Category: Rum

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Happy 20th Anniversary to Forbidden Island

If we’re making a list of the most important tiki bars of the 21st century, Alameda’s Forbidden Island is a sure bet for the top 5. Opening in 2006, the bar set a new standard for the genre by combining the friendly confines of a neighborhood bar along with deep and traditional decor and a focus on craft cocktails. It made an immediate splash and set the template for the next decade of tiki bars.

Owner Michael Thanos at Tiki Central event in 2020

Forbidden Island has had a week of special events this week, and while we didn’t participate in any of the evening events or Sunday’s luau style event, we wanted to make sure to visit sometime this weekend. So Mrs. Mai Tai and I dropped in Saturday afternoon for a drink in between other things. We sat at the bar and enjoyed one of Miami Dave’s original creations called the Disco Ball, juicy, complex, and made with several rums. I tried the Infinite Coastline, a Blue Hawaii riff that now uses Mexican rum and is still fantastic. It was even better with a little pour of The Funk Jamaican rum that I checked off on my latest Kill Devil Club rum list.

Thank you to Michael and all crew members past and present for leading the tiki revival and keeping the flame burning though the rough waters of COVID, changing tastes, and local bureaucracy. Things have changed over the years (I loved the old jukebox), but Forbidden Island is still doing things right. From special events to Tuesday Ohana nights, plus friendly staff and great hospitality, Forbidden Island is one of the greats. Cheers!

Disco Ball and Infinite Coastline
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Denizen 8 Year Jamaican Rum Wanderer Series

Issued as part of Denizen’s new Wanderer Series, this is a Single Origin Jamaican Rum aged for eight years and finished in Port Casks for three months. Issued at 54% ABV, this new premium rum is a limited edition of four different pot/column still rums and does come with a higher cost than Denizen’s standard rum lineup.

The Port Cask is doing some really funky things to this rum, and I didn’t really find it to be particularly representative of a Jamaican rum. The bottle says “single origin” but said origin isn’t really provided. Comparing this to something like Dr. Bird, another Jamaican rum with wine cask aging, I feel like more of the Jamaican notes are lost and are replaced with some industrial solvent notes that reminded me of a Haitian Clairin. I don’t get any of the banana or caramel notes supposedly attributed to this rum in the marketing materials.

I made this in a Mai Tai and while it wasn’t undrinkable, I did find it lacking compared to Denizen’s other rums.

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Hawaiian ʻŌkolehao

Hawaiian ʻŌkolehao is a modern version of Hawai’i’s first distilled spirit, originally distilled from a mash made from Ti roots but these days the product also includes spirits distilled from Hawaiian cane. There are historical references to ʻŌkolehao being referred to as “Hawaiian Moonshine” so Island Distillers of Honolulu are embracing that heritage by offering the product unaged at a robust 100 proof, packaged in a bottle reminiscent of moonshine bottles.

I tasted this product years ago as part of the late Kon-Tiki Oakland’s rum expedition, finding it curious but pleasant and sweet. Since then, I’ve tried a lot more rums made from sugar cane juice and syrup, so I’m more familiar with some of the flavors present here. There are some earthy flavors in Hawaiian ʻŌkolehao, which I assume are attributable to the Ti root components but nonetheless this is a very pleasant sipper that has mild flavors.

Hawaiian ʻŌkolehao works quite nicely in a 1944 Mai Tai, though isn’t quite the flavor bomb you’d get from rums of Jamaica or Martinique. As with the neat pour, it offers some mild flavors that pair well with the rest of the traditional Mai Tai ingredients.

I was able to purchase my bottle directly from Island Distiller’s website, though you can sometimes find it at retail as well, and this is widely available in Hawai’i.

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Fresh Cocktails at Cavaña Near Oracle Park

Our trip to see the Giants play at Oracle Park started early with a visit to nearby Cavaña, a rooftop bar and restaurant that’s across McCovey Cove and part of the LUMA Hotel. The day was cold and breezy so we spent most of our time inside at the bar, but the rooftop views of the ballpark and Mission Bay are spectacular.

Cavaña leans into Central and South American flavors for both the cocktails and their food offerings, so the drinks have Agave spirits, Cane spirits, or Pisco. Many cocktails include floral and herbal elements, such as my Papaya which combined Pisco and Elderflower liqueur. Mrs. Mai Tai was immediately drawn to the coffee-forward Banano that included Santa Teresa rum as well as banana milk. Perhaps the best of the standard menu items was the Guayaba that included tequila, guava, and rose petals. All of these were outstanding and offered unique flavors you don’t experience at most places, and there a number of interesting non-alcoholic options as well.

