The Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai
Traveling the Bay Area and beyond to find the best Mai Tai in the world! Tiki, cocktails, and adventures by Kevin Crossman
The Island of Hawaii (“the Big Island”) is a great destination for Mai Tai fans, being the home of the last remaining Don the Beachcomber location, as well as the yearly Mai Tai Festival. This is not intended to provide an exhaustive review of every Mai Tai on the island, since you can get a Mai Tai in nearly any restaurant and every bar, but we do want to highlight some key destinations.
Tiki Travels – Big Island of Hawaii
Today is the 5th Birthday of Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto at Walt Disney World, though sadly there won’t be any on-site celebrations. Nonetheless, Trader Sam’s is one of Florida’s notable tiki bars, and arguably the most fun.
To celebrate, we’re launching a new Tiki Travels page covering the tiki bars of Florida. These range from the prototypical “Florida Tiki Bar” all the way to the famed Mai-Kai Restaurant, arguably the best tiki bar in the world.
View the page: Tiki Travels: Florida
We’ve added a new page to the Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai website: Tiki Travels – Central California.
We’re calling this list of Tiki Destinations “Central California” mostly to group them apart from their Bay Area and Los Angeles counterparts. These locations are in smaller cities and often have a local and less urban orientation. Nonetheless, there are some interesting and unique tiki destinations in the middle of the state.
View the page:
Tiki Travels – Central California
Grand Mai Tai Indeed!
Found a hidden gem. The cocktails at the Disney Resorts don’t have great rep, apart from Trader Sam’s. The Mai Tais have generally been following the Captain’s Mai Tai formula with Captain Morgan and Amaretto. Spiced rum has its place, especially at a resort. But not in a Mai Tai.
So I was pleasantly surprised to see the Grand Mai Tai on the menu at the newish Craftsman Bar at the Grand Californian Hotel. This cocktail features Bacardi Ocho and Myers’s rum, and is made according to a 1944 recipe (no agave syrup, a Trader Sam’s staple), though with half the rum floated. Even better, this was actually a really good Mai Tai.
The poolside vibe was just fine for relaxing and the cocktails here seems much stronger than the Hearthstone Lounge on the other side of the hotel. I shall return!
