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
Another neighborhood delivery
This was the choice of the recipient, who definitely needs a stiff drink. I’m not a pumpkin spice hater.
Pumpkin Spice Mai Tai
1 oz Lime Juice
½ oz Orgeat
½ oz Orange Curacao
¼ oz Demerara Syrup
1 oz Captain Morgan Jack’o’Blast Pumpkin Spiced Rum
1 oz Aged Jamaican Rum
I keep trying to make this one. It seems so simple and maybe uninteresting, but when I tried it at the Mai-Kai last year I was blown away. So I keep trying. And the fact that this is blended, when I’ve been fighting like Ahab to get my blender to make good slushy blended drinks, well let’s just say that the result was better but still not perfect.
This time the blend was better but still too many big chunks considering I was sipping rather than using a straw.
Derby Daiquiri
½ oz Lime juice
1 oz Orange juice
½ oz Sugar syrup
1½ oz Light Rum (I used Plantation 3 Star)
Blend with ice
I used fresh Valencia Oranges and it certainly made a difference compared to when I’ve used bottled OJ. But neither is as good as the Orange Juice they use at the Mai-Kai in Florida, so I guess all those ads about Florida oranges are true.
The Atomic Grog has great resources for everything Mai-Kai and their page for this cocktail is no exception. Check it out.
Let’s talk about the Q. B. Cooler. It’s the drink that inspired the Mai Tai. Or so the story goes.
Donn Beach claimed that Trader Vic used the Q. B. Cooler as a template or precursor to the Mai Tai, something noted in Jeff “Beachbum” Berry’s book Sippin’ Safari.
We have a new feature at ultimatemaitai.com about the Q.B. Cooler, including the origin story, recipe, and whether or not the cocktail is the Mai Tai’s daddy. Includes some historical details and new quotes from The Bum himself. Check it out.
Q. B. Cooler by Don the Beachcomber
½ oz Lime juice
1 oz Orange juice
1 oz Club soda
½ oz Honey mix
¼ oz Falernum
½ tsp Ginger syrup
½ oz Demerara rum
1 oz Jamaican rum
1 oz Puerto Rican rum
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Blend with 4 oz crushed ice for 5 seconds; top up with more crushed ice and garnish with mint.
View the Page: Q. B. Cooler at UltimateMaiTai.com
Found this in the 1947 Trader Vic’s Bartender’s Guide. It is a light and refreshing cocktail that is influenced by Trader Vic’s travels to Cuba in 1937.
Santiago Cocktail-2
½ oz Lime Juice
¾ oz Cointreau
1 tsp Sugar
1¾ oz Rum
I made this with Havana Club 7 aged Cuban rum and it’s a very good cocktail. But it is missing something… something that could add a little more sweetness and complexity. Hmm… thoughts?
This is a great cocktail from Daniel “Doc” Parks from the Minimalist Tiki book. So many great flavors! It’s always a favorite at Zombie Village or wherever Doc Parks might be serving drinks.
The Vacation by Daniel “Doc” Parks
¾ oz Lime juice
1 oz Pineapple juice
½ oz Mango syrup
¼ oz Falernum
1 oz Lightly aged or filtered rum (Real McCoy 3)
1 oz Unaged agricole rum (Rhum J.M Blanc)
1 oz Pisco (Capurro)
1 dash Vanilla-Infused Angostura bitters
The Minimalist Tiki book by Matt Pietrek and Carrie Smith is now in a third edition, complete with some new recipe riffs on the “Classic 30” tiki drinks. Plus fixes for those pesky typos. If you haven’t gotten this book yet, it’s totally worth getting as it covers the key ingredients needed for a home bar, plus the Wonk’s usually great coverage of rum and spirits. Many truly amazing cocktail recipes.
So many thanks to local tikiphile Cathie Wartelle for donating some of her Senior Blue Curacao for another shootout comparison with our reigning champion Giffard Curacao Bleu.
Last week we compared Giffard to the much cheaper Drillaud, and so this week it’s a more even playing field since the Senior is priced similarly (or in many places even higher). Once again, we did this in our Blue Hawai-Tai cocktail – though this time I did switch up the rums. We have Rum-Bar White Overproof and Denizen Aged White Rum for standing in this week.
In the glass: I found the Giffard to be a deeper shade of blue, and heavier and more complex on the tongue. The Senior is pleasant but just lacks a bit of depth – though it is 31% ABV compared to 25% for the Giffard.
In the cocktail: The Senior Blue Curacao mixes well in the cocktail, and for sure helps this cocktail go down easy. The sweetness of Senior is similar to the Giffard, but once again the Giffard just has a little extra complexity in the cocktail that is a notable difference.
The verdict: unlike last time, price differences aren’t a factor, so Giffard is still our winner. If you’re at a liquor store and you had to choose between some $7 low-end Blue Curacao and Senior, should you feel bad going upscale? Absolutely not. The Senior Blue Curacao is a good liqueur. But pound for pound, the Giffard is better in our opinion.
Blue Hawai-Tai by Kevin Crossman
1 oz Lemon Juice
1 oz White Overproof Jamaican Rum
½ oz Aged White Rum
½ oz Orgeat
½ oz Simple Syrup
½ oz Blue Curacao
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with crushed ice.
As if 2020 couldn’t get any more bizarre. Look at the orange skies out in the backyard, and honestly it was unsettling and pretty disturbing.
Tried to make a cocktail that matched the color of the sky, so I turned to this one featuring the bright orange BG Reynolds Circus Peanut syrup.
Big Top Mai Tai by Jason Alexander
½ oz passion fruit sirop
½ oz almond sirop
1 oz Clown Sirop
1½ oz lemon juice
2½ oz Plantation Xaymaca
At least the day ended well.
