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Tiki Tom’s Cocktail Deep Dive

We had a pre-dinner visit to Tiki Tom’s on Wednesday. We were surprised it wasn’t overflowing busy like it always seems to be but was quite mellow and about halfway full during the 5:00 hour when we rolled in. We ordered some coconut shrimp and enjoyed fast service and knowledgeable suggestions from the bartender.

You can’t always have the Ultimate Mai Tai at Tiki Tom’s (well, you could, but..) so I went deeper into the menu and had a Captain Cleo from the Beachbum Berry section. This is a Rum Runner variant that’s shaken rather than blended and leans more into the blackberry than banana, a good choice in my view. Rather delicious.

Meanwhile they were out of Mrs. Mai Tai’s favorite, the Ohana Punch, so she went for the Banana Hammock with light rum, banana liqueur, falernum, and juices. Definitely a lighter style drink that’s pretty good with only subtle banana notes.

I finished with a Tropical Itch, Harry Yee’s all-time classic dating back to the Hawaiian Village in the 1950s. This version was pretty good and even comes with a backscratcher with the Tiki Tom’s logo!

On the way home around 9:30 it was totally packed at Tiki Tom’s, just like we usually experience. Seemed like the place to be in Walnut Creek on Thanksgiving Eve.

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Thanksgiving at Makai Santa Cruz

It was a beautiful day for a drive over the hill to Santa Cruz for lunch at Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery for Thanksgiving. We did this a couple years ago and had a great time with the family and thought we’d try again this year. Last time it wasn’t overly busy but the secret seems to be out since they were quite busy today.

At first blush, Makai seems like just another tiki-leaning Hawaiian place located at a tourist location. Sure there are great views of the ocean from Makai’s Santa Cruz Wharf location, but some of Makai’s special feature really elevate the experience. We asked to be seated in the rotating bar section, which we think is a kick and also means that every table gets a window view (it also means you’re not in the blinding sun all the time either). We also like the clear floor sections where you can see the ocean and even some sea lions underneath the restaurant.

Our food was pretty good, burgers for the boys and fish dishes for the adult. And some wonderful Crab Rangoon and Spam Musubi appetizers. Service here is friendly and pretty good.

It is nice to see Makai continuing with a heavy lean towards originals on their cocktail menu. Sure, the Mai Tai or Saturn are classics that do well but the originals I today were quite good and far better than you might expect if this was just a “tourist place”. They also have a bunch of nice mugs and glassware to collect if that’s your thing.

The surf-inspired original cocktal called The Bonzer has Lemon Hart Rum, allspice liqueur, Velvet Falernum, coconut cream, cinnamon, and lime. This was quite well-balanced; creamy but not too much so. Meanwhile, the Punch to the Skull was a great capper for me. I dug the cocktail made with Denizen white rum, Aperol, Velvet Falernum, Dry Curacao, and lemon juice. Just enough Aperol to not overwhelm the rest of the ingredients.

The Bonzer
Punch to the Skull
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Newly Adjusted Myers’s Dark Rum

Myers’s Rum was part of a spirits portfolio sale a couple years ago, resulting in the iconic Jamaican rum now being part of the Sazerac conglomerate. The previous vintage was bottled in Canada where untold things were added to the bottle, the less said the better (and it’s all kind of unverifiable anyway). These were recently offered in 750ml *plastic bottles* (urgh!) and in a nice 1 liter round glass bottle ideal for use at bars.

One of the tidbits dropped at the Myers’s Rum seminar with Martin Cate earlier this month is that Myers’s is now bottled in Kentucky and those unmentionables are no longer part of the “blend.” Indeed the new bottle has a mention of Sazerac and also Kentucky on the back label, so we know this is the new blend. Plus, the iconic Myers’s flared glass bottle is back!

I wouldn’t say these strike me as wildly different, though the new blend tastes a bit heavier and there’s just a hint more of the traditional Jamaican funk in this blend. Perhaps there’s more pot still distillate now? Myers’s is still very mild and perfect for mainstream bars, but a 40% dark Jamaica rum without a bunch of sugar or additives means that it might be the best rum you’ll find at many bars worldwide. Better than those tasteless, coconut, or pirate rums, that’s for sure.

If it’s been a while, you might want to give the new Myers’s a fresh taste.

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Dark Rum Shootout: Goslings vs. Bacardi vs. Trader Vic’s

I had been planning to do this comparison already but was inspired by the Goslings float on the pretty reasonable Mai Tai I had at 19Ten in Santa Rosa last week. Dark Rums of this type are typically column still rums with little to no age, but darkened with caramel coloring. All are under $20 a bottle and issued at 40% ABV.

Todays lineup:

  • Goslings Black Seal – the most ubiquitous dark rum apart from Myers’s and thanks to Gosling’s trademark, the called rum in a Dark n’ Stormy.
  • Bacardi Black – previously known as Bacardi Select.
  • Trader Vic’s Dark – private label brand used at the Trader Vic’s restaurants and available in some retail locations.

These three rums are fairly similar, and distinct from dark rums from Jamaica or Guyana given their lighter character. Though Goslings does have a very pleasant burnt caramel flavor that reminds me of Demerara rums from Guyana like Lemon Hart 1804. This was the standout among the bunch and the taste from a glass was similar to the 19Ten Mai Tai.

Bacardi Black has a sweeter taste that isn’t nearly as flavorful, though it is not unpleasant, and is about the same hue as Goslings. It’s used in the wonderful Mai Tai at the Halekulani Hotel in Waikiki, which is why I bought it in the first place, but compared to Goslings it doesn’t seem offer much.

Meanwhile, Trader Vic’s is by far the darkest of the bunch and when you can find it at retail a few bucks cheaper too. Unfortunately, the taste has an artificial candy flavor that I did not find pleasant in the glass. So, Goslings is the easy pick here.

I’m not sure that any rums of this category are totally necessary, given that Myers’s or Coruba are not big funk bombs typical of Jamaica and could serve adequately for dark floats or in recipes calling for rum of this style.

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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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19Ten Bar & Provisions Mai Tai

We landed in Santa Rosa’s charming Railroad Square district for some shopping and lunch. 19Ten Bar & Provisions is situated in the historic Oliver Hotel building but is a completely new restaurant that opened earlier this year.

There is a nice narrow bar with a couple booths, plus a large dining room. We liked our lunch and the service was super prompt and friendly. Mrs Mai Tai’s Shirley Temple featured a couple Luxardo Cherries and plenty of grenadine. She had some veggie tacos that though spicy were very good, and I loved my pizza.

The cocktail menu is pretty deep and they include a Mai Tai. I scoped the back bar to see if premium rums were available but decided to go with their standard featuring Don Q light rum with a float of Goslings dark. Not the most challenging cocktail for this experienced rum drinker but overall was quite suitable and well balanced. Not too shabby.

19Ten is definitely worth checking out.