Category: Mai Tai

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Trader Vic’s Mai Tai with Lemon Hart 151 Float

One of the most popular Mai Tai riffs of the past decade is the San Francisco Mai Tai, a standard Trader Vic’s Mai Tai with a 151 float. This was inspired by the story that Martin Cate tells in the Smuggler’s Cove book about an elderly man who would ask for a 151 float back when Cate was bartending at the now-shuttered Trader Vic’s in San Francisco. This became known as the “Old Way” Mai Tai because the gentleman was, you know, old.

Never mind that Trader Vic’s in Emeryville used the “Old Way” term to refer to a Mai Tai made with original ingredients and not the Mai Tai concentrate that replaces the sweeteners. But that’s a different story for a different day.

The graphic used on some Trader Vic’s menus for this cocktail clearly shows Lemon Hart 151 being used, though these days you’re much more likely to get a combination of Trader Vic’s 151 rum and Trader Vic’s Dark Rum, both distilled in Puerto Rico and lacking the heavy flavors that Lemon Hart is famous for. I think that this version is a nice upgrade, and you get a lot more booze for an extra dollar, though the Emeryville location dropped this item when they redid the cocktail menu this spring.

It wasn’t busy when I rolled into the bar at Trader Vic’s Emeryville on a Sunday afternoon while Mrs. Mai Tai was at the nearby bead show, so I asked for a Mai Tai with Lemon Hart 151 as a float just to see if the old man knew his cocktails. Expertly prepared, indeed this is an elevated version and those classic smoky flavors really do add something to the cocktail and gives you something to kind of chew on while relaxing with your beverage.

Just like the old timer wanted it. Mai Tai – Roa Ae.

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Changes at Kapu Petaluma

Kapu Bar in downtown Petaluma has garnered great reviews for their immersive Polynesian and Chinese themed spaces, plus notable drinks and inspired food. We heard there have been some changes to the venue so we went to go check it out.

Most notably, reservations are no longer available and seating is now fully on a first-come basis at all times with no greeter at the entrance. This means that locals will have an easier time dropping in during the week but that out-of-towners will have to do more planning to visit on the weekends. We opened the place at 4 pm on Saturday so were able to secure a booth, but later in the evening it likely would be more chaotic.

There is no longer a wait staff, and all orders are at the bar. Drinks are delivered to your table and staff did pop by the table occasionally but once again if the bar is busy you likely will need to be more vigilant about going up to order another round. We weren’t eating but heard that the food menu is pared down on weekends and significantly reduced on weekdays.

Pearl Diver and Mai Tai

Despite this, we had a pretty good time with our friends who had never visited Kapu before. The music and decor really helped us get into the mood and our cocktails were overall pretty good as well. The 1944 style Mai Tai leans a little sweet but not too much for a snob like me to dislike it, but the balance was welcomed strongly by another person in our group who enthusiastically ordered one for a second round. I also enjoyed a nicely balanced Three Dots & a Dash that had a flavorful rum blend. The venue has a well-stocked rum collection, so there’s plenty to enjoy if drink spirits neat is your thing.

The remaining staff at Kapu seem to be adjusting to these changes with good cheer, and a positive attitude certainly goes a long way as both from the crew and also as a customer. We still think Kapu is a great option in Petaluma’s charming downtown.

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Happy 7th Instagramiversary to Me

The Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai was relaunched on Instagram on this day in 2017, reviving the brand started way back in 1998. 2453 posts in total and 257 just this year, chronicling experiences with cocktails, connections with people in the community, and world’s leading feed of Mai Tai minutiae.

We had some great adventures in the last 12 months. A few are chronicled in the photos including some travels with Mrs Mai Tai to far off places such as London, Eastern Europe, Las Vegas, New Orleans, and San Diego. Locally, a sprained ankle did not derail the enjoyment of the Trader Vic’s 90th anniversary weekend in Emeryville including the Black Tai dinner. We participated in a bar crawl in San Francisco’s North Beach and I hosted Mai Tai Trivia in Oakland. Made it up north for a tiki weekend in Seattle including the inaugural Tiki Palooza event, and I did presentations for the Three Rum Club at Tiki Tom’s, a huge crowd at Tiki Oasis San Diego, and at the San Francisco Rum Congress with Cocktail Wonk.

I visited 42 different tiki bars in the last year, plus 7 home bars. We said hello to some new to us in Europe, including Trader Vic’s in Munich, Rumpus in Budapest, and Matiki in Vienna. I was featured on several episodes of the Make & Drink channel on YouTube, including a blind tasting of eight different single bottle Mai Tais. The Ultimate Mai Tai was featured on Spike’s Breezeway Cocktail Hour and remains on the menu at Tiki Tom’s. Thank you to so many folks in the industry who’ve shown what true hospitality is.

So, thanks to so many fellow Mai Tai fans I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with over the last year. I appreciate your follows, likes, and comments here and in real-life, including the discussion of very important topics such as tiki bar ratings criteria and whether it is okay to put pineapple juice in a Mai Tai (hint: it is). Here’s to another year.

