My friend Amy was in town for business but we found time for dinner at The Tonga Room a couple blocks from her hotel. Yes, it helps to get there early before opening even on Wednesday. But it is worth it when they give you a table right by the lagoon.
About the same experience as last time. The prices here are pretty steep, but you can’t beat the amazing decor inside. Music was an eclectic mix of surf and Hawaiian and a little Reggae, and service was spot on as usual. I really liked my salmon entree.
Drinks were okay. Mrs. Mai Tai’s Shirley Temple didn’t even come with a cherry, but the Tonga Kong was a hit for her and with Amy. The Mai Tai was a little too limey, though mellowed over time.
We also had a short visit with Jayme from @lagoonofmystery who was in town for whirlwind tour of the Bay Area’s famed set of tiki bars.
Craft cocktail syrup company Small Hand Foods is entering the bottled cocktail market as Small Hand Cocktails and I gave their Mai Tai a try. The cocktail is made with Hamilton Rum, orange liqueur and of course Small Hand’s orgeat. The bottle is 25% ABV so this compares well to a freshly made cocktail.
Regular readers know that I’m not a fan of Small Hand’s orgeat, which to me has an unusually strong taste that doesn’t taste “almond-y”. Even though I know it is very popular with others and is used at cocktail programs in many bars.
Needless to say, you’ll have a better experience with this ready to drink Mai Tai if you’re a fan of their orgeat, but even I must admit this is a great bottled Mai Tai. The rum flavors do work so well with the rest of the ingredients and the mouthfeel is the same as with a freshly prepared scratch Mai Tai. Definitely worth seeking out.
This bottled Mai Tai compares well to other premium RTD Mai Tais, such as market leader On the Rocks. You could serve this to a cocktail enthusiast and they’d hardly notice the difference. These cocktails are available at Good Eggs and some Total Wine locations, plus discerning liquor stores. The 200ml bottle is around $11 and serves two-ish cocktails.
The latest blended rum release for Kuleana Rum Works will appeal to those who love barrel notes in their rum. This rum combines distillate from six countries, including a unique aged version of Kuleana’s Hawaiian Rum Agricole. Issued at 46% ABV, this is reminiscent of quality Barbados rums but with a slightly lighter overall character. No added colors, flavors, or sweeteners.
As noted there is a complex and interesting set of seven rums in this bottle:
Base rums: Molasses rums from Panama, Nicaragua, Barbados, and Venezuela and aged 2-3, 3-8, 5-8, and 8 years respectively.
Body rums: Kuleana’s Hawaiian Rum Agricole made from sugar cane juice and aged 18 months in Cognac barrels, plus a 15 year molasses-based rum from Barbados.
Accent rum: Molasses-based rum from Trinidad, aged 18 years.
I can’t say that the Hawaiian Rum Agricole hits me over the head, and honestly I’d love to try some of that just by itself. But overall, Hōkūlei is a really great sipping rum with great spice and oak notes.
In a Mai Tai, Hōkūlei doesn’t really punch through in the assertive way that Kuleana’s Hawaiian Rum Agricole does, though there’s plenty of general rummy flavor. On the other hand, this rum shines in a Daiquiri where you can taste those same spice and oak flavors alongside the brightness of the lime and sugar.
Hōkūlei retails for around $70-80 and is just coming to market this year. You can order from Kuleana’s website as well.
Huihui and Nanea from Kuleana Rum Works are blended rums made from distillate mostly sourced outside Hawai’i. These are semi-premium ($30-40) rums and are a best fit in cocktails.
Nanea is blend of column still molasses-based rums, aged between 2-4 years in ex-Bourbon barrels, giving this a completely different flavor profile that Kuleana’s signature Hawaiian Rum Agricole. The base rum is from Guatemala and aged two years. The “body” rum is from Guadeloupe and aged three years. The “accent” rum is from El Salvador and aged for four years. This is a very pleasant rum to sip, and the 43% ABV gives this a little extra flavor to savor. The column stills give this a light body featuring spice notes.
Huihui is a similar blend of three rums, all unaged and issued at 40% ABV. The base rum molasses-based rum from Papua New Guinea, with the “accent” rum being cane-juice based rhum from Martinique. The “body” rum is Kuleana’s own Hawaiian Rum Agricole, but Kuleana does not break down the percentages.
I’d had Huihui before and rated it 4/5 stars on my Forbidden Island Kill Devil Club rum list, but honestly this didn’t resonate with me as much this time. I think the grassy notes from the Martinique rum are a bit overpowering, even with this just being an accent. Moreover, it sort of overshadows the Hawaiian Rum Agricole that I find much more pleasant. It didn’t work for me in a daiquiri, either. Nice to see some of Kuleana’s own product in the blend, though.
Tasting these rums in a Mai Tai it should not surprise anyone that the aged Nanea is a better fit than the Huihui. Even with a lighter body, the vanilla and spice notes from Nanea do work well in a Mai Tai that I totally enjoyed. I’d expect Nanea would work very well in any cocktail calling for a gold rum generally or something like a Barbados rum specifically.
It is so great to see El Dorado offering some of their seminal pot still products in a single still format. Long known for being the secret ingredient in many blended Demerara rums, Port Mourant is a wooden pot still constructed in 1732! And it is still making fabulous rum.
I would say that if you’ve had the pot still releases from Mount Gay or Appleton that this is somewhat more approachable, even at 56.7% ABV. This is not quite as heavy as those other releases, and the flavor isn’t as intense. Nonetheless, this 12 year aged rum will knock the socks off most rum lovers and for sure will impress any rum newbie. You can really savor every sip.
As is the practice at Ultimate Mai Tai headquarters, we tried this rum in a standard 1944 Mai Tai. So delicious. The Mai Tai really shines when there’s a heavy, higher proof rum in the glass, and so this El Dorado was really excellent. The pot still flavors still shine through, even in a cocktail format.
The 750ml bottle runs anywhere from $125-150, alongside the Versailles and Enmore still releases that are also reaching the market right now. Check them out at your favorite liquor outlet or at finer bars with great rum collections.
Finally made it out to California Gold, a beer and cocktail bar in downtown San Rafael. Located in a historic building, there are tons of retro accoutrements and nods to California history.
We arrived at opening on Saturday for a couple rounds and thank goodness since it was quite packed by the time we left. Service was pretty decent and the cocktails were quite good. I loved the grog style Voodoo Western with bourbon, rum, passionfruit, cinnamon, grapefruit, lime, falernum, and voodoo secrets. Mrs. Mai Tai had the Carousel Park Swizzle, a nod the Queen’s Park Swizzle. All great.
This seems like a great place for cocktails in San Rafael’s cute downtown.
This was dinner that Mrs Mai Tai made the other night, which I ate while isolating in my office since the weekend with COVID again. Only a mild case, thankfully.
So, having the option for a Trader Vic’s canned Mai Tai was pretty nice. Add this to the reasons to get these and gave them on hand at home. Plus a reminder that among the canned Mai Tais in this price tier, the Trader Vic’s is the best we’ve tried so far. Available at BevMo and online.
