Great Experience at The S.O.S. Tiki Bar

We’re in Georgia for the Inuhele weekender and had some time on Wednesday to Lyft over to Decatur to check out the supposedly “world famous” S.O.S. Tiki Bar. We arrived around 9:00 and found the place to be mostly full but we were happy with seats at the bar. The retro-leaning music and crowd noise were fairly loud, so you could only talk at the bar to person next to you or the bartender but not to someone a couple seats away.

The cocktail menu has a lot of options but I went with the Mai Tai to start, surprised and pleased to see this is served flaming. This is good Mai Tai that includes a little Angostura Bitters, very approachable for someone new to tiki. I also had the Frozen Painkilla that was really great in that format, though I omitted the additional shot of rum.

Mrs. Mai Tai picked Dr. J’s Monkey Disco that includes some bubby in just the right proportion to combine with fruit flavors, amaro, and rum. Her second drink was the Superfast Jellyfish, a daiquiri style cocktail with a huge foamy head. Both of these were good cocktails that indicate modern sensibilities are at play with the bar program.

By far the best drink we had was Caribbean Queen, a rich cocktail featuring rums from Jamaican and Barbados, allspice, grapefruit, and just the right amount of guava. One of the best new tiki cocktails I’ve had in a long time.

All our drinks were elaborately garnished. The bartender at our station was definitely not a veteran and so the garnishing process did take some time and the lead bartender provided a little help flaming the Mai Tai, but our drinks tasted great which was the most important part. She seemed enthused about the genre, referencing nearby books Easy Tiki, Smuggler’s Cove, and Beachbum Berry Remixed. The team also did well making an off-menu Kingston Negroni for my neighbor at the bar.

S.O.S. is in a nice neighborhood with some other restaurants and bars, including Victory Sandwich which shares the building and kitchen. We didn’t try any of the bites at S.O.S. but have heard good things from others. The decor and vibe were really nice here, plus great service and fab cocktails.

Mai Tai, Dr. J’s Monkey Disco, Superfast Jellyfish, Caribbean Queen, Frozen Painkilla

January 13, 2026January 13, 2026

Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Investigative Report

Over the holidays I received several credible reports that Trader Vic’s Emeryville was making Mai Tais using Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Concentrate rather than from scratch ingredients.

For those not familiar, Concentrate is a product developed by Trader Vic’s several decades ago to ease cocktail production by replacing the orgeat, orange curaçao, and rock candy syrup with ¾ oz of the Concentrate plus lime juice and rum. Note that this is different from the “Mai Tai Mix” that’s available to consumers at retail. In the past, when a cocktail menu listed a “Trader Vic’s Mai Tai” and referenced “modified to perfection” in the description that meant it was made with the Mai Tai Concentrate.

The widespread use of Concentrate in the Mai Tai at Trader Vic’s Emeryville ended years ago, and the description for “The Original Mai Tai” specifically mentions orgeat, orange curaçao, and rock candy syrup. Concentrate is still used for Mai Tai variants such as the Tropical Tais, and sometimes for large events, but even on Mai Tai Day when I ordered an Original Mai Tai they did make it from scratch. So, it was quite a shock to hear Vic’s was using Concentrate in the standard Mai Tai.

During my visit on Sunday I ordered a Mai Tai and it didn’t taste like it used the Concentrate. Moreover, I popped over to the bar and the first thing I saw was longtime bartender Saul measuring out ingredients for a dozen Mai Tais and he was not using the concentrate. In speaking with Saul, he also confirmed they don’t use it for the Original Mai Tai.

I am traveling to Georgia next week for Inuhele and will continue the investigation at the Trader Vic’s Atlanta location.

January 6, 2026January 24, 2026

Mai Tai Seminars at Inuhele: Atlanta’s Tiki Weekend

There are still tickets available for Inuhele: Atlanta’s tiki weekend, January 23-25.

This will be our first trip to Inuhele and I’ll be presenting two Mai Tai seminars, updated and refreshed for 2026! We’re excited to present to a Southeast audience, and having a Trader Vic’s in town is a huge plus.

Are you attending Inuhele? Leave a note and let’s be sure to meet up.

If you’re local, leave any touring tips in the comments.

December 31, 2025

Last Christmas: Cocktails

We knocked out a few more Christmas cocktail pop-ups and here’s the summary.

Kona’s (SF) – We arrived around 8:00 on the 23rd for Sippin’ Santa and was enjoying it until they played “Last Christmas” knocking me out of Whamageddon just 28 hrs before winning. The cocktails were pretty good here, though notably their “Mock Tai” was $18 and the mugs were all $40 when other places have them for around $20.

