Category: Rum

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The Sinking Ship Room is Bakersfield’s Amazing Basement Tiki Bar

Mrs Mai Tai and I were excited to visit The Sinking Ship Room again, the basement sister venue from the folks behind Tiki-Ko. Access is through a separate door on the street and you cannot pass from bar to bar without going outside. The hours currently are more limited for The Sinking Ship, which is a larger and more elaborately themed space than Tiki-Ko upstairs.

After our visit to Tiki-Ko earlier, we arrived at The Sinking Ship right at opening at 7 pm on a Saturday and quickly got our drinks. I ordered the standard-issue Mai Tai that was really great with a blend of Jamaican and Martinique rums and some pleasant nutty flavors from the orgeat. The mood music was in full effect and allowed us to admire all the nick nacks, tikis, and nautical decor inside. There’s a mix of tables and lounge tables, with a large booth available by reservation.

Mai Tai with Rhum J.M Terrior Volcanique

I was feeling like I wanted to try another cocktail and scanned the shelves to see if there was an interesting rum to have in a Mai Tai. I spotted a bottle of Rhum J.M Terrior Volcanique and thought this aged agricole rhum might do well. Terrior Volcanique is aged in barrels with a double char process that results in a smoky and spicy rum. I haven’t loved this rhum neat in a glass but it was absolutely fantastic in a Mai Tai even at only 43% ABV. Like really, really amazing. Easily the best so far this year and a lock for placement on the year-end Top 10 list.

The Sinking Ship Room is an amazing space that every tikiphile needs to support and visit. The outstanding and immersive decor pairs so well with the Tiki-Ko crew’s unpretentious and friendly service orientation.

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The Last Bottles of Denizen 3

Denizen Aged White Rum has been in the market for several years, alongside Denizen’s other blended rum products. It is positioned for use in Daiquiris and other cocktails where the a “light rum” is called for and when you want something with a lot more flavor than Bacardi. This is aged for three years and then charcoal filtered and features 80% column distilled rum from Trinidad and 20% high ester pot distilled rum from Jamaica. This is a big step up from the light rums that are not too different from vodka and the Jamaican component really adds a lot of character, body, and flavor even at 40% ABV.

The entire line of Denizen rums got new labels late last year and the Aged White Rum product now says it is “aged up to 5 years.” The big giant 5 on the label totally camouflages the “up to” right next to it. While a possibly longer age (still charcoal filtered) sounds good, the specific mention of Jamaica is no longer present. The label says that Aged White Rum has “both pot and column distilled blends from Trinidad and other Caribbean regions.” Aged White is also 40% ABV.

New Denizen Aged White

I did a side by side test of the new and old blends and noticeably favored the older Denizen 3. So, I decided to scour the internet for bottles still for sale and after some bumps in the road that included shady Chinese internet sites I did end up with two nice bottles of Denizen 3. They won’t be held back as precious vintage rums, so I’ll definitely not feel bad about using them in cocktails, but I’m glad I won’t have to pick a new favorite light rum anytime soon.

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Day Time is the Right Time at Trader Sam’s at the Disneyland Hotel

Our usual plan for park touring at Disneyland is to avoid the heavy crowds during the afternoon and explore other parts of the resort. Such was our journey last Friday to check out Trader Sam’s in mid-afternoon. We checked in to see if something was available inside and they said they could seat us immediately if we took two seats on a corner of the bar. This wasn’t perfect but seating at the bar is pretty great and with no wait was even better.

We love Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar. Such a great vibe inside where everyone was in a great mood, friendly but not out of control. Our bartender Maddie did a great job with our drinks and then eventually let us move over a couple sets to let the next walk-up couple take the corner seats.

Mrs. Mai Tai ordered a Krakatoa Punch but was informed the special effects weren’t working, definitely a bummer but this longtime menu favorite delivers. She then went for her favorite, the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Rum which is Sam’s version of a Painkiller. She also ordered some Panko-crusted Long Beans that were savory and tasty.

I ordered a Mai Tai with Smith & Cross rum which was truly outstanding. Maddie knew I wanted it in an original 1944 Mai Tai format and it came out exceptionally balanced and so flavorful. In this case, as the customer I’m calling for a better rum than the standard light/dark used in Trader Sam’s standard-issue Mai Tai, and its nice that a hotel bar has so many great rums to choose from and that bartenders are willing to make a cocktail with a called spirit.

The exceptional part of Trader Sam’s is the talent of the bartenders to go off menu. Most skippers have their own secret menu of original cocktails and most seem familiar with the classics as well. I asked Maddie for a Navy Grog and was served an excellent version that was rich with flavors and spices and included three different rums. Really a couple a fantastic cocktails from Maddie.

There were a few empty spots during our stay, even by later in the afternoon on a Friday, so it can be possible to get seated inside even if you don’t have a reservation. Trader Sam’s remains one of my favorite tiki bars anywhere.

Mai Tai with Smith & Cross
Navy Grog
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Evening Visit to The Warehouse

We popped in last week when we arrived in Marina Del Rey for some apps and drinks. Things were decorated for the holidays and this was our first visit at nighttime so it was cool to check the dark vibe inside. We enjoy the retro vibe and immersive boxed crate and nautical decor, and hope the rumors of its closing don’t ever come true. We’ll see what happens in 2024.

