The Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai
Traveling the Bay Area and beyond to find the best Mai Tai in the world! Tiki, cocktails, and adventures by Kevin Crossman
Appleton 12 Mai Tai at Rum Sugar Lime (Reno, NV)
We were tipped that this was the place for great cocktails in Reno, so we had a short visit on a weekend getaway. The standard-issue Mai Tai from Rum Sugar Lime is very good, but I ordered a second one to-go. Everything was packaged nicely, including some fine crushed ice, and I prepared the cocktail in the hotel room. A truly outstanding Mai Tai made with Appleton 12 Jamaican rum, my favorite rum and go-to Mai Tai rum sub.
Coruba / Hamilton 86 Mai Tai at Fred & Ginger’s Exotic Cocktail Bar and Lounge (San Jose, CA)
My house Mai Tai blend is a mix of Jamaican and Demerara rums, so it’s no surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed this blend of Coruba Jamaican rum and Hamilton Demerara rum while enjoying front-yard cocktail hour with our friends the Fritchs. Their home bar is amazing and while we didn’t step inside, Terra Fritch still made an incredible Mai Tai.
1944 Mai Tai with Appleton Reserve at Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar (Anaheim, CA)
The date was March 8. Less than 10 days later everything would be shut down, but on this day I wandered into Trader Sam’s after a great Sunday morning at Disney California Adventure park. Unlike the evening two days earlier, Sam’s wasn’t at capacity and I was able to relax with a cocktail. It’s to the credit of the Trader Sam’s bartenders that they are eager to accommodate, especially when things aren’t crazy inside. Skipper Will made me a traditional 1944 Mai Tai made with simple syrup rather than the Sam’s standard agave syrup, along with Appleton Reserve Jamaican rum. This was the best Mai Tai I’ve ever had a Trader Sam’s.
Mai Tai Forbidden Island (Alameda, CA)
Cocktails are always better when the bartenders know your preferences. Such was the case at Forbidden Island where we visited their tiki patio shortly after re-opening and were so pleased by the hospitality that we missed after months of to-go cocktails.
I was pleasantly surprised when my Mai Tai was delivered by John Peterson with “extra orgeat,” even though I didn’t specify it when ordering. It was a great well-rounded Mai Tai that included the noticeable almond sweetness that I prefer in this cocktail.
Mai Tai with Mount Gay XO at The Vesper (Campbell, CA)
This craft cocktail bar and restaurant has a very nice rum selection, so I chose Mount Gay over the default and I was quite happy with this balanced Mai Tai.
There are few things that bug me more than when restaurants/bars call their Mai Tai “World Famous” (heck, even Trader Vic’s doesn’t do this). The hype is very rarely deserved. But for the past couple months I had seen people extolling the virtues of the Walnut Creek Yacht Club Mai Tai. So I had to give this a try and see if it was worth the hype.
Firstly, for those outside the Bay Area the idea of a “Yacht Club” in Walnut Creek is surely iconic. It’s an inland suburb at least 10 miles away from any seafaring body of water, but the restaurant specializes in seafood and has a nautical decor to match. Their back bar demonstrates they know a few things about spirits, including Havana Club from Cuba and a number of excellent rums. I ordered a Lobster Roll with garlic fries that was delicious and heavy on the lobster meat, while Mrs. Mai Tai had scallops with Brussels sprouts. Food was a bit pricey but tasted great.
The Mai Tai is provided kit-style, complete with a large bag of crushed ice. Also included are two spent and inverted lime shells, a little mint, a side of dark Coruba rum, a bottled Mai Tai and instructions. As served in the restaurant, the Mai Tai is served with crushed ice and the dark rum added into the lime shell. Ingredients are largely high quality, including Appleton Reserve Rum, Coruba Rum, Orgeat, Ferrand Dry Curacao, and lime juice that’s definitely fresh. Cruzan Spiced Rum is the only questionable ingredient, but thankfully this is not forward in the cocktail. The kit costs $30 and serves three Mai Tais or “2 big ones.” We found that to be an honest assessment of the volume provided, which means this is a extraordinary value.
The Verdict:
Sometimes the product is worth the hype. I can honestly say this is pretty damn good Mai Tai, and is likely to make my year-end top 10.
The mix of flavors including a zesty lime really deliver, and the provided pebble ice is also high quality.I made a version with the dark rum pre-mixed, and then another one where the float was added in the traditional style into the cocktail rather than into the lime, and the versions with the float tasted the best. So the Walnut Creek Yacht Club team do know where they are doing.
Today is the Trader’s birthday, and I celebrated with a 1944 Mai Tai while being the guest on the monthly Zoom call for a rum club. So much fun to talk Mai Tais and rum, and even got a few leads on some good Mai Tais.
A toast to the Trader!
