Category: Tiki Bar

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Mai Tai for Two at Pagan Idol

Was pleased to see that Pagan Idol was fairly busy on Wednesday night, though the venue’s reputation for having the highest backpack to customer ratio seems to still be intact. There were several groups having a great time and while there were ebbs and flows there were a steady stream of customers ordering at the bar.

We started with the Mai Tai that is made with Kō Hana Kea and Appleton Signature, which resulted in a bright flavor that leaned a little in the orange direction. If you’re a fan of Hawaiian rums or any lighter sugar cane spirits then this Mai Tai is a great option. Nathan and I both can be picky but we agreed this was really good Mai Tai.

Nathan didn’t want the night to end just yet and ordered another round including an amazing Daiquiri made with Rum Fire (supposedly “just a splash” but clearly more than that). It had been a while since I’d been in the back room at Pagan and forgot how many tikis are in this section, including two big ones that are still impressive. I didn’t love the Reggae-heavy music playlist, but overall this was a great visit and nice to see Pagan still doing well with the tiki thing in the Financial District.

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Dr. Funk Rum Asylum Level II: Deleri-rum

Popped into Dr. Funk to drink some rum from the Rum Asylum Level II list, a curated list of 60+ rums from the doctor’s collection.

Mrs Mai Tai is still working level I and she had a Wray & Nephew Overproof rum as a Daiquiri, so I did a little compare and contrast by having The Funk has a daiquiri, a similar unaged Jamaican rum that is a little less boozy (“only 100 proof”) and quite lovely in that format.

Then I tried a delicious AK Zanj 10 year rum from Haiti, made from sugar cane juice. Very approachable and full flavored.

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Island Glider at Trader Vic’s

Had a nice visit to the bar at Trader Vic’s Emeryville on the way to pick up Mrs. Mai Tai at the airport, where coincidentally my exploration of the vast cocktail menu led me to a new drink called the Island Glider. This is a Paper Plane variant developed by Mika who was actually my bartender for the evening.

The Island Glider features dark rum, Aperol, and Pineapple Amaro and is served up. This is a dry leaning but still flavorful cocktail and a good option for those looking for spirit-forward options, though the use of the Trader Vic’s Dark Rum means that the rum doesn’t quite hold up to the other ingredients as much as you’d want. I appreciate what Mika was trying to do here, and the constraints to use Trader Vic’s branded rums, but this is a case where a bolder rum really would have benefitted this cocktail. The garnish includes nods to hang gliders and is a really nice touch.

Later, Mika demonstrated how the Vic’s bartenders keep up with all those Mai Tai orders by building eleven Mai Tais at one time and keeping them on hand for orders so that all they need to do is add ice, shake, and garnish.

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Completing Dr. Funk’s Rum Asylum Level I

I finally completed the first level of Dr. Funk’s rum club list, the Rum Asylum. I’d have finished back on March 11 had they not run out of my last rum, Real McCoy 12 year from Barbados, and finally returned after a couple weeks of heavy travel.

Level I is a very good overview of the various styles of rum, including unaged expressions all the way to heavily aged ones, plus distillate from more than a dozen different countries and regions. There’s a little bit for everyone, from those who like it sweet and light to those who like boozy funk bombs. I love Jamaica rum above all others, but best of all there’s not a dud in the bunch.

Dr. Funk Rum Asylum: Level I

1-3. Rum Flight (incl. Planteray Pineapple, Paranubes, Appleton 12)
4. Bacardi 8 Ocho
5. Barbancourt 8 yr
6. Planteray Xaymaca
7. Rhum JM VSOP
8. Santa Teresa 1796
9. Myers’s Single Barrel Select
10. Privateer Queen’s Share
11. Real McCoy 12 Yr
12. Lemon Hart 151
13. Wray & Nephew Overproof
14. Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva
15. Kō Hana Kea
16. Chairman’s Reserve Spiced
17. Appleton 21
18. Denizen White 5 yr
19. Pusser’s British Navy
20. Worthy Park 109

When you complete level I there’s a small pin awarded, plus the list for Level II and the goal of future rewards. Thanks to Justin for initiating me and letting me ring the bell.

The best way to celebrate the completion of the list? A fantastic Dr. Funk Mai Tai, of course.

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Power Outage at Nui Nui / North Shore Lagoon

Thursday was a night out with Tiki with Ray and wanted to visit again the McMenamins Anderson School location in Bothell, where there’s a tiki bar now called Nui Nui that sits over the North Shore Lagoon indoor pool. Once again I was so impressed by the quality and quantity of the Polynesian artwork, and the overall bamboo-heavy decor. We took a table by a window overlooking the busy pool.

