The Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai
Traveling the Bay Area and beyond to find the best Mai Tai in the world! Tiki, cocktails, and adventures by Kevin Crossman
Threw some of this and that from what was on-hand at home for this Blue Hawaiian riff with different kinds of rum than the light rum or vodka that is typically used. The Martinique rhum adds an unexpected finish that is delightful.
Blue Caribbean
½ oz Lime Juice
3 oz Pineapple Juice
1½ oz Coconut Creme
½ oz Blue Curacao
1¾ oz Clement Premiere Canne (or other unaged Rhum Agricole or Rum Clairin)
¼ oz Dark Jamaican rum blend (Appleton and Hamilton)
I’ve been digging Spike’s Breezeway Cocktail Hour from Spike Marble of the Hula Girls on YouTube for the past year, so I was more than happy to join Spike’s Patreon. The Breezeway pin was a nice bonus. Check it out each Friday.
Spike’s guest last week was Ed Hamilton of Hamilton Rum and Ministry of Rum fame. The episode was quite entertaining as the imposing Ed Hamilton made three different cocktails with Spike while talking about rum and the Hamilton Rum lineup. Having met Ed a couple times in person I’m sympathetic with Spike’s plight in that situation, even though Ed is quite friendly. After a rum demo in Oakland a couple years ago I came home and immediately ordered over $100 worth of Hamilton spirits, so the man really knows his rum.
The third cocktail that Ed made was the Orange Blossom. This was a little different, so I decided to make it according to the specs that are quite a bit less exact that are typical for tropical cocktail or craft cocktail recipes.
Orange Blossom by Ed Hamilton
1 part Hamilton Pimento Dram
3 parts Hamilton 86 Demerara Rum
Fill glass with fresh Orange Juice
Top with Ice
Did I mention how much I think Ed Hamilton knows rum? I will emphasize the point again. But, I have to say, this cocktail was actually less than the sum of its parts and I bet you’ve never had anything quite like this. They can’t all be winners. But hey, your milage might vary.
Aloha Friday! I decided to play around with some wine leftover from one of Mrs. Mai Tai’s fab family dinners this week. It’s a “Mai Tai” made with wine as the only alcoholic component. And as much as I figured I’d hate it (I’m not a wine fan) I actually liked it.
I chose Lemon Juice to pair with the wine, since I thought it would be a little brighter. And I chose Orange Bitters to sub for the Orange Curacao.
Wine Tai
1 oz Lemon Juice
½ oz Orgeat
½ oz Demerara Syrup
2 oz White Wine
2 dashes Orange Bitters
This is a Chris Day original now being served as a frozen drink at The Kon-Tiki in Oakland . It is lovely in that format and serves as a wonderful counterpart to The Kon-Tiki’s Pina Colada style cocktail The Uma Uma also being served frozen.
Coffee drinks haven’t always been my friend, apart of the Black Magic I had at The Mai-Kai a couple years ago. But after trying this cocktail I knew I had to try and make it at home. So glad I did – it is even better in the original shaken format. I used Tempus Fugit Creme of Banana and I would say that I’m not tasting the banana too much, so you might consider increasing it a bit (or, pulling back on the coffee liqueur). The Spiced Rum I used was a combo of Sailor Jerry and Captain Morgan that I made by combining two half bottles of each.
Donnie’s Element by Chris Day
½ oz Coffee Liqueur (Mr. Black)
½ oz Banana Liqueur (Tempus Fugit)
1½ oz Coconut Creme
1½ oz Spiced Rum
2 Dashes Angostura Bitters
Whip shake and pour over crushed or pebble ice.
Garnish with Grated Cinnamon
Be sure to check out the embedded video from the Educated Barfly where they made this cocktail. I won’t spoil the surprise but if you’re a fan of the drink or of Chris Day’s cocktails (or just Chris as a human being) you should definitely watch the video.
I first tried this amazing cocktail at Longitude, the Oakland adventure-themed bar that sadly closed but lives on today as The Kon-Tiki.
Every time I try this I think I should have it more often, featuring Jamaican rum, Passion Fruit Syrup, and Honey mix. So delicious. Thanks to Jeff Berry for publishing the recipe in Beachbum Berry Remixed and in the Total Tiki app.
It’s Friday so I made myself a double version of this. Thankfully I have these cool tiki style coupe glasses that are extra large.
Don’s Special Daiquiri
½ oz Lime Juice
½ oz Honey Mix
½ oz Passion Fruit Syrup
½ oz Light Rum
1 oz Gold Jamaican Rum
For World Cocktail Day we went back to the roots for this simple cocktail featuring the very best spirit in the world: Jamaican Rum.
This one was simple recipe based on materials at hand, so perhaps not the “ultimate” version.
¾ oz Lime Juice
¾ oz Simple Syrup
2 oz Gold Jamaican Rum
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Lots of ice
This is a recipe from Steve Crane’s Kon-Tiki restaurant from the Sheraton Waikiki resort circa 1960s, according to the entry in Beachbum Berry’s Taboo Table, and the Total Tiki app. I liked my first sip but it quickly turned into something else, a weird combination of flavors that did not play well on my tongue. I actually dumped it.
Molokai Mule
2 oz Orange juice
1 oz Lime Juice
1 oz Orgeat
1 oz Cognac
1 oz Light Rum
1 oz Demerara Rum
Shake with ice cubes.
Have you ever tried this? What did you think?
Glassware by Woody Miller.