making this correctly (they are) and also just because I was in the mood for a great Mai Tai. Those special funky Jamaican and Demerara rums are worth a couple bucks extra.

New to us was the Walnut Creeky Tiki, a Tiki Tom’s original featuring Ron Zacapa rum and Tanduay spiced rum, plus coconut, banana, lemon, walnut butters, and cocoa bitters. This is a really rich cocktail with a ton a flavor, but note that it’s pretty heavy and also kind of boozy (limit two per customer, as they say). This original creation is worth the premium $26 price and can function as a sharable drink for two.

We found the staff to be working well together, even after one of those drink mishaps behind the bar that happen sometimes. The music inside was also on point and we continue to enjoy the thunderstorms and festive atmosphere.

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Chill Vibe and Great Cocktails at Starlite

This iconic San Francisco lounge is on the 21st floor of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, now known as Beacon Grand Hotel. Previously known as the Starlight Room, the rebranded Starlite features updated decor and a focus on classic cocktails and small bites. We’d visited before the pandemic and were impressed by the new decor, pleasantly surprised by the relaxed vibe inside with a DJ playing mid-tempo tracks and a volume that allowed for conversation. On a Friday, many patrons were dressed to impress and several large groups were enjoying the views of Union Square and high quality cocktails.

I went looking for something new and a Porn Star Martini seemed to be appropriate for this style of cocktail lounge. The Porn Star was fine I guess but compared to the other cocktails was probably the least appealing of the drinks at our table. The Pisco Punch was first created in the City and Starlite’s version is really great. We were also were impressed by the Espresso Martini riff called Colorado Bulldog that includes Mexican Coke and delightful Vanilla Cream. But the best by far in our group was a wonderful Strawberry Grasshopper served over a large minty rock.

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Planteray Mister Fogg Navy Rum Sail n°2

A new edition of Planteray’s Mister Fogg Navy Rum tribute expression has set sail and is now on the way to retailers. “Sail n°2” features different components but similarly follows the inspiration of vintage British Royal Navy rums by incorporating distillate from various producers and countries. The rum is issued at 55.7% ABV including 4.8 g/l of dosage, along with Cognac cask aging in France for a background flavor familiar to Planteray customers.

This year’s blend includes a bit of cane juice rum from Mauritius but mostly leans on a blend of pot and column still rums from Trinidad, Barbados, and Guyana. The blend spends some time in open vats along the riverside in France, intended to replicate the process employed at historic docs in London.

Planteray Mister Fogg Navy Rum Sail n°2 breakdown:
35% Trinidad: Trinidad Distillers, limited
34% Barbados: different vintages from West Indies Rum Distillery
20% Guyana: Diamond Distillery
6% Mauritius: Cane Juice rum from the St Aubin Distillery
5% Jamaica: Blend from Clarendon Distillers, Long Pond Distillery, and Hampden Distillery

Due to the ever-changing blend rums coming into the docks, each flagon of vintage Navy rum had a different character. I was unimpressed by Mister Fogg n°1 but n°2 definitely tastes more like the vintage British Navy rums I’ve tried a couple times by incorporating more smoky molasses notes. Mister Fogg is not nearly as assertive as something like Pusser’s Gunpowder Proof in this regard, however.

Mister Fogg seems better to me as sipping rum than one used for cocktails. It doesn’t drink like a 55% ABV rum, and the small amount of dosage means this is very pleasant to sip. Some of the flavors are subtle enough that you really need to taste this rum neat, though that said it does work fabulously in a rum-forward cocktail like a Mai Tai.

Thanks to the sailor from Nashville for dropping this bottle off the ship and letting it float to California.