Category: Mai Tai

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Golden Fez Shock the Monkey Lowball Glass

I purchased this very nice glass from our friends at House of Tabu. When you order you also get some additional goodies including a recipe card from Tiki Lindy, a pin, and a sticker. Very nice.

I don’t have a ton of these smaller “lowball” glasses, so this seemed like the opportune time to toe-dip into House of Tabu’s “Order of the Golden Fez” brand (or maybe it is a cult, I’m not sure). The glasses are still available, along with a pre-sale for the new issue of Exotica Moderne where I have an article about local favorites The Kon-Tiki in Oakland.

The Mai Tai was made with a freshly prepared bottle of Ultimate Mai Tai rum blend. That’s equal parts Appleton 12, Plantation Xaymaca, Smith & Cross, and Plantation OFTD. Rich, boozy, and delicious.

The orgeat comes from our buddy Tony Dunnigan who lives in San Jose. Tony’s homemade orgeat is pretty easy to make even if you’re lazy like I am. But I was happy to trade a couple rum samples for some of Tony’s orgeat. I noticed Tony has a couple Order of the Golden Fez mugs, so I guess he’s part of the secret society, too. Oops, maybe I have said too much.

Orgeat by Tony Dunnigan
2 cups Unsweetened Almond Milk
4 cups Granulated Sugar
Heat in saucepan and stir until the sugar dissolves
Add 1 “light” teaspoon of Orange Blossom Water
Add 2 tablespoons of Almond Extract
Add ⅓ Cup Cognac
Continue to stir, then bottle

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Trader Vic’s Canned Mai Tai Available in 38 States

RTD is A-OK

Up an hour early today to take the dog in for surgery. Shitty week at work seeing how many colleagues are vax deniers. Then an hour wait to pick up the dog (she’s fine, but surgery wasn’t cheap). So it was a heck of a day.

So this tasty canned Mai Tai seemed like a great idea.

I purchased my canned Mai Tai at BevMo locally, but these are now available to order online and shipping to 38 states!

Order Now: drinktradervics.com

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Tiki Tom’s

We’re late to the reopening party, but perhaps that helped our experience on Sunday. Mrs. Mai Tai did some shopping in Walnut Creek and we hit Tiki Tom’s for dinner and drinks. Everything they say about the remodel is true and even more so. It is gorgeous inside with all kinds of cool Hawaiian and Tiki elements. I loved the mug displays and nods to Disney and TV shows, plus some very immersive lighting and Hawaiian music that was totally on point.

Several people have told us that drinks were inconsistent, but my Mai Tai was really quite good. Mrs Mai Tai had the Dole Whip with a Dark Rum float that tasted very nice, and I also tried the original cocktail Blowfish Intoxica. This Hemingway Daiquiri riff with Rhum Agricole was really well prepared and balanced.

For food, I had the Shrimp and Pork Lumpia and also the Kalua Pork Sliders, while Mrs. Mai Tai had the Beet Salad and Coconut Nice. All the food we had was great, though since the kitchen is small the plates came out in pairs. Our server was quite earnest and friendly.

Patrons seem to be digging the new Tiki Tom’s. There weren’t any Frat bros or jocks on our visit, and one group even asked to be seated in the fantastic nautical-themed booth just past the bar.

If there’s a downside, the food and cocktail prices are at least ~$3-5 more than you’d expect to pay. We know the rent in downtown Walnut Creek is high, but prices seemed higher than Oakland or San Francisco. Nonetheless, we loved our visit to Tiki Tom’s and can’t wait to return.

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Kon-Tiki 4th Edition Printed Menu

The Kon-Tiki is launching a new printed cocktail menu for the first time since October 2019.

I don’t know if anyone else cares about this at all, but I’m always interested when one of my favorite places updates a menu. And since I have the older menus, it is interesting to see what’s coming, going, and staying.

Most notable for us is the inclusion of a Mai Tai listed on the menu and not just as an option on the Happy Hour menu or as a “call” item. We’ve discussed recently that the Kon-Tiki Mai Tai has a new rum blend featuring Jamaican, Martinique, and St. Luician rums. This is different from their previously blend, as well as the Mai Tai rums used at their sister bar The Kon-Tiki Room. Quite delightful, and of course the Kon-Tiki has a vast rum collection so the staff can make a Mai Tai out of any of those rums.

Also notable is the remaining inclusion of the premium Samaroli Mai Tai that uses a rare rum and is priced at $44 (hello “44 Mai Tai”). I’ve been told by staff that this Mai Tai is more popular than you might expect, so I guess there are still upscale customers in Oakland. What’s next, bottle service?

(that’s a joke, Kon-Tiki. Please don’t ever offer bottle service)

Be sure to try some of the amazing new cocktails the next time you visit.

Original Menu Holdovers
The Kon-Tiki Grog
The Kon-Tiki Zombie
Uma Uma
Virgin’s Sacrifice
 
Second Menu Holdovers
Coca-Coconut
Ma Kua (for 2 or 4)
Stormy Keone
 
Third Menu Holdovers
Golden Gong
Ring of Fire
Samaroli Mai Tai
 
New Exotic Drinks
Blush Crush
Donnie’s Element
Golden Snitch
Haitian Hi Ball
Island Old Fashioned
Mai Tai
Martinique on Fleek
Mezcal in the Banana Stand
Plantation Stiggins Fancy Pineapple Rum on Nitro Draft
Phoenix Bowl
Rum and Spice
Rum Club Cooler
Saint Lucia’s Fox
Sea Shandy
Sea Shandy Jr.
The Kon-Tiki Spritz
Virgin Painkiller
 
Thanks for the Memories
Anne Bonny
Calypso
Crystal Lagoon
Dick Smithereens
Eastern Sour
Guavameek
Key Largo
Logo Moco Vat
Ogopogo (bowl)
Rum & Honey
Summer Breeze
Sunken Tugboat
Tea Calaca Tiki
Thunder Island
Tropical Lemonade
Vahevela
Virgin’s Downfall
Volcano Bowl (for 4)
Voyager’s Mainbrace
Vult Boom
Wahine Fizz
 
RIP “Yacht Rock Hits”