Category: Mai Tai

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Brunch at Red Dwarf Bar in Las Vegas

Red Dwarf is a newish dive bar with tiki leanings. This differs from Frankie’s which is a tiki bar with dive leanings. We were told to check this place out as friendly bar that also serves Detroit-style pizza (crust, cheese, then sauce). Their Sunday brunch starting at 11:00 am was perfect for us.

Inside, there are quite a few tiki elements, but certainly is not as immersive as Frankie’s or Golden Tiki. We tried to sit in one of the booths but it was super tight so we switched to the bar, which actually worked out for us better. Service was friendly and prompt at the large center bar with two sides. Warsaw Poland Bros played live surf and Slavic American Ska and really were fabulous. They even had groovy ska number about the Red Dwarf bar! Sound was at a perfect level – we could easily hear the music but we could also hear ourselves.

Red Dwarf has a large beer selection, including the option to do the “Dungeon Master Challenge” where you roll a D20 to see what beer and shot you’ll get. We tried the Dwarf Piss, a very nice $4 lager that’s exclusive to this venue.

Mai Tai
I Just Blew Myself

A small cocktail menu is also available. They are prepared via free pour but overall were pretty decent. The Mai Tai is credible and includes a small portion of Falernum as a little twist, and I enjoyed a second made with Appleton Reserve 8 rum from their collection. Mrs. Mai Tai had the very good Blue Hawaiian riff called “I Just Blew Myself” because it is served flaming.

The pizza is fantastic here, but sometimes sells out by late evening especially on the weekends. Brunch is really an awesome option here – really relaxing and with well-mannered regulars, but be sure to get there early. No smoking, except outside on their small patio.

Plenty of seats at the large two-section bar
Detroit Style Pizza
Dwarf Piss
Entrance with ringer
Side Patio
Tight booths
Nice Lounge Section
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The Chandelier at Cosmopolitan Las Vegas

We somehow got a table right away at the very busy Chandelier bar at Cosmopolitan Las Vegas last Thursday night. Despite a few clubby elements they let a few of us folks outside the target demo have a round of fab cocktails.

As far as I can tell, the cocktail menu is completely different depending on what level you’re on. We were on level 1.5 (yes… that’s what they call it) and in addition to drinks I ordered a very nice shrimp cocktail.

My drink was the Cigar Lover’s Manhattan, which featured rum along with whiskey. And a very tasty chocolate cigar. Really great and worth a little premium.



Mrs Mai Tai had the We’re All Mad Here with Empress Gin, elderflower, lemon, and ginger. Very… transformative but also quite balanced.

We passed this bar on Friday and it wasn’t nearly as busy, which surprised us a little. Cocktails were really good here.

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Golden Tiki in Vegas’ Chinatown

We made reservations at The Golden Tiki for 7 pm Friday and had a pretty good time at this Chinatown destination. About the same experience for us as last time: good (but not great) cocktails, some good food, interesting decor, and mostly lots of good smoke-free energy. We arrived a little early and got to span the transition from Happy Hour to regular service, so we took advantage of some of the Happy Hour specials.

We were seated back in the far lounge (right next to where we sat last time), which isolated us from the energy of the main room but also avoided some of the crowd. There was a band playing when we arrived but after they ended there wasn’t music playing in the back and that brought the energy down.

Pupus
Sweet Mai Tai

Food was pretty good, including the Fried Rice and I especially liked their Crab Rangoon. Service overall was on point and the waitress did do a good job explaining things about the cocktails. One of our party felt a “2 skull” cocktail didn’t have any taste of alcohol and the server said that cocktails were batched and so it would be impossible for booze to not be present.

Which of course lends the question about the quality of this and other cocktails, when batching is a factor. Just so you know.

My Mai Tai was fine, and would be great if you love a very orgeat-forward and sweet Mai Tai. I did enjoy the Lemba Lemba Akulapu cocktail with three rums, juices, and spices – and this four skull cocktail definitely had some booze! We’ll make more of an effort to try and sit in the main room at the bar, where maybe we can possibly work with the bartenders, but cocktails here overall are fine as is.

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Rhumbar at The Mirage

We wanted to see the volcano erupt at The Mirage before it closes and had a few minutes to spare so we grabbed a quick drink at Rhumbar. A very nice hotel bar with a cool retro vibe. There’s an outdoor portion we didn’t visit but the inside was cool and there’s also a slushy station outside.