Guayaba

There’s a very nice spirits list at Cavaña, and I spotted a bottle Rivers Royale rum from Grenda, a potent flavor bomb that’s wild and pungent. Seeing a Caipirinha on the menu, I asked for a spirit sub with the Rivers. The bartender cogently informed me that this was really high proof, which I said was okay, and then when he presented the drink, the bartender chuckled and said “that’ll get the job done.” This was a really good format for this powerful spirit, just enough lime and sugar to support the amazing flavors.

This was our second stellar visit to Cavaña, which is a great option for drinks and food before or after events at Oracle Park or nearby Chase Center. The authentic flavors drive a stellar lineup of offerings that offer something for everyone.

Papaya, Banano, Guayaba, and Caipirinha

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Beautiful Day on the Santa Cruz Wharf at Makai Tiki Bar

My company gave me Friday off for a “wellness day” so Mrs. Mai Tai and I went over to the Santa Cruz area for shopping and lunch. After a quick visit to Capitola and Soquel, we drove onto the Santa Cruz Wharf for lunch at Makai Island Kitchen and Groggery.

Makai has been a favorite of ours for some time, including the rotating bar area. This is such a unique feature and you have full views of the ocean, Makai’s Captain’s Table room, and the rest of the restaurant. We also saw a vast rum list that was over 30 pages and according to staff features over 620 rums, very quietly one of the largest collections of any venue in the United States. We both enjoyed our lunch, I had the Poke Bowl that includes lychee and crushed macadamia nuts as different kind of options, with Mrs. Mai Tai having the Halibut Green Curry Bowl.

There are bunch of different cocktail options including many developed by the crew. I started with a 1944 Mai Tai that I should have loved, featuring Appleton Signature, Smith & Cross, and Planteray Xaymaca rums (three of my favorites), but this Mai Tai was too lime forward and I could barely taste the rum. We had much better luck with the other cocktails, including the sweet banana flavors of Squid Ink, the light gin and lavender flavors of Purple Haze, and the not-too-sweet ube and coconut Triumph & Disaster. Our favorite was Pau Hana, a gin and elderflower cocktail that incorporated lemon and raspberry. This cocktail was developed by Hana Kingsbury (see what she did there) who was our server and posed with a photo with her creation.

The cocktail and rum options at Makai remain strong, plus their island far remains high quality and moderately priced. We enjoy things inside in the rotating bar, but the patio outside is pretty nice including a couple of very large tikis to help set the mood. Along the way, we saw birds and sea lions from our vantage point, and then strolled to the end of the pier to check out more sea lions, sea birds, and seagulls.

1944 Mai Tai, Squid Ink, Pau Hana, Purple Haze

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Modified Scorpion Recipe

After having the individual Scorpion at Trader Vic’s last week I thought I’d revisit this classic at home. This is a prime example of the Trader Vic’s recipe style, featuring both orange and lemon juice, a split base of spirits, and Vic’s signature sweetener, orgeat.

This sometimes comes out too tart, and I’ve long felt that the juicy cocktail needs bolder spirits. So, I did some modifications on the ratios by dropping the orange juice a little and bumping up the orgeat. This was originally made with a lightly aged “white” Puerto Rican rum, but I think that something with more flavor would be better. Look for something bolder like Denizen White, Planteray 3 Star, Hamilton Breezeway Blend, or Myers’s Platinum White. The brandy or cognac is often lost in this and as a richer spirit I want to taste it so I’ve doubled that from what Trader Vic called for.

  • Valencia Oranges are a little sweeter than Navel Oranges and would be recommended for this cocktail.
  • Now with four ounces of spirts, you can feel better about using this Trader Vic’s Scorpion Bowl and maybe even splitting it with someone special.

Scorpion by Trader Vic (modified)
1½ oz Orange Juice
1½ oz Lemon Juice
¾ oz Orgeat
2 oz Brandy or Cognac
2 oz Aged White Rum
Flash blend with 8 oz crushed ice. Dirty dump and top with more crushed ice, garnishing with gardenia, orchid, or citrus wheels. Serve in Mai Tai glass or tiki mug.