I ordered the Barrel of Rum, with light rum, dark rum, and 151 rum – plus lots of pineapple. It actually wasn’t too bad, though they were out of mugs that you would normally get to keep. Mrs. Mai Tai ordered the Tipsy Mermaid with Midori, vodka, coconut water, pineapple, and soda; she didn’t care for it but I thought it was kind of nice.

Not really a true tiki bar, we still enjoy visiting The Warehouse.

Barrel of Rum
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Top 10 Mai Tais of 2023

Each year we celebrate the 10 best Mai Tais that we had the pleasure of tasting in the last 12 months. The list includes commercial restaurants and bars, plus Mai Tais we had at home tiki bars and events. For this list the rating is solely about what’s in the glass and does not factor in other elements such as ambiance, food, service, or decor.

Some of the Mai Tais involve rum substitutions from what the bar would normally serve. This presents the reader with more to consider when visiting these places, but highlights that making spirit substitutions is often what changes a good Mai Tai into a great one.

Summary of the Top 10 of 2023

The best by a mile was the amazing Appleton 17 Legend Mai Tai at Smuggler’s Cove. That Appleton 17 sure makes a great Mai Tai (and it should, considering the price). Also notable was Saint Benevolence Rum Clairin in two of these – I love the heavy rum with olive and brine notes. Boo Loo uses the same Super Jugoso Orgeat that Kon-Tiki Oakland uses., and Kon-Tiki would have had others but we limit each location to a single entry. 

And, yes, whatever they were doing that evening in January at the San Jose Airport Trader Vic’s was nearly perfect. Trailer Happiness in London lived up to the reputation, as did the Buz-Tai. We salute Tiki Tom’s for making our Ultimate Mai Tai the right way, and wish Dr. Funk would make their Mai Tai as good as this one was all the time. The Banyan Mai Tai was served at a treehouse, which shows you can get a great Mai Tai nearly anywhere.

View the complete list and additional details

1. Smuggler’s Cove with Appleton 17
2. Mai Tai with Appleton 17, Appleton Rum Event
3. Trader Vic’s San Jose Airport
4. Kon-Tiki Oakland with Saint Benevolence Aged Rum Clairin 
5. Banyan Mai Tai at Tiki in Waikiki by Skull & Crown Trading Co.
6. Dr Funk
7. Buz-Tai at Hula Hoops
8. Ultimate Mai Tai at Tiki Tom’s
9. Trailer Happiness
10. Boo Loo Lounge with Saint Benevolence Rum Clairin

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Instagram Top Nine for 2023

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. So, here are the Top Nine Posts for 2023.

  • Appleton 17 Mai Tai with Martin Cate (497)
  • Appleton 17 at London event (370)
  • Napa Museum for Tiki Exhibition (358)
  • Cocktail Archaeologist Costume meme (348)
  • Trad’r Sam’s iconic sign (309)
  • Ultimate Mai Tai at Royal Tot (294)
  • World’s Worst Mai Tai at Make & Drink studio (268)
  • Tonga Room (266)
  • Legendary Mai Tai on Make & Drink channel (262)

So, what I’m hearing is that y’all were pretty interested in Appleton 17 Legend rum this year. Seems like you’ve chosen the correct feed for all your Mai Tai minutia.

Top Nine says I had 29,600 likes on 244 posts, an average of 121 per post, so thank you all for the likes. I’m in the “top 1% of accounts with up to 5000 followers,” so the goal next year is to be a smaller fish in a bigger pond.

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Christmas Suffering Bastard

Not the most traditional Christmas cocktail, but with the new green glaze I think the Suffering Bastard Mug is a perfect vessel. In order to prepare the cocktail we need to make some decisions about the ingredients.

The Trader Vic’s Suffering Bastard is very different from Joe Scialom’s original from the World War II era, and is basically a larger and boozier Mai Tai.

This is the recipe from Trader Vic’s 1972 Bartenders Guide Revised and from 1974’s Rum Cookery and Drinkery. Noteworthy that it specifically calls for an aged Rhum Agriole. But what’s missing? The lime, for one.

Suffering Bastard (1970s)
3 oz Trader Vic’s Mai Mix
1 oz Light Puerto Rican Rum
2 oz Rhum St. James
Shake with ice and garnish with spent lime shell, mint, fruit stick, and cucumber

The same books list the Mai Tai as using 2 oz each of Mai Tai Mix and Trader Vic’s Mai Tai rum, so we must assume the lime is incorporated into the Mai Tai mix. As for the blend of Orange Curacao and Orgeat, I thought I’d try the ratio used for the 1958 Mai Tai from the Trader Vic’s in Havana, 12 parts Curacao to 7 parts Orgeat, and make 2 oz of this mix to go with the 1 oz of lime. I don’t have any Rhum St. James but substituted Clement VSOP Rhum that’s also from Martinique. Plus Trader Vic’s Light Rum from Puerto Rico.

Christmas Suffering Bastard
1 oz Lime Juice
¾ oz Orgeat (Latitude 29)
1¼ oz Orange Curacao (Ferrand)
1 oz Trader Vic’s Light Rum
2 oz Rhum St. James (sub Clement)
Shake with ice and garnish with spent lime shell, mint, fruit stick, and cucumber (if you have one)

This was very satisfying. You certainly get a bit of that aged and grassy taste from the Clement, but it is balanced well by the subtle sweetness of the Mai Tai mix blend. The use of the light rum softens the edges of the Martinique rhum and keep this as the boozy cocktail it was meant to be.

Mele Kalikimaka