Category: Mai Tai

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The Best Mai Tai in New Orleans

If you were expecting me to tout Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29, you’d be right. And if you were expecting me to tout Cane & Table, you’d also be right.

Because what is my best Mai Tai may not be your best Mai Tai, as I’ll explain.

Latitude 29: Approachable All-Star

Latitude 29’s Mai Tai was fantastic when I visited in 2018 and remains a stellar entry, combining rums from Martinique and Jamaica, plus a small amount of a secret rum, and Berry’s signature Latitude 29 Orgeat. The rich cocktail has a lot of flavor but it doesn’t hit you in the face with grassy or brine notes that can be a big turn-off for many cocktail drinkers. Even after dilution there’s still a lot of great flavor.

Cane & Table: The Rum Lover’s Flavor Bomb

I was totally blown away by the rich and potent flavors of the Cane & Table Mai Tai that features three rums: Appleton 12 Jamaica rum, Rivers Antoine from Grenada, and Paranubes aged from Mexico. The barrel notes from the Appleton combine with the vegetal flavors from the sugar cane juice rums in a way I’ve seldom experienced, with brine notes and only subtle grassy notes. The heavy rums really worked for me, because I like heavy and boozy rums in a Mai Tai. But I suspect many cocktail drinkers would not share the sentiment.

Different Audiences

I know that not really picking a winner seems sort of like a cop-out, but I do think these are made for two different audiences.

  • Latitude 29 challenges the casual NOLA drinker with elevated cocktails that are so much better than the frozen Daiquiris on Bourbon Street. But this is still a safe and mainstream option, a perfect introduction for tiki newbies.
  • Meanwhile, Cane & Table’s Caribbean-inspired culinary menu bleeds over into the cocktails, challenging customers with flavors they may have never experienced before. If you know, you know – but not for everyone.

They are the best Mai Tai in New Orleans.

Latitude 29 Mai Tai
Cane & Table Mai Tai
Mai Tai To Go at Latitude 29
Latitude 29 Mai Tai
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Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29 – Best Tiki Bar in NOLA

We bookended two visits to Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29 during our visit to New Orleans, making sure to visit more than once to the preeminent restaurant and tiki bar from acclaimed author and cocktail historian Jeff “Beachbum” Berry. Look at the menu of nearly any tiki bar and you’ll find Berry’s original cocktails or more likely cocktails whose recipes were lost until uncovered by Berry. Check out his books Potions of the Caribbean or even better the 10th anniversary edition of Sippin’ Safari for all the historical details written in the Bum’s inimitable style, but suffice to say that every single fan of this genre owes the Bum a huge debt of gratitude.

Inside Latitude 29, there are tables and booths on one side and bar / hi-top seating on the other, and we got to experience both on the trip. There’s a smallish food menu her and while I loved the burger and pimento cheese rangoons, it was tough for Mrs. Mai Tai to find something she liked between the fishy catfish bao and Korean fried chicken. Our service was generally good, though it appeared staff was one server shy of a full crew both times.

Mai Tai and Burger

But nobody comes to Latitude 29 for the food; we come for the immersive tiki bar decor and the amazing cocktails. We’ll talk more about the Mai Tai tomorrow but we’ll say that overall the standard cocktail menu items were really great, including the Navy Grog (the Bum’s favorite), Zombie, and a fab Rum Barrel with a ridiculously over the top garnish. A top-notch Cobra’s Fang was on the special Halloween menu which also featured some other impressive cocktails. You can even get drinks to go, which we took advantage of with a to-go Mai Tai!

Rum Barrel

Latitude 29 was well-decorated for Halloween and it is great to see special decor and the standard stuff mixed in between, complete with a killer spooky soundtrack. There’s a cabinet of historical items in the bar area, plus Beachbum Berry merch if that’s your thing. We loved our visits to this wonderful bar and must-see destination for any NOLA visitor interested in cocktails.

Entrance on Peters Street
Extra Cranberries!
Navy Grog
Mai Tai To Go
with Joe and Maggie
Cobra’s Fang
with Amy
and David
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Cane & Table: Top Culinary and Cocktail Destination in NOLA

Cane & Table came highly recommended for their rum-focused cocktail program, but we really enjoyed the Caribbean-inspired dining options as well. Located in the French Quarter on Decatur Street just past the French Market, the venue’s organic feel includes a relaxing patio and plenty of space in the main dining room and bar. My grilled coulotte steak was truly outstanding, featuring avocado puree and fried yucca, and the service here was friendly, efficient, and knowledgable.

Hurricane & Table

But certainly the cocktails are the highlight here, seemingly the best in town. I thoroughly enjoyed the well-balanced Hurricane & Table that is made with house-made Fassionola, easily the best Hurricane that I tried during our visit. Our entire table enjoyed the cocktails.

Cane & Table Mai Tai

There’s a Classic Mai Tai on the menu but I went bold and had the upscale Cane & Table Mai Tai that includes three rums which were Appleton 12 Jamaica rum, Rivers Antoine from Grenada, and Paranubes aged from Mexico at the time of our visit. I didn’t miss the Martinque rhum that’s supposed to be in here at all, since there’s still a ton of sugar cane juice rum flavors to work with. If you love a bold rum blend, it is hard to beat this monster combo and the rest of the cocktail was expertly prepared to highlight the incredible flavors. One of the best Mai Tais of the 2024 and possibly the best Mai Tai in New Orleans.

