In honor of Oakland’s own Kamala Harris becoming VP today I made Oakland’s best cocktail, the Mai Tai.
The rum featured is Wright & Brown Single Barrel Selection 14, also made in Oakland.
Also… feel the Bern…
Emotional Drake Meme by Chad Austin
This fab new book is from famed bartender Chad Austin. The tone is clearly not for everyone, but if you love great cocktails this is a key resource.
- Purchase the book
- Each copy comes signed by the author and includes unique content and a unique recipe
The cocktail is a Mai Tai variant called Emotional Drake Meme. High proof Jamaican rum, Demerara rum, banana liqueur, Orgeat, lime, Ango. Delicious!!
Mai Tai Makes Rum Better
That’s the lesson tonight. I’m sampling rums from the Forbidden Island Kill Devil rum list. I loved Dos Maderas 5+5 but wanted to try it in a Mai Tai. But my cocktail was an extra large version since the lime gave so much juice. So I added a little Martinique Rhum that I didn’t love when served neat, but put together in combination with Dos Maderas it turned into a great Mai Tai.
Peach Brandy Night
As you can see I haven’t used this liqueur much. I think I’ve only cracked it twice.
“Juice of One Lime”
Always measure your citrus in cocktails.
This lime gave over two and half ounces of juice! Enough for one big Mai Tai and one regular one.
“Juice of one lime” from the original Mai Tai recipe is an in exact measure. Use 1 oz or maybe ¾ oz in your Mai Tai, whichever is your preference, but in either case to provide consistency be sure to measure exactly. Always.
We do have documentation on what Trader Vic considered the correct amount of lime juice in a Mai Tai, though. In his 1974 book Rum Cookery & Drinkery it is noted on page 96 that “Juice of one average Lime = 1 ounce.” So, if you’re following Vic’s standard recipe 1 ounce of lime juice is the correct measurement.
New B-Rex Glass at Forbidden Island
I made Lemonade out of Lemons, or rather a good Mai Tai out of a “meh” Rum.
I cracked open a rum sample from my Forbidden Island Kill Devil list and tasted it neat as is my usual practice at home. This rum will remain anonymous but suffice to say I can thank of several aged expressions from Puerto Rico that I like drinking, but this rum wasn’t one of them.
So, I switched gears and made a Mai Tai with the rum instead. So much better, and it allowed me to use this FABULOUS new glass from B-Rex that is now available from Forbidden Island. What a great design! And this glass is a little smaller than the Double Old Fashioned / Mai Tai glasses that I have a million of.
Fixed It Mai Tai
1 oz Lime Juice
¼ oz Demerara Syrup
½ oz L’Orgeat almond liqueur
½ oz Clement Creole Shrubb Orange liqueur
2 oz Aged Puerto Rican Rum
First Mai Tai of 2021
Yesterday was sort of nice, so time to relax on the lanai with a to-go Mai Tai from The Kon-Tiki in Oakland. A good Mai Tai (I added extra Orgeat and fresh mint) and plenty boozy too.
Even better is this cute plastic stadium cup (Kon-Tiki also sells an orange one). Love the way the blue pops. The merch from Kon-Tki has always been so great. I love the design of their Mai Tai and Zombie glasses.
What’s missing? Well, I’d love to see a Kon-Tiki Swizzle Stick.