Courage Anyone (SJ) – It wasn’t crowded on Sunday but the staff were welcoming in this newly opened bar doing Sippin’ Santa. I didn’t realize it until after ordering but the Sippin’ Santa cocktail now includes ginger syrup in addition to gingerbread mix, and this one was quite ginger forward. The other cocktails were much better including the Wreck the Halls and Sugar Plum Mai Tai. A regular menu is launching in January.

Highlands Sports Bar (San Carlos) is also new to the popup game, hosting Miracle. My Snowball Old Fashioned leaned sweet and was served over cubed ice but still was pretty good, but even better was the decadent Coconut Hot Chocolate. Our other cocktails weren’t as good. but it was good first attempt, if you like sports on TV along with the drinks.

Highland Sports Bar and Grill – San Carlos

Faith & Spirits (San Carlos) is doing Sippin’ Santa and cocktails there were really great. The ginger in the Sippin’ Santa cocktail was much more subdued and my Sugar Plum Mai Tai was the best of all the ones I tried this season. The Frost Bite cocktail featuring tequila was also good, so I asked for an off-menu Kingston Negroni that was delicious. The lounge was well-appointed and has music/dueling pianos some days, so check their calendar.

December 29, 2025January 13, 2026

Top 10 Mai Tais of 2025

Each year we celebrate the best Mai Tais that we had the pleasure of tasting in the last twelve months. The list includes commercial restaurants and bars, plus Mai Tais we had at home tiki bars and events. For this list the rating is solely about what’s in the glass and does not factor in other elements such as ambiance, food, service, or decor.

Each Mai Tai is only listed once, otherwise Dr. Funk and Smuggler’s Cove would have dominated the top 30, but variants do get listed separately.

Some of the Mai Tais involve rum substitutions from what the bar would normally serve. This presents the reader with more to consider when visiting these places, but highlights that making rum substitutions is often what changes a good Mai Tai into a great one.

Summary of the Top 10 of 2025

A January visit to Smuggler’s Cove set the bar with a great Mai Tai that somehow was bested there later that spring. After the 2023’s “Year of Appleton 17 Legend” we thought that we’d never have another Mai Tai with this rare rum, but I had not one but two including a truly excellent one at Kona Street Market where they amazingly sold this rum at cost! Trips to The Cellar and Oculto showed that ‘please and thank you’ can make for an amazing custom Mai Tai if the bartender has the talent and right ingredients.

A March trip to Tacoma started with an unexpected, amazing Mai Tai at Devil’s Reef, made by owner Jason Alexander with Rare Cane Jamaica Pot Still rum and served unprompted. This bold rum really punched through and delivered an amazing Mai Tai, a testament to Alexander’s bartending skills, and immediately shot to the top of my running list for the year.

Specialty rums are fun, but I was pleased to see that standard issue Mai Tais at a bunch of bars ranked so highly, including Inside Passage, Strong Water Anaheim, and The Fink. Dr. Funk’s Mai Tai is only $8 on Mondays and we drank a ton of these in 2025 and found the quality to be very consistent.

The “Just Missed” list grows larger each year, and the quality of Mai Tais across the globe continue to improve. You can see I really tried to find a Mai Tai to top the one from Devil’s Reef, and while many came close none could actually beat it. The drinks at Devil’s Reef tend to lean more complex than the Mai Tai, and there’s more than a little irony to salute Alexander who once cheekily called the Mai Tai “pedestrian” but there’s no doubt this was the best of the year. Cheers.

1. Rare Cane Jamaica Pot Still Mai Tai at Devil’s Reef
2. Appleton 17 Mai Tai at Kona Street Market
3. Smuggler’s Cove
4. Dr Funk MTM $8
5. Kiki’s Premier Mai Tai at Inside Passage
6. “Xaymaca Mai Tai” at The Cellar
7. Appleton 21 at Make and Drink Studio
8. OG Mai Tai at The Fink
9. Strong Water Anaheim
10. Mexican Rum Mai Tai at Oculto 477

View the Complete List of Top Mai Tais of 2025

December 28, 2025January 13, 2026

Top Mai Tais of 2025: Runners-Up

As with 2024 we had so many great Mai Tais that many of them would have been deep into the top 10 in past years and this year couldn’t crack the top 10. But they’re nonetheless worth noting and we thank the bartenders and bar owners for making these stellar Mai Tais.

For this list the rating is solely about what’s in the glass and does not factor in other elements such as ambiance, food, service, or decor.