The “Mai Tai or Die” has Rhum Clement bland, Avuá Cachaca, pineapple, orgeat, and a Myers’s float. As pineapple Mai Tais go this one was pretty good and the rest of the menu looked legit.



It’s a shame the volcano is going away but the Mai Tai helped dull the pain.

Note: Sounds like The Mirage will stay in current state until around mid 2024, then be completely “reimagined”. So there is still lots of time to check out the volcano and resort.

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Fantastic Mai Tai San Jose Airport

We’re flying to Vegas for the weekend and stopped by Trader Vic’s San Jose Airport for dinner. The Mai Tais tonight were totally on point, and the best so far in all my visits to this airport location of Trader Vic’s. Everything came together in perfect balance and an early leader for Mai Tai of the year.


The view tonight wasn’t bad either. Look at the sunset! We enjoy watching the air ships from within the tiki bar.

I had the Teriyaki Salmon bowl and it too was really great. Lots of things to love including edamame, carrots, rice and more. Service was super helpful and prompt too. It bums me out when we have to fly out of SFO or OAK instead of SJC.

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Mai Tai Mike Completes Kon-Tiki Expedition

Congrats to @coldbrew429 for completing the rum list at The Kon-Tiki. Mike says it took less than a year which is quite an achievement. As is the tradition, there was a special cocktail list tonight in Mike’s honor.

The Kon-Tiki was in fine form tonight and Mrs. Mai Tai and I decided Friday Eve was a perfect time for cocktails and the world famous Kon-Tiki Burger. Just outstanding, and a great eclectic mix of music that spanned Yacht Rock but also 1970s funk, David Bowie deep cuts, and even a little vintage Gary Human. When that vintage music is playing, there aren’t better places than The Kon-Tiki.

I also decided to start a new Expedition rum list. We’ll see how long it takes to complete 100 rums; I’m certainly not going to push too hard to complete it in less than a year like I did last time – but you never know. The Kon-Tiki has a pretty nice selection of rum, so there are plenty that I haven’t had the pleasure of tasting.

The rums tonight were good spirts to start the exploration; the Saint Benevolence Aged Rum Clairin that I raved about the other day was absolutely fabulous as a Mai Tai at Kon-Tiki. The Worthy Park Port Cask expression was less of a hit for me, and you could absolutely taste the port cask influence even in a Mai Tai. It muted the Worthy Park taste that I love, without adding something that elevated the spirt. I’m glad I tried it but probably won’t revisit.

The Ultimate Mai Tai Special: Mai Tai and a Kon-Tiki Burger
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Haitian Mai Tai

Among the spirits distilled from sugar cane juice, I generally prefer the Clairins from Haiti. They contain vegetal notes similar to Rhum Agricole from Martinique but they often lean towards olive or brine notes and not grassy notes. Clairins are batch / pot distilled and have a heavy body.

I’ve been a staunch proponent of the Saint Benevolence Rum Clairin for several years, which is an unaged expression at 50 ABV that’s full bodied and delicious. But for the Mai Tai tonight I decided to use Saint Benevolence’s expression aged “for a minimum of one year” and pair it in equal parts with a standout aged Haitian rhum, Barbancourt Réserve Spéciale 8. Barbancourt is a rhum from sugar cane juice but distilled in a column still, so it’s considerably lighter than clairins typicaly are.

Barbancourt is Haiti’s most recognizable distillery and brand, and is widely available in major liquor stores, Total Wine, etc. Whereas Saint Benevolence is an American brand that imports the spirits. The aged expression isn’t as commonly available but you can still pick it up at places like Bitters & Bottles.

Using aged rums brings this cocktail closer to the Mai Tai’s aged rum origin, and boy do these two rums pair well together. The heavy body of the Saint Benevolence is a perfect match for the Barbancourt’s oaky notes. One of the best Mai Tais I’ve made at home in a while.

The Mai Tai is a standard 1944 recipe using these ingredients.

1 oz Lime Juice
½ oz Orgeat (Latitude 29)
¼ oz Demerara Syrup (Liber & Co.)
½ oz Orange Curacao (Clement Creole Shrubb)
1 oz Rhum Barbancourt Réserve Spéciale 8
1 oz Saint Benevolence Rum Clairin Aged in New American Oak
Shake with crushed ice