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New Mai Tai Glass and Cocktail from B-Rex is Out of this World

I have a collection of glassware from Brian Rechenmacher, the artist known as B-Rex, who also did the logo and header for UltimateMaiTai.com. For the first time in a couple years, B-Rex has issued a new double rocks / Mai Tai glass, dubbed “Out of this World.” The white print design features birds and whimsical idols, hallmarks of his design aesthetic. Glasses can be purchased individually or as a set of four for a discount.

The glass is best paired with the new volume two of Tropical Libations, a keepsake menu with nine original cocktail recipes including the Wrath of Keahi, Merchant Grog, and B-Rex Daiquiri. Notably in this collection is the recipe for a cocktail called Out of this World, the perfect cocktail companion for the new glass. These look great in your home bar and none of the recipes call for particularly exotic ingredients. Stocking up on Planteray OFTD rum would be wise.

As many of you know “Out of this World” is more or less what “Mai Tai” translates to in Tahitian, and indeed there are Mai Tai nods in the recipe for that cocktail (hint: yes, you’ll need Orgeat). But this includes ingredients that you’d never put in a Mai Tai, some quite far afield.

I think that since Brian keeps the recipe secret in his marketing materials, I’ll do the same. Suffice to say that Brian is keeping the tradition of cocktail excellence going, using his experience as a former bartender at Trader Sam’s and Forbidden Island to great use. The cocktail is juicy and spicy with a hint of cherry flavor, so consider getting Tropical Libations vol. 2 and trying it out for yourself.

The new Out of this World glass and Tropical Libations volumes 1 and 2 are now available on artofbrex.com.

You can also check out B-Rex at next weekend’s marketplace events at Pau Hana Studio in Oakland on Saturday Nov 16 or at San Jose’s Dr. Funk on Sunday Nov 17.

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Mr. Miami Cocktail

This made the rounds this week, including on Lemon Hart rum’s Instagram, so I thought I’d break in my new B-Rex glass with the latest cocktail creation from local raconteur Nathan Robinson.

All my years of collecting exotic rums and liqueurs has paid off since I had all of Robinson’s specified brand ingredients on hand, including a vintage red label Lemon Hart 151. And thankfully so, since this cocktail is fantastic.

Mr. Miami by Nathan Robinson
½ oz Lime Juice
½ oz Lemon Juice
½ oz Orgeat
½ oz Banana Liqueur (Tempus Fugit)
½ oz Maraschino Liqueur (Luxardo)
½ oz Pot Still Jamaican Rum (Doctor Bird)
1 oz Overproof Demerara Rum (Lemon Hart 151)
Shake with ice or flash blend with crushed ice and pour into double rocks glass. Garnish with banana slice and cherry.

Robinson describes the origin of the name, saying it is “named after what my favorite bartender in Venice, Italy called me after I wore a 40s styled tiki shirt. I’m sure he’d be surprised at how different Miami is from San Francisco. The name still cracks me up.”

If Maraschino liqueur has put you off in the past, I can assure it is perfectly balanced here.

Glassware: “Out of this World” by B-Rex, currently available.

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Relaxed Patio and Elevated Cocktails at Tiki Tock

The neighborhood surrounding the Frenchman Hotel just past the French Market in the tip of the Marginy triangle is a little rougher than the tourist areas in town, but we had a grand time relaxing in the hotel’s tropical patio called Tiki Tock. There’s a nice entrance off the street and inside there are covered tables and some seats at the bar, very pleasant and shady for us on a dry afternoon.

The “tiki” in the name refers to the cocktail menu, inspired by historical cocktails from Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic’s, but there aren’t any actual tikis here so it technically isn’t a tiki bar. But we really had a great visit and some quality cocktails. In addition to classics there are some house cocktails including the very good Tally Me Banana that comes in a cool banana mug. The standard Mai Tai comes with Don Q Silver and Zaya 16, so I knew it wasn’t going to be my favorite, so instead I spotted a bottle of Hamilton New York blend asked for a Mai Tai with that instead. That Hamilton expression featuring Jamaican and Demerara rums played just great in the Mai Tai that was well balanced.

There’s even a tropical wall that worked great with some “prom photos” with our friends David and Amy.

The music was very relaxing here and we saw several groups come and go during our hour plus stay. Being completely shut out from the hustle of the streets of New Orleans was quite a change of pace and indeed is quite escapist even with the modest theming and limited roof. I’d definitely recommend trying Tiki Tock the next time you’re in New Orleans.

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Dive Bar Fun at NOLA’s Aunt Tiki’s

Part tiki bar, mostly dive bar, Aunt Tiki’s is on Decatur in the artsy but slightly rough portion of the French Quarter. We approached in mid afternoon to see a leather-clad man with wild hair and beard enter the venue with a guitar slung over his back. Loud music was heard well in advance of the door. This was not the kind of place for Mrs Mai Tai but when she went shopping at the eclectic Disco Warehouse next door I popped back in to take a look.

There are actually a few tikis in here, plus other Hawaiian and tropical elements mixed in with sticker walls and neon signs. A friendly female bartender asked what I wanted and I looked over the menu and asked for a Mai Tai. While I waited a young woman entered and talked to the bartender as if she was a regular. Mr. Guitar lurked in and out while another local regular in a souped up wheelchair nursed his drink. So, this was an eclectic crowd, just as the Swifty Spouse Sign indicated.

The moment of truth arrived in the form of a coconut rum-laced blue cocktail, “here’s that Mai Tai.” Sigh. I looked at the menu later and saw the ingredient list appeared to be a standard recipe but I didn’t want to stir the pot by correcting the bartender.

Aunt Tiki’s is open 24 hrs and may be an okay place to wait out the opening of better bars in the area, or just to have a beer and shot with interesting people.