I do still continue to love Instagram, where even the ads help me with my holiday shopping. Plus all the connecting and commenting on the things we love to share. Check out the fun at @UltimateMaiTai on Instagram.
So, here are the Top Nine Posts for 2024.
Kamala Mai Tai (476) History of the Mai Tai (417) Trader Vic’s Black Tai Event (345) Trader Vic’s San Jose Airport Expanded Seating (295) Congrats Smuggler’s Cove on 15 Years (294) Farewell Kon-Tiki Oakland (292) Mai Tai Named Official Cocktail of Oakland (277) Best Mai Tai in New Orleans (267) Ultimate Mai Tai Rum Blend Meme (259)
Top Nine says I had 35,200 likes on 253 posts, an average of 139 per post, and that I’m in the “top 1% of accounts with up to 10,000 followers” with 7% more likes per post than average. Thank you for the likes!
The Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai was relaunched on Instagram on this day in 2017, reviving the brand started way back in 1998. 2453 posts in total and 257 just this year, chronicling experiences with cocktails, connections with people in the community, and world’s leading feed of Mai Tai minutiae.
We had some great adventures in the last 12 months. A few are chronicled in the photos including some travels with Mrs Mai Tai to far off places such as London, Eastern Europe, Las Vegas, New Orleans, and San Diego. Locally, a sprained ankle did not derail the enjoyment of the Trader Vic’s 90th anniversary weekend in Emeryville including the Black Tai dinner. We participated in a bar crawl in San Francisco’s North Beach and I hosted Mai Tai Trivia in Oakland. Made it up north for a tiki weekend in Seattle including the inaugural Tiki Palooza event, and I did presentations for the Three Rum Club at Tiki Tom’s, a huge crowd at Tiki Oasis San Diego, and at the San Francisco Rum Congress with Cocktail Wonk.
I visited 42 different tiki bars in the last year, plus 7 home bars. We said hello to some new to us in Europe, including Trader Vic’s in Munich, Rumpus in Budapest, and Matiki in Vienna. I was featured on several episodes of the Make & Drink channel on YouTube, including a blind tasting of eight different single bottle Mai Tais. The Ultimate Mai Tai was featured on Spike’s Breezeway Cocktail Hour and remains on the menu at Tiki Tom’s. Thank you to so many folks in the industry who’ve shown what true hospitality is.
So, thanks to so many fellow Mai Tai fans I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with over the last year. I appreciate your follows, likes, and comments here and in real-life, including the discussion of very important topics such as tiki bar ratings criteria and whether it is okay to put pineapple juice in a Mai Tai (hint: it is). Here’s to another year.
Forbidden Islandbrought together tikiphiles with members of the City of Alameda Democratic Club for a fundraiser and social. Raffle tickets were available for prizes donated by local businesses and tiki mugs donated by some of the local Ohana. Plus a silent auction for some tiki related items and a bit of Kamala swag including lawn signs and hats.
As with Forbidden Island’s Ukraine fundraiser from 2022, the team had two featured cocktails for the event.
The Kamalatai featured rums from Jamaica, India, and Oakland (“in case anyone needs reminding of her roots”) and was really well done, featuring Hamilton Pot Still, Amrut, and Wright & Brown rums. I’d love to see this punchier rum blend stick on the menu, it was that much better than the standard FI Mai Tai. Added to the list of top Mai Tais of the year.
Out of a Coconut Tree featured Jamaica rum, coconut water, pineapple, and honey. This leaned a little light but I thought it was really great. They don’t all have to be complex spice bombs.
The patio area was quite full during the evening, and the FI crew did a good job keeping up with demand. Thanks to Michael, Justin, Sara, and Jarrod for fab service.
What a fabulous evening in downtown Oakland last night for the first ever Mai Tai Trivia event, hosted by The Kon-Tiki. We had a packed house of people testing their knowledge of arcane Mai Tai and Tiki Bar trivia, or just to see famed YouTuber Derek from Make & Drink make a live appearance.
We did four themed rounds of trivia, starting with Mai Tai Origins, What’s in a Mai Tai, and Stretching the Definition. We dedicated one round to general Tiki Bar trivia. Questions ranged from the simple (“In what city was the Mai Tai invented”) to deeper cuts such as the longest continuously operating tiki bar in Southern California. Hint: it isn’t Tiki Ti or Tonga Hut.
Teams were formed with up to four people, including some timely and themed names such as East Bay Dunder, Our Tai, and Demure. Prizes included some great Make & Drink Mai Tai glasses and coasters, Make & Drink pins, a tiki mug, and Surfside Sips glass straw gift packs.
The winning team was Cooler than QB that included hometown “Oakhana” regulars, followed in a tie for second from Hinky Drinkers and Squeaky Tikis. Congrats to these teams and thanks to all who played. We also thank Mrs. Mai Tai for helping with passing out and collecting ballots.