Some of the Mai Tais involve rum substitutions from what the bar would normally serve. This presents the reader with more to consider when visiting these places, but highlights that making spirit substitutions is often what changes a good Mai Tai into a great one.

View the Complete List of Top Mai Tais of 2025

Rest of the Top 25

11. “Punchy Mai Tai” at Club 33
12. Appleton 17 at Wilfred’s Lounge
13. Nightcaps at Rosetta
14. Matiki
15. Frozen Mai Tai at Tommy Bahama Marlin Bar
16. Now that’s a fucking Mai Tai at Little Hill Lounge
17. Original Mai Tai at Mai Tai Day Trader Vic’s Emeryville
18. Mata Hari Bar
19. Pagan Idol
20. Okole’ Maluna Mai Tai at Da Tiki Hut
21. Bitter Mai Tai at Strong Water Anaheim
22. Menehune Juice at Trader Vic’s Munich
23. Boo Loo Lounge
24. Tai Gam at Wilfred’s Lounge
25. Mai Tai with Rhum Traditionnel from Mike Hooker

Just Missed:

Ultimate Mai Tai at Tiki Tom’s
Pusser’s Bar
Dublin Tai at Trader Vic’s Emeryville
Haole Tai at Wilfred’s Lounge
Passion Tai at Trader Vic’s Emeryville
Rumba
Rex’s Mai Tai at Pearl’s Hideaway
Frozen Mai Tai at Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Day
Trader Vic’s San Jose Airport
Trader Vic’s Munich
Tiki Tom’s Mai Tai
Trader Sam’s with Appleton 12
Mai Tai with Jamaica Rum at Alex Lounge and Bar
Ultra Chill Mai Tai at Bahama Breeze
Hula Hoops
Clarified Ultimate Mai Tai by DJ Ship Rex
China Live
Mai Tai with Kō Hana Rum at PCH
Reserve Mai Tai at False Idol
Dave’s Special Mai Tai at Lucky Tiki
Clifton’s Pacific Seas

Honorable Mentions:

District San Jose, Fog Harbor Fish House, The Tonga Room, Luau Lounge 1944 Mai Tai

December 24, 2025December 24, 2025

Three Miracle Pop-Ups in Three Days

The Miracle Christmas cocktail pop-up franchise has been active for more than a decade and seems to expand locations each year. Founded by Greg Boehm, there are Miracle locations across the globe and a companion pop-up focusing on tiki drinks also running under the Sippin’ Santa brand. The cocktail offerings at Miracle are a little more varied and tend to work better across the different venues hosting the pop-up.

Sunday afternoon we went to Brewster’s in Petaluma, a large beer garden style venue. I went with an old favorite, “Yippee Ki Yay Mother F****r!”, the cocktail with several rums with ube and coconut orgeat. This isn’t too sweet, thanks to acid-adjusted pineapple juice. Brewster’s does pretty good with this, and their super friendly staff really go out of their way to make things jolly. I sampled some of other cocktails at our table and found them to be well prepared.

We ventured to San Jose later that night to check out Miracle at MiniBoss, an arcade themed bar. Mrs. Mai Tai had been to the sister bar Paper Plane earlier in the week and we thought we’d give MiniBoss a try. The drinks here were really good, including the Miracle Mouse that comes in a cute mug and features bourbon, vermouth, strawberry, citrus, and pamplemousse liqueur that likely inspired the name of the cocktail. This wasn’t too sweet and I thought it was delightful. Slightly less good was the Snowball Old Fashioned that our son ordered, just not quite sweet enough, though Mrs. Mai Tai’s Koala LaLaLa was a very refreshing highball with tequila. Cheery Cherry Chocosaurus is more of a desert cocktail but if that’s your thing you’ll love it.

On Festivus Tuesday we battled the rain to check out Pacific Cocktail Heaven in San Francisco. This place is so popular they even charge a $10 cover just to enter. But the skills of the bartenders are evident that the Yippe Ki Yay and Koala cocktails were even better than the other places we tried. Candy Cane Lane is served in a unicorn mug and was a little less sweet than at Brewster’s. PCH was even able to make a pretty reasonable off-menu Mai Tai with Kō Hana rum at my request.

Each of these Miracle locations sets the prices for the cocktails and the mugs/glassware for sale. While the cocktail prices only vary a little, we were shocked to see the mugs at PCH going for $40 which is double what Brewster’s and MiniBoss were charging. It’s a Festivus Miracle!

Miracle hours and dates vary by location but usually run up to New Year’s or a little bit past.