Cheers!

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Return to Boo Loo Lounge, Orinda’s Small but Stellar Tiki Bar

Had a great visit to the small but formidable Boo Loo Lounge, located in central Orinda adjacent to the Orinda Theater. I helped organize a meetup of the Patreon community members of the Make & Drink YouTube channel and we had a nice little group there in the afternoon on Saturday. Boo Loo remains such an interesting space due to its small size. A few of us opened the place to secure some seats for the meetup but we were followed by four other couples and this place was actually pretty much full right at opening. But an hour later it was just our group inside, perhaps due to the ebbs and flows of the movie theater attendees.

Boo Loo Lounge Mai Tai

I’m pleased to report the Mai Tai is once again pretty great here, after a past dalliance with the Hamilton Petite Canne Shrubb Orange Liqueur that imparted far too much of a grassy flavor from its Rhum Agricole base. I found the Mai Tai to be plenty rummy, thanks to the Jamaican and Demerara rums, but also very approachable for the casual visitor who might have never visited a tiki bar before. We also heard great things about the Zombie, said to be the best a few had ever tasted, and we thought the Lady of Singapore was a fruity and light cocktail that was very satisfying. The Ruby Daiquiri remains a stellar entry.

One of the guys in our meetup mentioned a rum from Alabama and I inquired with Boo Loo’s manager, Maxton Kennedy. He showed me the two expressions of Rum Trails rum they have, including a Tequila Cask which I didn’t love the taste of. But the Red Wine Cask was full of flavor, so much that it reminded me of rums from Jamaica. The Daiquiri I had with this rum was fantastic.

Maxton Kennedy

The interior remains immersive and cozy, with the music still on point as well. Maxton mentioned the cocktail menu is expanding soon, along with a new bar program feature that some folks will find very… intoxicating. Look for those announcements coming soon.

Rum Trails Daiquiri
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Sugar Plum Mai Tai at Sippin’ Santa

We had a great time in downtown Pleasanton’s Beer Baron for their first year hosting the Sippin’ Santa holiday popup, produced by Miracle and Jeff “Beachbum” Berry. The tropical and holiday decor was nicely done, including a Beachbum nutcracker! We were seated in the upstairs room, so much more quiet than the main room and patio.

One of the new additions to the Sippin’ Santa menu this year is a Sugar Plum Mai Tai, featuring Haitian and Nicaraguan rums, lime, orgeat, cinnamon syrup, and plum mix. The cinnamon is dialed way down and this tastes like a standard Mai Tai with a mild fruity finish from the plum mix. The rums here are approachable but they’re still appropriately forward in the drink, making this a really great Mai Tai to try. The shark mug doesn’t really have anything to do with the cocktail, but its pretty nice and priced to sell at $20, so we took it home.

Other cocktails were generally excellent also, including a rich and creamy Tom and Sherry, a White Russian riff called Holiday on Ice, and the sweet and mild Frosty the Merman. We thought the icy texture of the Choquito left the rest of the drink a little bland.

Our food was really great at Beer Baron including a Bavarian pretzel with queso cheese and I loved my burger and fries. Even on a Tuesday night before Thanksgiving there was a sizable crowd, but our server was so friendly and attentive we hardly noticed any delays in drink orders. Given this is the first year for the holiday pop-up, expect large crowds through the holiday season.

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Tip Top Proper Cocktails: Bee’s Knees

Tip Top Proper Cocktails are one of my favorite ready to drink cocktail brands, and their Mai Tai is the best I’ve tried. The Bee’s Knees is pretty good, though I felt that the honey was too forward and had a honey flavor that reminds me of processed honey candy that I’m not a fan of.

My preparation involved refrigeration and direct pour into the coupe. I’d strongly recommend a quick shake with ice cubes to chill this down even more, plus adding a little bit of dilution that I think would have opened up the flavors a bit. Nonetheless, still a very good RTD option to keep in the fridge in the case of emergency or when traveling.

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The Best Mai Tai in Marin County at California Gold

Still catching up on somewhat old news, but I didn’t want to skip highlighting the fabulous tiki takeover weekend at California Gold in downtown San Rafael. This was appended to the weekend after Halloween and was a tiki/horror theme with a special menu of exotic cocktails. The overall decor was a pretty nice overlay on the “history of California” theme that California Gold already has and which I enjoy.

We’ve always had great experiences with the cocktails here, and their rum collection shows they know and appreciate our particular favorite cocktail genre. The takeover featured a number of classics but also recently created tropical tipples mostly from California Gold’s Isaac Shumway. The Mai Tai features a nine-rum blend. Not two or three or four, but nine! The flavorful blend was full of flavor and one of the best of the year for me.

We hear California Gold is considering doing this menu occasionally starting in 2025, so keep an eye out and make plans to visit San Rafael’s charming downtown.

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