Arminder from Rum Revival and Derek from Make & Drink
We have to thank the amazing Kon-Tiki team who welcomed a large crowd and did a great job keeping up with orders. I enjoyed the Dhalia Negra cocktail from the happy hour menu and bartender Kriss made a Q.B. Cooler that was fantastic. I also made sure to enjoy a standard Mai Tai that’s not on the menu but always available, and Kon-Tiki’s Mai Tai is one of the best anywhere.
Question: when was the first Mai Tai Trivia Event? Answer: The Kon-Tiki Oakland, August 21, 2024.
Cooler than QBHinky Drinkers and Squeaky TikisDhalia Negra with Hibiscus-infused Charanda, Lime, Azucar
Re-remembering the family background of presumptive Democratic nominee Vice-President Kamala Harris made me think of making a tribute recipe for this Oakland native based on the Mai Tai, Oakland’s most famous cocktail. Harris’ parents are from Jamaica and India, so the rum ratios for a Mai Tai naturally fell into place.
Kamala Mai Tai by Kevin Crossman 1 oz Lime Juice ½ oz Orgeat ¼ oz Demerara Syrup ½ oz Orange Curacao 1 oz Oakland Rum (Wright & Brown) ½ oz Indian Rum (Amrut Two Indies) ½ oz Jamaica Rum (Worthy Park 109)
This was a really good Mai Tai, with the Jamaica rum presenting itself up front and a long finish with the barrel notes from the aged Wright & Brown from Oakland. I know most folks don’t have this rum, but if you want it to be authentic it has to come from Oakland.
Longtime Chicago radio personality Steve Dahl is best known outside Second City as the brainchild of the infamous Disco Demolition Night at a Chicago White Sox doubleheader in 1979. But in 1997 he recorded an album of Jimmy Buffett and Beach Boys inspired songs called Mai-Tai Roa Aé, with titles such as “Janet Don’t Go to Jamaica”, “Net Surfin’ U.S.A.”, and “Flying Over the Ocean.” The CD is available on the second-hand market and you can listen to the album on YouTube and music streaming services.
The title track is most notable, telling a historically accurate story about the creation and popularization of the Mai Tai cocktail. There are references to the original Wray & Nephew 17 year old rum, the Matson Line, and even a creative pronunciation of “ore-jay”. The album cover notably features portion of the longtime Trader Vic’s cocktail menu cover, likely used without permission. The song though is a bit more inspired with a pretty nice hook, and while nobody will confuse Dahl’s voice with one of the Wilson brothers, he does a fair job delivering the details. Interestingly, Dahl had issues with alcoholism and was sober for a couple years at the time of this album’s release.
Mai-Tai Roa Aé / music and lyrics by Steve Dahl Sitting at the service bar in Oakland Sometime back in 1944 The war was on, the empire was exploding Vic Bergeron was looking for something more
Mai-Tai Roa Aé my friend May that special feeling never end It’s paradise in a glass For a world that moves too fast Mai-Tai Roa Aé my friend
He summoned the bartender from the back room Had him bring the 17 year old rum The freshest fruits, the almond flavored orgeat From the finest things on Earth the drink had sprung
Mai-Tai Roa Aé my friend May that special feeling never end It’s paradise in a glass For a world that moves too fast Mai-Tai Roa Aé my friend
Traveled from the mainland to Hawaii On the steamships of the mighty Matson Line From Honolulu to the south beach of Miami The old man’s drink has stood the test of time
Mai Tai means the very best in Tahiti A gentle breeze, the beach, sunshine Any time the native are getting restless Trader Vic’s Mai Tai will do it every time
Mai-Tai Roa Aé my friend May that special feeling never end It’s paradise in a glass For a world that moves too fast Mai-Tai Roa Aé my friend Mai-Tai Roa Aé my friend Mai-Tai Roa Aé my friend Mai-Tai Roa Aé my friend
Congrats to San Diego’s Bali Hai Restaurant, a longtime institution located on scenic Shelter Island. The venue’s infamous Mai Tai is known to be extraordinarily potent, advertised as not being made with any juice. It’s basically rum in a glass with little splashes of traditional Mai Tai ingredients.
The 3 millionth Mai Tai was recently sold at Bali Hai, which has a ticker inside the restaurant showing how many they’ve sold. Quite a milestone for such a noteworthy entrant in the lore of the Mai Tai.
People often ask how this is made, so we present the recipe that tastes like the real thing.
Bali Hai Mai Tai ½ oz Sweet and Sour Mix (or ¼ oz Lemon Juice and ¼ oz Simple Syrup) ¼ oz Orgeat ¼ oz Triple Sec 2½ oz Cruzan Light Rum 2½ oz Coruba Dark Jamaican Rum Shake with ice
