Posts

Posted on

Best 9 of 2020

RIP 2020

Here’s my Top 9 from 2020 on Instagram. Thanks for all the likes and comments and shares. Let’s keep the Mai Tai, rum, and tiki bar discussions going in 2021.


1: thanks to Alexis Antonio (@atomictikigal) for letting me use her photo of Maikai Santa Cruz for a Central California Tiki Bar feature on UltimateMaiTai.com. Great composition.

2: An old photo with a timeless message: Fuck Trump

3: Smuggler’s Cove mug and Pampanito cocktail

4: Cocktails and rum at Forbidden Island

5: Mai Tai with Foursquare 2007

6: Trader Vic’s Emeryville

7: New and old Appleton 12 rum

8. Custom Navy Rum blend for Black Tot Day 50th Anniversary

9. Three generations of Appleton 12 rum

363 posts in 2020, with 30.9 thousand likes (85.1 per post)

Join the fun: instagram.com/ultimatemaitai

Posted on

Number One Mai Tai of 2020

The Last Ultimate Mai Tai at The Kon-Tiki (Oakland, CA)

For the second year in a row, my best Mai Tai was at The Kon-Tiki. In early March, we said goodbye to bartender Terry Six as he left the bar to move to Southern California. For one last time I got have the Ultimate Mai Tai made by Terry. This was number one in 2019 when it was on the menu the night I completed the Kon-Tiki Rum Expedition, and was made the way that Terry knows I love it – thank you again. 

Made with Appleton 12, Plantation Xaymaca, Plantation OFTD, and Smith & Cross rum – along with heavy orgeat – this was the best Mai Tai I’ve ever had.

Posted on

Final Trader Vic’s Mai Tai of 2020

Mrs. Mai Tai and I ran some errands and landed at Trader Vic’s for lunch. It was nearly outdoor dining as we enjoyed the view of the restaurant and lush greenery from our car.

Lunch was fab. I had the Kalua Pork Sandwich with fries and it tasted great. Even better was a bun that completely held everything together. Mrs. Mai Tai had the Volcano Shrimp bowl and once again really liked it. Though, we both really miss the Aloha Bowls. Please, Trader Vic’s, bring back the Aloha Bowls!



The cocktail was the San Francisco Mai Tai, the Mai Tai served with a float of dark and 151 rums. Though it’s all mixed together when served to-go, this Mai Tai had a deep and rich flavor no doubt influenced by those float rums. It was really great and made two full Mai Tais. I don’t know what it is about the Vic’s Mai Tais but they travel very well.



One of the few benefits this year has been the generally reduced freeway traffic, though today was much heavier than expected. Nonetheless, that light traffic has given us the opportunity to patronize Trader Vic’s many times during the various phases of quarantine, take-out, outdoor dining and everything in between. Today, the Trader Vic’s Captain Cook room was all set up for merchandise sales and there was plenty to choose from (I’ve bought plenty of merch this year, too). Thanks to the lovely day in Emeryville, it was a nice way to cap more than a dozen visits to Trader Vic’s this year.

Posted on

2nd Best Mai Tai of 2020

Mai Tai at Trader Vic’s (Emeryville, CA)

Mai Tai Day in August was crazy in 2019 for the 75th anniversary of the Mai Tai, so 2020 was bound to be a smaller event. But even with COVID we were able to celebrate in the Trader Vic’s outdoor space with a special internet-based toast to Trader Vic and the Mai Tai. Mai Tais came packaged in custom Mason Jars, too.

I had a lot of Trader Vic’s Mai Tais in 2020, before and during COVID. But none tasted as good as this one that somehow was chilled and balanced to perfection.

Posted on

3rd Best Mai Tai of 2020

Mai Tais at Gar Woods Grill and Pier (Carnelian Bay, CA)

Mrs. Mai Tai and I had a weekend away and ate lunch on Lake Tahoe on the sunny back patio at Gar Woods. This is one of the few places where you can get an officially licensed Trader Vic’s Mai Tai and the cocktails were fantastic. I tried the “Trader Vic’s Mai Tai” (made with Mai Tai Concentrate) as well as the scratch “1944 Mai Tai” and both tasted like they were made by the Trader.

With the calm lake waters lapping nearby along with fresh mountain air, this was the most relaxing Mai Tai of the year.

Posted on

4th Best Mai Tai of 2020

Mai Tai Smuggler’s Cove (San Francisco, CA)

In early February, I landed at the Cove due to unexpected circumstances and had a great Mai Tai along with an evening of rum tastings. On my previous visit in late 2019 I was disappointed that they changed their orange curaçao, so I was so pleased for the return to normalcy in 2020. Sadly, this was my last visit to the Cove pre-COVID.

Smuggler’s Cove includes Denizen Merchant’s Reserve rum and wonderful house-made Orgeat. It has been my go-to for Mai Tais in San Francisco for many years.