Travel – The Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai

August 9, 2026August 9, 2026

Cahoots 1940s Themed Bars in London

We had such a fun time at the Mr. Fogg’s bars last trip we sought out something similar and discovered Cahoots‘ three locations of 1940s-themed bars. These are actually from the same Inception Group that are behind Mr. Fogg’s, so now all of it makes sense. All locations feature late 1940s post-war decor and period music, plus a variety of drinks including some that are unique to each location.

Cahoots has three locations in London:

Underground (Soho) – the original location themed as a tube station
Ticket Hall (Soho) – adjacent to Underground, a street level pub that includes a patio space
Postal Office (Borough) – underneath rail lines and featuring a speakeasy style entrance

All three locations feature Cahooch, a delicious blend of Mount Gay Black Barrel rum, Bulleit Bourbon, Cointreau Noir, and Martini Riserva Speciale Rubino Vermouth that’s served as is or blended into other classic cocktails. We also enjoyed Ticket Hall‘s tequila-forward Giggle Water and the fruity Just Mai-Type, both excellent cocktails, and we enjoyed our lunch here as well.

The Postal Office offers several cocktails delivered Air Mail style via pneumatic tube, a fun way to get your drink to the table. I thought This Way Up was a great blend of tequila, cachaca, and blue curaçao, though it needed to be chilled via stirring before being perfect. Mrs. Mai Tai’s clarified Pen Pal tasted rich and was provided with a postcard with advice from a previous guest, and the opportunity to leave her own. There was even a show in the “Throne Room” toilet worth checking out.

Underground is perhaps the most elaborately themed location, including train car seating. The best cocktails here were the V12 Daiquiri and the lovely Keep Marm and Carry On served in a tea cup with a biscuit. All Cahoots menus are in the form of a newspaper, reinforcing the theme.

We were impressed by Cahoots theming and attentive service, and cocktails that are a step up from Mr. Fogg’s as well, featuring a relaxing escape that’s highly recommended.

Cahoots Ticket Office featuring Giggle Water and Just Mai-Type

Cahoots Postal Office featuring This Way Up and Cahooh

Cahoots Underground featuring Julep Platform no. 46

August 1, 2026August 1, 2026

Best York Cocktails at Life on Mars

While walking the city of York we stumbled upon the charming Life on Mars, a bar that serves dumplings, coffee, and cocktails. The interesting part is that this business is located in one of the bridge lodges on the Lendal Bridge. The venue has a main seating area, plus a semi-private room adjacent to the staircase, and a small outdoor seating area nearer to the river. We were so intrigued we stopped in and are so glad because the cocktails here are amazing thanks to jumpsuit-clad owner Ross Woodford who had opened a previous Life on Mars concept when he lived in China.

We sat at the bar where Woodford and crew were preparing drinks and totally enjoyed the David Bowie touches in the decor, plus eclectic music playing. The cocktails lean on Chinese flavors such as the plum wine that’s paired with scotch in the outstanding highball Big in Japan. Woodford previously participated in Ti’ Punch cocktail competitions, so the Quiet Moment that includes Rhum Agricole was an interest of me. This outstanding drink includes Clement Blanc Rhum, rhubarb liqueur, caramel and vanilla syrup, plus lime.

Mrs. Mai Tai ordered These Hips Don’t Lie, a complex cocktail with Sichuan-inspired Peddlers Salted Plum Gin, amaro, lemon, and rosehip syrup – appropriate given that the symbol of Yorkshire is the white rose. This cocktail was amazing and encapsulates what Life on Mars is doing in the city of York: local focus combined with flavors from across the world.

York was a special highlight of our trip to the British Isles and we’re so glad we found Life on Mars which offers such an amazing and unique experience, with the highest quality cocktails in the city as well.

July 26, 2026

Frankenstein Bar Edinburgh

As fans of gimmick bars, we gave the Frankenstein Bar and Bier Keller a shot during our recent trip to Edinburgh, arriving at around 9 pm on a Friday. The venue is located on George IV Bridge in a former Elim Pentecostal church, so there are plenty of authentic gothic vibes. The main bar features two levels and the first floor was fairly crowded but we found a nice booth upstairs overlooking the main floor, a screen playing the original 1931 Frankenstein movie, and a great view of where the monster would appear and come to life.

The menu is appropriately themed and leans toward the party crowd, but we choose The Monster cocktail made with Captain Morgan, dark rum, Crème de Banana, pineapple, grenadine, and Wray & Nephew shot/float. Mrs. Mai Tai didn’t really like this but I thought it was okay especially after incorporating the overproof Jamaican rum into the glass.

Soon the dance music stopped and the lights dimmed in anticipation of the arrival of the monster. Fog and lighting effects are accompanied by cinematic music as the monster is wheeled out and then lowered from the ceiling before rising to look at the crowd. It’s a pretty good bit of fun, though as the monster lays back down the dance music started back up before he was properly stowed away for the next show, which broke the mood.

Frankenstein Bar was about what we expected, a nice fun diversion that could be fun with friends or just to try something different.

