Category: Tiki Bar

Posted on

Return to the Village

Made a return visit to Zombie Village after a long absence and was pleased to see the vibe and overall service levels are still quite strong. On an early Saturday evening the music was peppy but exotic and instrumental, so still in line with the tropical aesthetic.

My Mai Tai was fine – a little heavy on the Rhum Agricole for my personal taste, but quite reasonable. I only stayed for one cocktail but it was nice chatting with some of the staff.

Zombie Village is still one of the key tiki bar destinations for anyone visiting San Francisco. I always love my visits to the village.

Posted on

Trader Sam’s Straw Handbag

Our newest Disney treasure.

Mrs. Mai Tai really liked this bag, which features the HippopotoMai-Tai mug as one of it’s design elements. There’s a nice pattern on the inside too. It looked very nice at the bar next to a Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Rum.

Posted on

Trader Sam’s: Easy Peasy

Trader Sam’s is under the Disneyland Dining reservation system, but @oldmanmerrell put out a note this week that the bar seats are NOT currently part of this. Which means that despite the app saying there were no reservations and that the “walk up list was at capacity” we can tell you that between checking in at the Tangaroa Terrace and being seated at the bar it was maybe 15 minutes at 1 pm Sunday.

Which is to say that if you go early it shouldn’t be a problem to get seated inside. We saw bar seats and a couple two top tables go unoccupied for 20 minutes or more!

We had some great cocktails starting with my Zambezi Sour with Bourbon, Grapefruit, Lme, and Falernum. Delish!

The rest were Sam’s classics to us, including the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Rum (not pictured), Piranha Pool, and (Shrunken) Zombie (Head).

We had a great time avoiding the heat, and even saw @downladdertiki (cheers!). Though the small child with healthy lungs kind of spoiled the mood. That can sometimes happen at a Disney resort.

Posted on

Hot afternoon at Tangaroa Terrace

It is hot in Anaheim, 97•. So we bailed on the parks and took showers back at the hotel. While Mrs Mai Tai took a nap I walked over to Tangaroa Terrace for a couple cocktails.

There were a couple bar seats available and I took one mostly in the shade right next to the to-go line. Very interesting to hear what people were ordering: lots of Dole Whips, with or without rum. Kudos to Skipper Joey for answering “Dark Rum” when a customer asked what kind of rum to add (Myers’s). So much better than Coconut liqueur.

I started with the Safari Swizzle, which is the Trader Sam’s version of the 151 Swizzle, made with Hamilton 151 rum. I enjoyed the mint and Ango, it’s a very nice cocktail.

Next up was a Mai Tai (ne HippopotoMai-Tai, note the emphasis on “Mai-Tai” on the menu). Regular reader will know that I detest the use of Bacardi Superior in the Mai Tai at Trader Sam’s so I asked to sub Appleton Reserve instead. It is sooooo much better with an aged Jamaican rum to compliment the Coruba Dark Jamaican rum that is normally called for. This was a fantastic Mai Tai.

Hanging out at the Tangaroa Terrace for the afternoon was quite a delight. They have some pretty good spirits here. Thank you Skipper Joey for the great cocktails.

Posted on

Disney Collection

I collect what I like and I’m not really a completist. So I don’t have every edition or release.

My favorite here is the blue HippopotoMai-Tai. That’s a color you don’t often see and I think it pops nicely. Bone or green glass are nice too, but blue is better.

Just behind and to the right is a B-Rex glass set we got a couple years ago during one visit to Club 33. 😉

The Shag goblet is from the 40th anniversary of the Enchanted Tiki Room.

I’m a sucker for Disney attractions posters so the Enchanted Tiki Room plate is a favorite too.

Posted on

Mai Tai Day at Trader Vic’s

Trader Vic’s Emeryville put on a very nice event in honor of the Mai Tai’s 77th birthday, a day earlier than the official Mai Tai Day of August 30. Held in the parking lot, the event featured some art vendors including Woody Miller, Match Accessories, and B-Rex, along with Trader Vic’s merchandise. A raffle benefited the Easter Island foundation. There was a table for rotating rum samples, and a station from Liquid Alchemist. Hawaiian performers started the entertainment, and then we got to experience a couple excellent sets by Tikiyaki 5-0. I really love the surf sounds of 5-0, and due to being outdoors it played better than the softer exotica leanings of the full Tikiyaki Orchestra.

There were several bar stations, including one serving Trader Vic’s drinks, a station with the Mai Tai boat and slushy, one featuring the Conga Lounge Mai Tai, and station with rotating bartenders. Mrs. Mai Tai wasn’t drinking and said the Mai Tai slushy was pretty good. Meanwhile, I liked my Trader Vic’s Mai Tai but was most impressed by the premium Mai Tai made by Doc Parks and Adrian Castaneda using Appleton 12, Clement VSOP, and Doctor Bird.

Food wise, there was a station for a few grab and go options, including my favorite the Crab Rangoon. Or you could order takeout based on a somewhat limited food menu from the restaurant. The food options were pretty good for this event. Everyone received a bottle of water in the event package and a souvenir Mai Tai glass to commemorate the occasion.

Trader Vic’s CEO Rhett Rosen led the toast to the Mai Tai, and the Trader Vic’s team did a great job running everything. The staff was super friendly and everything seemed to go off without a hitch. Mahalo.

Best of all we got to see some old friends and make some new ones. So nice to see so many people in an outdoor setting on a breezy afternoon in Emeryville. Long live Trader Vic’s, long live the Mai Tai!

Posted on

Mai Tai Joe (and his little brother)

I finally picked up Trader Vic’s iconic Suffering Bastard mug, aka Mai Tai Joe. They threw this in for free on a recent promotional offer, so it pays to get onto Trader Vic’s mailing list.

Earlier this year I purchased the entire line of minified Trader Vic’s mugs, including a tiny Mai Tai Joe. In either format, this is an iconic mug.

The Trader Vic’s Suffering Bastard cocktail is different from the historical cocktail created by Joe Scialom in Cairo during WWII. It is basically a boozier version of the Mai Tai, but garnished with a cucumber peel.

Suffering Bastard (1970s)
3 oz Trader Vic’s Mai Mix
1 oz Light Puerto Rican Rum
2 oz Rhum St. James

This is from the 1972 Trader Vic’s Bartender’s Guide and the Trader Vic’s Rum Cookery and Drinkery (1974). Contemporaneous Mai Tai recipes called for 2 ounces of Mai Tai Mix with 2 ounces of Trader Vic’s Mai Tai rum. Which is to say that if you made a Suffering Bastard from scratch you’d just use more of the lime, orgeat, curaçao, and sugar, and then just use three ounces of rum rather than two.

Also noteworthy: Trader Vic specifically calling for Rhum St James, a Rhum Agricole, in a recipe that’s basically a Mai Tai.

Suffering Bastard (2005)
3 oz Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Mix
½ oz Lime Juice
2 oz Dark Rum
1 oz Silver Rum
Garnish with Cucumber Peel, Mint Sprig, and spent Lime shell.

This is the recipe in the Trader Vic’s Tiki Party book. Once again you basically have a Mai Tai made one-third larger, though this time it calls for more traditional Dark and Silver rums.