Our friends at the Kon-Tiki continue to surprise and delight, offering a low-key but still noteworthy drink special last night to celebrate the Mai Tai being named the official cocktail of the city. The October 10th Mai Tai was the brainchild of GM and bartender Carlos Jimenez, who used 10 rums for this special Mai Tai. Even better, priced at just $10.
The Mai Tai leaned on sugar-cane juice rums as the predominant note, but had layers of flavor that worked great in this format. I compared this to the Kon-Tiki’s standard issue Mai Tai that uses heavier and longer aged rums and found that while I prefer the standard this one-off Mai Tai was still really great and of course was a killer value as well.
Plenty of people got the memo as the room was quite busy for most of the evening.
Picked up this really amazing bottle at Smuggler’s Cove, an aged cask strength bottle of Copalli cane juice rum from Belize.
Aged far longer than Copalli’s 18 month “barrel aged” expression, the spice notes from the barrel blend very well with Copalli’s well regarded cane juice rum. There’s no official age statement but it compares well to four or five year rums I’ve tried and that age means this tastes really different from the unaged standard issue bottle. It is very approachable for a 65% ABV rum.
This is a Smuggler’s Cove exclusive pick, so head over to SF to pick one up before they’re gone. It may be a long time before we see an aged expression of this class from Copalli.
After years of having Campari in cocktails I’m finally getting accustomed this this bitter Italian liqueur, so much so that I actually like the taste of a classic Negroni cocktail and am really digging the riff that replaces gin with Jamaican rum.
New York bartender Joaquín Simó first made this cocktail in 2010, using the potent overproof Smith & Cross Jamaica rum as the featured spirit. I sure do love Smith & Cross but thought I’d try to create the Ultimate Kingston Negroni.
First I tried Planteray’s Xaymaca, a 100% pot still Jamaica rum issued at 43% ABV. This has more of the classic Jamaica rum flavor than something like Appleton and indeed it made a very nice Kingston Negroni.
Next I tried the Ultimate Mai Tai Rum Blend, an equal portion ratio of Appleton 12, Smith & Cross, Xaymaca, and Planteray OFTD that clocks in at 50% ABV. We love this in a Mai Tai, but it didn’t work amazingly in the Negroni to pair with the bitter Campari.
The best Kingston Negroni I could make? Well, that had Smith & Cross as the rum. Who’d have thunk it? I let Mrs. Mai Tai try this and she said “there is something funky in there.” She used the perfect word without even knowing that this is what folks use to refer to the classic overripe fruit taste of Jamaica rum. This one was by far the best Kingston Negroni.
Kingston Negroni 1 oz Campari 1 oz Sweet Vermouth 1 oz Smith & Cross Jamaica rum Stir with ice. Strain over large cubes and express an orange peel.
Had to head out to Oakland to celebrate the Mai Tai becoming the official cocktail of the city, popping into a bustling Kon-Tiki in mid-evening. The crew has decorated the venue for Halloween using a variety of retro looking decorations including some nice pumpkin lanterns hanging over the bar. There was quite the crowd too, with lively music that made Tuesday seem like a Friday.
I’ve been pretty transparent about trying to get Kon-Tiki to the top of my Best Mai Tai of 2024 list, but for months it has been stuck at number 2, a fab Mai Tai with Hamilton Pot Still Blonde, and couldn’t beat the excellent Mai Tai I had at The Sinking Ship at Tiki-Ko. I’ve tried a number of exoticrums in Mai Tais at The Kon-Tiki over the past few months, including their upscale $44 Samaroli Mai Tai. But none of them could do it and as much as I want Kon-Tiki at number one for sentimental reasons I’ve also got to keep it real and base the ranking on merit.
As I scanned the shelves I saw an old favorite that I had wasn’t really considering all this time but at the moment made perfect sense. So, I asked Carlos to make an Appleton 12 Jamaica rum Mai Tai and it was absolutely fantastic. So much bold flavor even from a 43% ABV rum that still presented the orange and almond flavors the Mai Tai is famous for, not overly limey and perfectly balanced. It’s my new number one of the year, all the more appropriate given the occasion.
