Each year we celebrate the 10 best Mai Tais that we had the pleasure of tasting in the last 12 months.
Number 8: Foundation with Appleton 12 (Milwaukee, WI)
We really dug the decor and layout of Foundation, a neighborhood bar that had a tiki makeover a few years ago. I thought their standard Mai Tai was pretty good, but the one made with just Appleton 12 rum was even better. We’re so glad we were able to include Foundation on our road trip and even got to visit on “National Mai Tai Day” on June 30.
Each year we celebrate the 10 best Mai Tais that we had the pleasure of tasting in the last 12 months.
Number 9: Undertow (Phoenix, AZ)
We finally made it to Undertow, which has a reputation for immersive decor and a very strong craft cocktail orientation. The drinks at Undertow were all outstanding, including their Mai Tai with creamy orgeat. The spirits in this Mai Tai include Smith & Cross Rum, Rhum JM VSOP, and Cointreau Noir, a combination that we loved.
Each year we celebrate the 10 best Mai Tais that we had the pleasure of tasting in the last 12 months.
Number 10: Wilfred’s Lounge (Napa, CA)
Wilfred’s is one of several new tiki bars that opened in 2021, and is a high-quality destination with a great bar program led by Daniel “Doc” Parks, a fine selection of food, and some well-implemented escapist decor. The Mai Tai features rums from Jamaica and Martinique, but the cocktail is not overpowering with funky flavors that might turn off tiki newbies in Wine Country. It is still quite satisfying, as was the rest of Wilfred’s. Be sure to seek it out.
Each year we celebrate the 10 best Mai Tais that we had the pleasure of tasting in the last 12 months.
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. A few of these involved tweaks to the sweet element as well.
For the list, we’ve limited each location to a single entry – otherwise Smuggler’s Cove and Trader Vic’s Emeryville would have dominated the list. So for those places we’ve chosen the best Mai Tai we had there and omitted some other great ones that would have landed further down the list. In both cases, the Mai Tai we chose isn’t the standard issue, but suffice to say that we think their default Mai Tais are pretty great too. Check later in the week to see where the Cove and Vic’s landed.
2021 Top Mai Tais: Honorable Mentions
These Mai Tais all had notable qualities and were enjoyable. If you have the opportunity you should definitely get the Mai Tai!
Here’s the list, more or less in order of preference. Sorry, Kon-Tiki, you just missed the top 10 but you won’t be sad when you see the final list, I assure you.
The Kon-Tiki
Tiki Tom’s
Tonga Hut Palm Springs “all Coruba and heavy orgeat”
Sunday’s second visit to San Jose’s newest and best tiki bar was another great time. Some Forbidden Island regulars made plans to visit at opening and so we got to experience the bar again with veterans of the tiki bar experience. There were plenty of non-tiki people there, too, so it seems like everyone in San Jose has gotten the memo that Dr. Funk is a big hit.
In addition to the Mai Tai, I tried the original cocktail Sunken Galleon. Ginger isn’t always my favorite flavor, so I asked Ken Wongdejanan about it and he said it was not overpowering. This cocktail featuring Cognac, Jamaican rum, sugar, ginger, and chocolate bitters was quite delightful, and with just a hint of ginger just like I like it. Ken said it took a while to get this cocktail balanced right, so I applaud the effort to develop and lock in such as great tasting drink.
While the bar has been very busy, I have found several bartenders willing to engage in short conversations while mixing or in between orders, often suggesting new cocktails to try. This is a good sign from a hospitality standpoint.
Many of the great bars and restaurants feature a “figurehead” who serves as the master of ceremonies for the venue. Typically this is the owner or the general manager, but at Dr. Funk this role seems to be filled currently by Notch Gonzalez who led the buildout and design. Notch was everywhere on Sunday, talking to basically everyone in the bar and making everyone feel welcome. I don’t know how sustainable this is for the bar (or for Notch himself), but the man deserves a victory lap after helping to launch the bar with such a cool and immersive experience. We also saw some photos of the Dr. Funk logo sign that will hang above the front entrance.
The cocktails and service and vibe at Dr. Funk continue to remain strong, and we can’t wait to return.
We’ve made an update to our list of Top 5 Mai Tais. This is our list of the best standard house Mai Tais, without any tweaks or substitutions.
LONO Hollywood was previously in our number 5 spot, but they haven’t yet reopened after COVID. Plus, we’re so impressed by the Mai Tai at the newly opened Dr. Funk in San Jose that it seems like a perfect time to make a change on the official list. Congrats to Ken Wongdejanan and the entire team from Dr. Funk.
Dr. Funk uses Appleton 12 and Smith & Cross Jamaican rums as the base for their Mai Tai, combining it with house-made Orgeat. The team said they tried several different rum blends, including one featuring a Rhum Agricole, but found that this blend was the best. We agree! The heavier rums from Jamaica add flavor that truly punches through.
The 10th most populous city in America finally has a real tiki destination now that Dr. Funk has soft-opened in Downtown San Jose. We visited Tuesday during a soft-open for Tiki Ohana, and we’ve been told that Thursday is the first day open to the general public with next Monday being the official grand opening.
Situated at San Pedro Square, Dr. Funk is an immersive tiki bar with decor buildout by @topnotchkustoms + @m_p_o_r_i_u_m_ and bar program by @kenwongdejanan + @bondtylerbond44. The interior is first class, with seven huts, a long bar, and plenty of tables inside. Outside there are more seats on the tiki patio. There are lots of little nods to the actual doctor named Dr. Funk, including some bubbling potions above the bar. Service was great during our soft-open experience. Food was not yet being served, so stay tuned for further developments.
And the cocktails? FAN-TASTIC.
The namesake cocktail is quite good, leaning into Absinthe which is the signature ingredient. More unexpected was the creamy Dead Man’s Isle featuring Ube, Coconut Creme, and several rums. It had a very unique taste and was a big hit among all who tried it.
And the Mai Tai? Maybe one the best anywhere.
We need more samples before we’re able to add this amazing Mai Tai to our Top 5 worldwide, but it is a very strong candidate. Using Appleton 12 and Smith & Cross Jamaican rums, the Mai Tai was perfectly balanced including a creamy and sweet house-made Orgeat. And, if you’re so inclined, you can order it in a souvenir glass designed by local favorite B-Rex.
