Category: Tiki Bar

Posted on

Weekend Specials at Kon-Tiki

Two specials this weekend continue the Kon-Tiki’s culinary tradition. Mrs Mai Tai had the Garlic Shrimp that most definitely did not skimp on the garlic, and were savory and amazing. Meanwhile I had the Sausage, Egg, Cheese Sandwich that was prepared like a breakfast sandwich but was huge and filling. Totally flavorful and not too spicy, so perfect for me. Greasy in the best possible way and a legit companion to the Kon-Tiki’s legendary Burger.

Cocktails were the Uma Uma, Mrs Mai Tai’s frozen favorite. I had the Jet Pilot that was truly outstanding.

Posted on

New B-Rex Glass at Forbidden Island

I made Lemonade out of Lemons, or rather a good Mai Tai out of a “meh” Rum.

I cracked open a rum sample from my Forbidden Island Kill Devil list and tasted it neat as is my usual practice at home. This rum will remain anonymous but suffice to say I can thank of several aged expressions from Puerto Rico that I like drinking, but this rum wasn’t one of them.

So, I switched gears and made a Mai Tai with the rum instead. So much better, and it allowed me to use this FABULOUS new glass from B-Rex that is now available from Forbidden Island. What a great design! And this glass is a little smaller than the Double Old Fashioned / Mai Tai glasses that I have a million of.

Fixed It Mai Tai
1 oz Lime Juice
¼ oz Demerara Syrup
½ oz L’Orgeat almond liqueur 
½ oz Clement Creole Shrubb Orange liqueur 
2 oz Aged Puerto Rican Rum

Posted on

Hot Buttered Rum

Closing out the Holidays with this winter favorite, a to-go cocktail from Forbidden Island.

Hot alcoholic drinks aren’t really my cup of tea 😉 so I made mine with lukewarm water rather than piping hot. The Forbidden Island rum batter and dark rum is quite delicious.

Posted on

First Mai Tai of 2021

Yesterday was sort of nice, so time to relax on the lanai with a to-go Mai Tai from The Kon-Tiki in Oakland. A good Mai Tai (I added extra Orgeat and fresh mint) and plenty boozy too.

Even better is this cute plastic stadium cup (Kon-Tiki also sells an orange one). Love the way the blue pops. The merch from Kon-Tki has always been so great. I love the design of their Mai Tai and Zombie glasses.

What’s missing? Well, I’d love to see a Kon-Tiki Swizzle Stick.

Posted on

RIP 2020 from the Kon-Tiki

2020 sucked in so many ways. I had to cancel trips to New Orleans, Seattle/Tacoma, Portland, Southern California, and London/Dublin/Scotland. I missed visiting a bunch of great tiki bars, even local ones. After visiting 52 different tiki bars in 2019, I only got to 15 in 2020. But, at least our family stayed safe.



The East Bay tiki bars were my life-blood. In 2020 I patronized Trader Vic’s, The Kon-Tiki, and Forbidden Island at least once a month each. But my most visited tiki bar was The Kon-Tiki (same as 2019 and 2018). So we had to end the year on a high note with to-go drinks and their amazing cheeseburger.

I can’t wait to come and hang out indoor or even outdoors soon.

Posted on

Best 9 of 2020

RIP 2020

Here’s my Top 9 from 2020 on Instagram. Thanks for all the likes and comments and shares. Let’s keep the Mai Tai, rum, and tiki bar discussions going in 2021.


1: thanks to Alexis Antonio (@atomictikigal) for letting me use her photo of Maikai Santa Cruz for a Central California Tiki Bar feature on UltimateMaiTai.com. Great composition.

2: An old photo with a timeless message: Fuck Trump

3: Smuggler’s Cove mug and Pampanito cocktail

4: Cocktails and rum at Forbidden Island

5: Mai Tai with Foursquare 2007

6: Trader Vic’s Emeryville

7: New and old Appleton 12 rum

8. Custom Navy Rum blend for Black Tot Day 50th Anniversary

9. Three generations of Appleton 12 rum

363 posts in 2020, with 30.9 thousand likes (85.1 per post)

Join the fun: instagram.com/ultimatemaitai