Category: Mai Tai

Posted on

Tikeasy at Rosetta is the Bay Area’s Newest Tiki Bar

Livermore’s Rosetta Roasting coffee roastery is going full tiki for their evening cocktail persona this summer and adopting Tikeasy as the venue branding. We’ve been big fans of the Nightcaps at Rosetta cocktail program, but have certainly noticed a gradual shift to more tiki decor taking over the space including a magnificent A-frame to serve as a portal to the tiki area. The staff said that additional traditional tiki elements are coming soon. The dimly lit booths work great with exotic music and superbly executed tropical cocktails, and nobody would peg this as a tiki bar from the outside. It’s a speakeasy, tiki style.

The official launch of Tikeasy was on Sunday including a Mai Tai flight featuring two of my Mai Tai recipes. It was a lot of fun to welcome tiki friends visiting the Livermore location for the first time, plus locals who’d experienced evening cocktails there in the past but who appreciated some casual Mai Tai education. The Rosetta Mai Tai features Hamilton Jamaican Pot Still Black rum and notably switches from orange curacao for orange bitters. The team did a great job with my Ultimate Mai Tai and Blue Mai Tai variants.

The team behind Rosetta Roasting are true believers in tiki, and they’re taking a chance by trying something a little different in downtown Livermore. There’s a menu of over twenty cocktails to choose from, all expertly prepared. We saw many customers order the Zombie-like Man Overboard and also The Privateer that features tequila. Rosetta’s coffee roots are a big influence on the Espresso Martiki, featuring creamy Gardenia Mix to help make a great foam head. We also heard good things about Pele’s Passion, Pearl Diver, and Rum Fashioned. If you’ve visited, leave a comment with your favorite.

The Tikeasy is open Wednesday-Saturday at Rosetta Roasting in downtown Livermore, with savory bites and deserts available as well. Reservations are available and recommended as the space is cozy, with outdoor patio seating also available.

Posted on

New Make and Drink Mai Tai Glass

Derek has come up with an all-new design for his Make and Drink YouTube channel’s Mai Tai glass. This one is much more elaborate than the previous incarnation, still sporting the Make and Drink logo but also including Hawaiian elements and even a Mai Tai recipe. The Mai Tai glass is available now and will be going up in price on June 1st, so “act now” as they say.

Derek’s favorite Mai Tai features both Jamaican and Demerara rums, hence the specific notation on the recipe, though of course it is always up to you how you use that two ounces of rum in the cocktail.

After you make the Mai Tai, be sure to check out Derek’s latest video which covers the oldest known Mai Tai recipe in print, a recipe “from the bartender at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel” that ran in the Memphis Commercial Appeal in 1958. That recipe features 1 oz of lemon juice and ½ oz of lime juice, so this version is definitely a little different than most Mai Tais you might have tried.

Posted on

Jungle Bird’s Amazing Tropical Itch

I had business near Sacramento again, so it was a perfect opportunity to check out Time Travel Tuesday at The Jungle Bird, the city’s leading tiki bar. The crew put together a cocktail special each week on Tuesdays and this week’s was one of Hawaiian bartender Harry Yee’s greatest creations, the Tropical Itch.

This version included Jamaican rum, bourbon, a Demerara 151 rum, passionfruit, orange curacao, and bitters – all for only $10 and not lacking in the booze department I assure you. It was honestly the best Tropical Itch I’ve ever had, staying potent all the way to the end and fighting against the melting ice all the way. It’s such as credit to Mariella and the team to come up with an affordable cocktail each week that’s still really great, an opportunity to try something new that’s not on the cocktail menu you’ve tried a million times before.

Speaking of a millionth cocktail, I did try a Mai Tai at Jungle Bird and found it to be nicely balanced and with enough rummyness to enjoy and that I think it would work great for some of the more casual cocktail fans who pack the bar on weekends. You know, when they’re not drinking Painkillers and boozy Dole Whips and are looking for something a little more sophisticated. The pot stickers and fried rice were really great as well, so I think that Jungle Bird is once again at a place that warrants a full-throated endorsement.

It was a blast hanging out with some of the Sacramento Ohana in attendance including Larissa, Matt, Nav, and Alissa. Plus Natalie who also got the same “in town for business, go to JB after work” memo that I did.