Mai Tai

Shorty after receiving our first round of drinks, the power went out in the entire building – with some skylights, emergency lighting, and candles being the only thing illuminating the venue. The staff did an exemplary job reassuring customers and stated that while no new food orders would be taken they were still ready for additional drink orders. Turns out someone hit a telephone pole right outside the venue, toppling the pole and sending wires to the ground. The pool remained busy for a while and then was shut down a little while later.

I very much enjoyed the Mai Thai Steak Salad and paired it with a pretty reasonable Mai Tai made with light leaning McMenamins’ North Shore Lagoon rum blend and house orgeat. I followed that with Fashionably Tiki, an excellent and satisfying Old Fashioned riff made with the same rum, house Falernum, tiki bitters, and an orange peel. I really enjoyed both cocktails.

By the time we left it was well past sundown and some portions of the venue were extremely dark, a bummer for me because I couldn’t appreciate the vast artwork as well. Nonetheless, the patrons seemed to be in great spirits and once again we have to salute the staff for making the situation comfortable in the darkest of dark tiki bars.

The pool after the power outage
Emergency Lighting
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The Devil’s Reef Remains SEATAC’s Stellar Tiki Experience

The main draw for Mrs. Mai Tai’s inclusion on our Tacoma weekend was to finally visit Devil’s Reef, which she’d missed through a series of circumstances in the past. The tiki bar and restaurant remains a stellar representative of the genre, featuring a dark theme, superb music, and amazing cocktails.

Over the course of two evenings, we opened the bar and got to experience some amazing drinks. The cocktail program is the brainchild of co-owner Jason Alexander who was on hand overseeing the shift both nights. We were honored to receive a special Mai Tai prepared by Alexander himself featuring Rare Cane Jamaican Rum and perfectly balanced with some funky 68% ABV rum, shooting straight to the top of our running Best Mai Tai of the Year list.

The cocktails at Devil’s Reef have a bit of variety but are mostly rum-based and served on crushed ice. We really loved the Gilman House Special, featuring berries and pineapple rum, and the delightful grog variant called Red Right Returning with passionfruit, cinnamon, and Mister Fogg Navy Rum. Julie tried some that I’d loved before including Captain Obed’s Grog that includes spices and maple syrup, plus the coffee-forward Eldritch Cartographer. We also loved the Serannian Sling, a gin cocktail with spices and Cassis.

We must salute the bartenders who work so fast but deliver consistent quality. Generally, you have got to bar to order drinks that will be delivered to your table, and we found the turnaround to be unexpectedly quick even after it started to get busy. We enjoyed sitting at the bar for a portion of our visit, though the booths are more conducive to conversation with locals who we met up with. Be sure to check out the drink mixer for a little memento of our visit, place there by the staff.

Like we always say, the best tiki bar in Seattle is in Tacoma.

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Tiki Bar and Mai Tais at Da Tiki Hut

There’s a small tiki bar in the back of Da Tiki Hut in Tacoma that opens a little after the restaurant does. After our lunch we went over to Gig Harbor for more beachcombing and then swung by Da Tiki Hut to sample some cocktails on our way back to the hotel. The bar opens around 1:00 on Saturdays and features three booths and a few stools.

The menu at Da Tiki Hut features many classics, including two Mai Tais. There’s also a smaller classic cocktail menu that’s only available if you’re drinking in the bar itself, such as the Zombie and Shrunken Skull. There’s a pretty nice selection of rums and other spirits on the back bar and the staff were super friendly and accommodating.

There are two Mai Tais on the menu, starting with the Classic featuring Smith & Cross Jamaica rum and Rhum Clement from Martinique. Mrs. Mai Tai found this cocktail to be too dry and the rums to be too assertive, so keep in mind if you aren’t a fan of funky and grassy rums. We also want to highlight the creative presentation of the traditional “island and palm tree” garnish that was unlike any other Mai Tai I’ve seen.

The Okole’ Maluna Mai Tai is a version that was developed by Jason Alexander and served at the now-shuttered Tacoma Cabana bar years ago. This features both lemon and lime, plus light rums and Jamaican rums and is overall better balanced and more palatable than the classic.

Nonetheless, both Mai Tais were pretty good considering the venue’s scope and we do think Da Tiki Hut is a worthy destination for tiki tourists.