There’s no need to keep continually trying to top the Mai Tai at Kon-Tiki for now, so we closed the evening with the Pop Star cocktail, delightfully blending juices, watermelon, Aperol, and hibiscus. So delicious, and quite the treat.
We thank bartender Kriss for indulging us with a little experiment, making a great Penultimate Mai Tai on our visit on Wednesday.
Based on the rums available we riffed a little bit but this is still a dark flavorful rum along with a Hawaiian rum. In this case 1½ oz of Diamond Reserve Dark and ½ oz Kō Hana Kea in a standard 1944 Mai Tai. A little less complex than our four-rum Ultimate Mai Tai blend but still really full of flavor.
The Kon-Tiki Burger and a Mai Tai is still my favorite thing in the town. Pretty busy on Wednesday, everyone keep it going and support our friends at The Kon-Tiki.
The Lucky Tiki is a new tiki bar that has been generating buzz for months so we decided to see if the hype was worth it. It is folks, it is.
Located upstairs from Tail o’ the Pup in West Hollywood and run by 1933 Group (Formosa Cafe, et. al.), this small tiki bar requires reservations that include the instructions on how to enter, speakeasy style. There are a few seats at the bar, several two or four-top tables, and one booth that we were seated in for our party of five.
Mai Tai
Hot Dogs can be ordered from Tail o’ the Pup downstairs, plus a few traditional tiki items, though note that if you want mustard or ketchup that you have to indicate that on the order. I had the Lucky Tiki Pop with a glaze sauce and pineapple that was delicious.
Most cocktails have a unique garnish or presentation, such as the Old Fashioned that’s presented from a smoke-filled box or the Ghost of Jim Morrison where thyme is set on fire. We thought the cocktails were very good, definitely not for hardcore craft cocktail nerds but more than adequate for folks looking for a fun time. Mrs. Mai Tai loved her Elvis in Hawaii that uses Peanut Butter Whiskey and a jelly-like Cabernet float. The Captain’s Inner Circle is their Navy Grog riff.
Elvis in Hawaii
The Mai Tai uses Flor de Cana 15 aged in sea-soaked barrels. We tasted the rum neat and there’s a bold saline flavor that’s just hinted at in the cocktail. It’s perfectly fine for this venue, but I challenged Skipper Christian Diaz (ex-Trader Sam’s) who was working to come up with an “impress me” Mai Tai and he absolutely killed it with an amazing one that used Planteray Fiji and Xaymaca, plus Smith & Cross rum. Mahalo!
Our service throughout was top-notch, very friendly and responsive to our repeated drink orders. Thanks to David and team. The decor and lighting is gorgeous and music is just want you want in a good tiki bar, relaxing and retro. Lucky Tiki has merch available and really lived up to the hype. Check it out.
Trader Vic’s Royal Amber Rum is the expression that Trader Vic’s uses in the Mai Tai and other cocktails at locations that use Trader Vic’s branded rums, distilled in Puerto Rico and distributed by Phillips Distilling. Royal Amber was introduced around 15 years ago in conjunction with World Spirits, ltd and stated to be a product of France. Royal Amber is supposed to be a combination of the Trader Vic’s Gold and Dark rums, which is to say that it is aged for a few years and does contain coloring and is issued at 40% ABV.
I’ve had this rum for some time and find it fights above its weight when used in a Mai Tai, even for a self-professed Jamaica rum snob like me.
I gladly was able to trade a modern sample for one from an older bottle from a local rum collector and found them to be pretty similar. The modern one struck me as a having a little bit more of a richer molasses taste, though that might be due to the age of the vintage sample. In either case it is a light-leaning rum with a pleasant flavor that plays well in a cocktail, very approachable for the average Mai Tai drinker at Trader Vic’s. We thank Gil for offering the opportunity to try this.
Pictured: vintage label, circa 2020 label, and modern label.
