Category: Travel

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Day Time is the Right Time at Trader Sam’s at the Disneyland Hotel

Our usual plan for park touring at Disneyland is to avoid the heavy crowds during the afternoon and explore other parts of the resort. Such was our journey last Friday to check out Trader Sam’s in mid-afternoon. We checked in to see if something was available inside and they said they could seat us immediately if we took two seats on a corner of the bar. This wasn’t perfect but seating at the bar is pretty great and with no wait was even better.

We love Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar. Such a great vibe inside where everyone was in a great mood, friendly but not out of control. Our bartender Maddie did a great job with our drinks and then eventually let us move over a couple sets to let the next walk-up couple take the corner seats.

Mrs. Mai Tai ordered a Krakatoa Punch but was informed the special effects weren’t working, definitely a bummer but this longtime menu favorite delivers. She then went for her favorite, the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Rum which is Sam’s version of a Painkiller. She also ordered some Panko-crusted Long Beans that were savory and tasty.

I ordered a Mai Tai with Smith & Cross rum which was truly outstanding. Maddie knew I wanted it in an original 1944 Mai Tai format and it came out exceptionally balanced and so flavorful. In this case, as the customer I’m calling for a better rum than the standard light/dark used in Trader Sam’s standard-issue Mai Tai, and its nice that a hotel bar has so many great rums to choose from and that bartenders are willing to make a cocktail with a called spirit.

The exceptional part of Trader Sam’s is the talent of the bartenders to go off menu. Most skippers have their own secret menu of original cocktails and most seem familiar with the classics as well. I asked Maddie for a Navy Grog and was served an excellent version that was rich with flavors and spices and included three different rums. Really a couple a fantastic cocktails from Maddie.

There were a few empty spots during our stay, even by later in the afternoon on a Friday, so it can be possible to get seated inside even if you don’t have a reservation. Trader Sam’s remains one of my favorite tiki bars anywhere.

Mai Tai with Smith & Cross
Navy Grog
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Blue Bayou Hurricane

This is the restaurant in New Orleans Square at Disneyland, in the same building as Pirates of the Caribbean. The advanced reservations always book up fast but we approached the entrance about 15 mins before they opened and were able to score a table off the waitlist. We were seated about ten minutes after opening in the middle/back of the restaurant, so no dockside view of the Pirates boats but plenty nice anyway.

I had a great and pretty large winter salad and the Brioche bread was delicious. I also had the Hurricane, an option for the last couple years where the sit down restaurants do serve beer, wine, and a specialty cocktail. This seems appropriate considering the New Orleans theme, where the Hurricane was (likely) invented.

The Hurricane is very fruity and very easy to drink. Not too sugary though. It uses light and dark rums and these aren’t challenging or overly potent but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Really great time at Blue Bayou, with excellent service. We also got some branded coupe glasses as a nice takeaway and a birthday present for Mrs Mai Tai.

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Instagram Top Nine for 2023

I do still continue to love Instagram, where even the ads help me with my holiday shopping. Plus all the connecting and commenting on the things we love to share. Check out the fun at @UltimateMaiTai. So, here are the Top Nine Posts for 2023.

  • Appleton 17 Mai Tai with Martin Cate (497)
  • Appleton 17 at London event (370)
  • Napa Museum for Tiki Exhibition (358)
  • Cocktail Archaeologist Costume meme (348)
  • Trad’r Sam’s iconic sign (309)
  • Ultimate Mai Tai at Royal Tot (294)
  • World’s Worst Mai Tai at Make & Drink studio (268)
  • Tonga Room (266)
  • Legendary Mai Tai on Make & Drink channel (262)

So, what I’m hearing is that y’all were pretty interested in Appleton 17 Legend rum this year. Seems like you’ve chosen the correct feed for all your Mai Tai minutia.

Top Nine says I had 29,600 likes on 244 posts, an average of 121 per post, so thank you all for the likes. I’m in the “top 1% of accounts with up to 5000 followers,” so the goal next year is to be a smaller fish in a bigger pond.

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Miracle Holiday Pop-Up at Brewsters Petaluma

Had a fabulous lunch with friends at Brewsters Beer Garden in Petaluma. This vast space was completely covered in holiday decorations and despite the name does have a strong cocktail program as well. So, the inclusion of the cocktail-focused pop-up from Miracle is not unexpected.

Saturday was unusually warm, which might have swelled the crowds and made it seem like everyone in the city was at Brewsters. But the effectiveness of the staff meant that our drinks and food came out quite quickly and prepared expertly. The food here leans on brisket and ribs, plus salads and sandwiches.