July 20, 2026July 20, 2026

The Tiki Bar Glasgow

Upon arriving in town we made a beeline for The Tiki Bar Glasgow for some drinks and treats. The space occupies the basement level including a well-appointed beer garden featuring numerous Moai (and TVs for sports). Inside there are a variety of tikis and artwork, tons of bamboo and matting, plus a nice set of floats on the ceiling. There are just two seats at the bar and all orders are taken at the bar, so it can get a little crowded there. Upstairs in a tropically themed augmented reality Darts Den.

Our drinks were generally good here, including a very nice Mai Tai floated with dark rum and came with a lime wedge garnish. The drinks here leaned sweet, though the nice thing about a lime wedge compared to a wheel is that if you want it less sweet you can squeeze some lime juice into your drink – which worked out really well in this Mai Tai. The 1950s-style Zombie includes pineapple juice and was just okay.

Mrs. Mai Tai did better with here two drinks including the Beach Bum that was topped with candy floss (cotton candy), leaning light with vodka and pomegranate. Even better was her half frozen Cherry Cuba Libre that was really great in this format and using a spiced rum to great effect.

We’d heard that Glasgow is famous for fried Mars bars and we can confirm they are amazing, served with vanilla ice cream, but this was the only food we ordered. A variety of locally made mugs are also available, plus drink specials Sunday-Thursday. The back bar featuring a nice set of sipping rums if that’s your thing.

Hardcore tiki fans will find faults with Tiki Bar, but we thought that they are doing a lot of things right in a market where pubs are king. The service was friendly and the drinks and decor were perfectly good for scratching the tiki itch and getting the locals acquainted to the genre.

Mai Tai, Zombie, Beach Bum, Cherry Cuba Libre

July 19, 2026July 20, 2026

Cab-a-Rette Tour in Edinburgh

Cab-a-Rette is a taxi tour of Edinburgh that’s like no other, featuring driver and performer Sylvia who dons several personalities including Geraldine the Nun to show us the sights and puts on a show herself along the way.

We’d seen this tour out in the wild when we were here three years ago and made sure to book a trip during our recent stay. Just in time too, since it seems Sylvia is retiring from this job and moving on to other things – so if you’re in town soon see if you can still schedule a ride.

During our trip we heard songs and saw how Sylvia interacts with people on the street. One young man was the object of attention and she jumped out to do her signature move. After we drove off he immediately started texting his friends – who surely wouldn’t believe a nun jumped out of a cab and flashed him. We also saw the U.S. Consulate and some of quaint residences of New Town. (check the videos in our Instagram post)

Towards the end of the trip we drove up to the top of the hill near Nelson Monument where we had some bubbly while we talked to Sylvia and saw her interact with the tourists and young people who had gathered on the hill, many in costume for some reason.

This tour was a once-in-a-lifetime blast, so much fun and we’re so lucky to have arrived in time while this is still operating. Give it a try if you can.

July 18, 2026August 5, 2026

Vintage Cocktail Club: Dublin’s Best Cocktails

We’d heard that Vintage Cocktail Club had great cocktails including a tiki section, so we planned to visit during our trip to Dublin Ireland. We made time during our first day in Dublin to check it out, having some difficulty finding the location thanks to a true speakeasy entrance and sleep deprivation from our red-eye.

Longtime VCC employee Ann Marie was our server and helped us through the menu options and offering recommendations when requested. We were so impressed by our cocktails we returned and saw Ann Marie again the next day and went again during our third day in town to revisit some of our favorites.

VCC has three floors, the middle of which has a bar and lounge seating. Upstairs there’s an outdoor patio with an additional bar if it gets busy, plus a downstairs bar and lounge open during certain hours (downstairs is the only place where you can sit at the bar). It’s a fun and elegant venue with appropriately relaxing jazz music and vintage touches.

In terms of the tiki menu, I ordered the Mai Tai and Fog Cutter on our first visit. The Mai Tai uses Havana Club 7, Goslings, and Wray & Nephew rums, plus Giffard Orgeat. I usually don’t like the Giffard but maybe it’s different in Europe because I loved the almond flavors in the rich Mai Tai served over a large cube. On another visit I asked for it over crushed ice and Appleton Signature replacing the Goslings and the Mai Tai was even better and one of the best this year. The Fog Cutter was not too citrusy and had plenty of booze hidden in the balanced blend. I prefer cream sherry rather than Manzanilla but this was a really fine Fog Cutter.

In fact, all of the drinks we had were really good with some including the Wee Dram, Dirty Wizard, Single Elix, Tequila Mockingbird, and Falls Road Flip being excellent. We adored Absinthe Minded, one of Ann Marie’s recipes that includes smokey Irish whiskey, Sloe Gin, and Absinthe.

Needless to say, we absolutely loved Vintage Cocktail Club for its great cocktails, amazing service, and relaxing vibe. We at meals in pubs, but for cocktails Vintage Cocktail Club would be hard to beat.

July 15, 2026

Hole in the Wall Pub: Europe’s Longest Pub

We ventured out of the downtown area of Dublin to check out Hole in the Wall, the ironically named pub that’s the longest in Europe. Tightly nestled between a suburban road and Phoenix Park, the pub owners acquired a series of buildings which now seemingly go on and on and on. The venue dates from 1651 and there are so many little nooks and treasured contained within.

We arrived at lunchtime and were seated in the front room, as the venue was not particularly crowded. We enjoyed lunch, beer, and cider. When our meal was done we wandered through to some o of the other rooms, seeing that each room had its own character.