Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Not that we’re doing much celebrating while we’re in “shelter in place” mode here in the Bay Area. At least we still have our jobs which cannot be said of many of our friends in the restaurant, bar, and service industry. Scary times.

Anyway here is an “Irish Mai Tai” which isn’t really that except for the one drop of green food coloring. It is otherwise a standard 1944 Mai Tai though made with clear liquids. I thought about an Irish Whiskey float but this is enough booze for today already. It’s delicious.



Irish Mai Tai

  • 1 oz Fresh Lime Juice
  • 1 oz Probitas Rum
  • 1 oz St. Benevolence Rum Clairin
  • ½ oz Cointreau
  • ½ oz Latitude 29 Orgeat
  • ¼ oz BG Reynolds Demerara Syrup
  • 1 drop green food coloring

Glassware is from the National Mai Tai event at Smuggler’s Cove last year.

The cocktail has been placed with some of my green mugs and glassware.

Grand Mai Tai

Grand Mai Tai Indeed!

Found a hidden gem. The cocktails at the Disney Resorts don’t have great rep, apart from Trader Sam’s. The Mai Tais have generally been following the Captain’s Mai Tai formula with Captain Morgan and Amaretto. Spiced rum has its place, especially at a resort. But not in a Mai Tai.

So I was pleasantly surprised to see the Grand Mai Tai on the menu at the newish Craftsman Bar at the Grand Californian Hotel. This cocktail features Bacardi Ocho and Myers’s rum, and is made according to a 1944 recipe (no agave syrup, a Trader Sam’s staple), though with half the rum floated. Even better, this was actually a really good Mai Tai.

The poolside vibe was just fine for relaxing and the cocktails here seems much stronger than the Hearthstone Lounge on the other side of the hotel. I shall return!

The Grand Mai Tai at the GCH Craftsman Bar