Posted on

San Jose Goes Hawaiian at Dr. Funk’s Luau

San Pedro Square was awash in the aloha spirit on Sunday for the inaugural luau at Dr. Funk Rum House. The San Jose tiki bar’s ticketed event included Hawaiian food including barbecued pig, Polynesian music and dancing, and even a mechanical shark ride. VIP ticket holders were let in early to claim their spots on the large outdoor patio or indoors, offered a flower lei, a welcome cocktail, and two cocktail tickets. Standard ticket holders were let in an hour later and also received a guava-forward welcome cocktail.

The musical offerings started with DJ SamoaBoy on the patio, flanked by a few rum brands with samples and small cocktails. I especially enjoyed the daiquiri station from 9North rum where you could choose a style and a specific rum to pair with. Island Daze followed with an energetic Jawaiian set and then the entertainment concluded with some excellent Polynesian dancers from Ha’aHula TeReva including a fire dancer.

Throughout the day, Dr. Funk staff were offering small passed bites including spam musubi, sliders, delightful pork buns, and ahi tuna tacos which were our favorite. There also was a buffet featuring fried rice, macaroni salad, fruit, and freshly barbecued pork. This plate lunch style offering was pretty good, and there was more than enough food for everyone. I’d have liked a little soy sauce or some other sauces but overall we felt the food was well-executed.

Aside from the welcome cocktail, Dr. Funk was offering their standard menu and had two bartenders going at all times. None of us thought the welcome cocktail was particularly punchy and honestly was I disappointed there weren’t some special event cocktails being offered. Ever resourceful, I took matters into my own hands by ordering off-menu Blue Hawaii and Hawaiian Mai Tais. Thankfully, Justin and Joy rolled with the request and delivered some excellent drinks that helped us get into the mood – so much that we did end up briefly riding that shark!

Mid-May seems like a great time to do this, and a five or six hour experience was executed with aplomb. The Dr. Funk staff was fully engaged and working like a well-oiled machine for this event, yet still found a moment of levity to pose for a group photo with the shark. We hope this will be an annual event.

Posted on

Beautiful Day on the Santa Cruz Wharf at Makai Tiki Bar

My company gave me Friday off for a “wellness day” so Mrs. Mai Tai and I went over to the Santa Cruz area for shopping and lunch. After a quick visit to Capitola and Soquel, we drove onto the Santa Cruz Wharf for lunch at Makai Island Kitchen and Groggery.

Makai has been a favorite of ours for some time, including the rotating bar area. This is such a unique feature and you have full views of the ocean, Makai’s Captain’s Table room, and the rest of the restaurant. We also saw a vast rum list that was over 30 pages and according to staff features over 620 rums, very quietly one of the largest collections of any venue in the United States. We both enjoyed our lunch, I had the Poke Bowl that includes lychee and crushed macadamia nuts as different kind of options, with Mrs. Mai Tai having the Halibut Green Curry Bowl.

There are bunch of different cocktail options including many developed by the crew. I started with a 1944 Mai Tai that I should have loved, featuring Appleton Signature, Smith & Cross, and Planteray Xaymaca rums (three of my favorites), but this Mai Tai was too lime forward and I could barely taste the rum. We had much better luck with the other cocktails, including the sweet banana flavors of Squid Ink, the light gin and lavender flavors of Purple Haze, and the not-too-sweet ube and coconut Triumph & Disaster. Our favorite was Pau Hana, a gin and elderflower cocktail that incorporated lemon and raspberry. This cocktail was developed by Hana Kingsbury (see what she did there) who was our server and posed with a photo with her creation.

The cocktail and rum options at Makai remain strong, plus their island far remains high quality and moderately priced. We enjoy things inside in the rotating bar, but the patio outside is pretty nice including a couple of very large tikis to help set the mood. Along the way, we saw birds and sea lions from our vantage point, and then strolled to the end of the pier to check out more sea lions, sea birds, and seagulls.

1944 Mai Tai, Squid Ink, Pau Hana, Purple Haze

Posted on

Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai at The Fink

We thank Judd and the entire team at The Fink for the opportunity to speak about the Mai Tai and organizing the “Sunday School” event in Napa today. The Fink is one of our favorite places and their OG Mai Tai is world class, so it’s honor to share the good word today.

The event is sold out, but we have the slides available for viewing here in case you missed it or just want to get the recipes and photos.

The Fink Presentation Slides