Brewsters does Miracle a little differently by including a couple of original cocktails on their menu that aren’t seen at other Miracle pop-up locations. We really loved Cappy’s World Famous Eggnog. Normally “world famous” in the title is a red-flag but indeed this was some really great nog, and plenty boozy thanks to the Smith & Cross overproof rum. There’s also The Krampus featuring Tequila, Sherry, and Mezcal – and served in a unique Krampus mug that’s also for sale. Miracle cocktail favorites are available too, including the wonderfully spicy and completely delicious Carol Barrel.

As with other Miracle locations, mugs, glassware, and other merch is for sale. You can even buy to-go bottles of Cappy’s World Famous Eggnog.

Brewsters has been doing Miracle for several years and have the routine down pat. Be sure to check out now through January 2nd, reservations recommended.

Cappy’s World Famous Eggnog
Carol Barrel
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Rooftop Bars in Healdsburg

We tried a couple of the rooftop bar/restaurants in Healdsburg with mixed results.

First was Roof 106, connected The Matheson that’s on the ground floor, situated off Healdsburg’s central plaza but due to other buildings and the well grown trees there isn’t much in the way of a view. Our dinner was light leaning, a very nice hummus plate and some sushi hand rolls that neither of us loved.

The cocktails at Roof 106 were a lot better, though. I absolutely loved the Modern Margarita using clarified lime, so well rounded with a rich mouthfeel. I went off menu for a “shaken lime daiquiri with Panama Pacific rum” but the bill stated that the just okay daiquiri was made with Paranubes rum. Oops. Mrs. Mai Tai got a good one with a pumpkin spiced whiskey sour served up.

“View” of the Plaza

The Rooftop on top of the modern Harmon Guest House hotel offered a more traditional and open air rooftop bar. We were seated by a fire fit but could see that tables along the perimeter of the restaurant and lounge had a great view of Healdsburg’s central business district. We had some Riccota Doughnuts with berry compote that were delicious.

Drinks were pretty good at The Rooftop, including an Espresso-Tini that Mrs. Mai Tai thought was one of the best she’s had. I had the Cozy Bear, a Whiskey Sour made with Agave Nectar that was also quite good. We felt the service here was outstanding as well.

Great drinks at The Rooftop at Harmon Guest House
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Lo & Behold – Craft Cocktails in Healdsburg

We were in Healdsburg for the weekend and visited bar and restaurant Lo & Behold a couple times. There’s a nice interior with a large patio out back with shade cloth and heaters in the evening. The staff here are friendly and we liked the food and cocktails.

Birds & the Beez and Chi-Chi

One item in their menu is the “World’s Best Vodka Soda” which I found interesting in that I’ve always viewed this cocktail as a weird phenomenon. I like the taste of alcohols but appreciate that others don’t, but why mix it with flavorless soda water? Because it’s low calorie, seemed to be the consensus. But I ordered it anyway and then replayed the scene from “Elf”. To me it tasted like a crappy glass of Vodka Soda, but it apparently it’s the best.

We had better luck with our other cocktails. The cocktail of the week was a Chi-Chi, sweet like you’d expect but with bitters to give it a little twist. The Figgy Smalls was on special and also nice.

Fifty Shades and Figgy Smalls

I tried a couple Bourbon cocktails. The Witching Hour didn’t have the heavier mouthfeel I was expecting but did taste nice and the Manhattan riff called Fifty Shades was very good.

Our two favorites were Can’t Stop Won’t Stop with KōHana Rum, gin, basil, and aquafaba. Definitely well-balanced. The Birds & the Beez featured lavender and hibiscus and was totally refreshing.

Definitely worth checking out in downtown Healdsburg.

Witching Hour
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Hawaiian Airlines “Signature” Mai Tai

Looking at the menu of cocktails on our Hawaiian Airlines flight back home I could see that the Daiquiri, Aviation, and Old Fashioned were from well-known ready-to-drink cocktail suppliers. But the Mai Tai, not listed as being from either On the Rocks or from Kō Hana. You’d think the “Signature” Mai Tai would be something different, but in the back of my mind I guessed it would be from one of the brands already on the menu. That wouldn’t be a bad thing, since both On the Rocks and Kō Hana Mai Tais are pretty good RTD Mai Tais.

So, I ordered the Mai Tai and it was… On the Rocks.

Not sure why Hawaiian Airlines can’t just say this, but you could do far worse for an airplane cocktail.

Update

We were told by a reader that Hawaiian Airlines is in the process of switching from On the Rocks to Kō Hana, which explains the ambiguity as they wind down inventory.