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New Menu at Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar is a Mixed Bag

One of the highlights of any trip to the Disneyland Resort is a visit to Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar at the Disneyland Hotel, one of the best tiki bars anywhere in this writer’s opinion. We love the vibe inside and more often than not do also truly enjoy the cocktails as well, though I will usually request a change from the tourist-friendly rums in the Mai Tai and choose something that’s bolder. Called rum Mai Tais have been deep in the Top 5 of our yearly Mai Tai rankings in several years, thanks to the skills of the bartenders. With fairly high temperatures, having lunch at Trader Sam’s was a welcome place to cool off and we were able to get bar seats indoors after just a short wait.

The menu at Trader Sam’s was recently updated and expanded, keeping most of the longtime favorites and adding several new cocktails that previously were only available on some of the bartender’s original “secret menu” options. The Temple of the Forbidden Rye by Melissa Nickoloff finally moves from cult classic to the spotlight, a twist on the template by pairing traditional tiki spice elements such as ginger and allspice with rye whiskey – and it’s fantastic. I also thought that Kelly Merrell’s Notes of Adventure really elevated the Saturn template through the use of fruit juices and made for a wonderful refresher.

Notes of Adventure

Of most note to me was the change in rums for the HippopatoMai-Tai. Previously this used Bacardi Superior and Coruba, and the new blend continues the light/dark rum combo with Flor de Caña Extra Seco and Planteray Original Dark. I was immediately suspect of this new blend since I have gripes with Original Dark generally since it isn’t actually dark, for one, and also has added sugar – different from the richer flavors of the Coruba it is replacing. The bartender free pouring all the ingredients didn’t do anything for my expectations and the balance for this Mai Tai was off – too sweet and without enough rummy flavors.

HippopatoMai-Tai

I appreciate that the combo of a light rum and a dark Jamaican rum goes back to the Mai Tai that Trader Vic introduced to Waikiki in 1953 – and that as a tourist destination that Disney might want to choose something that is more “approachable” for those tourists. I just wish they’d use a better dark rum and made sure to measure in exact portions.

Still, even a so-so Mai Tai ain’t bad at Trader Sam’s where new guests are amazed as the interior decor, exotic music, and special effects and shenanigans from certain drink orders. It’s always a great time for us and this was no exception.

Other rum options
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Visit to Disneyland Club 33

We were treated to a visit to the Club 33 Lounge during our recent visit to Disneyland, thanks to an invite of friends who know members. We had a delightful time keeping cool and enjoying the ambiance and the high quality cocktails. We are grateful to our friends and the members for the invite and hospitality.

A highlight for me was the two Mai Tais I ordered, the first of which was their standard off-menu option. It was a really good Mai Tai and our bartender was up to the challenge to make it a little more “punchy” for a second one that was even better featuring Jamaican and Martinique rhums.

In celebration of Disneyland’s 70th anniversary, there are some special cocktails with glassware themed to one of the original lands. Mrs. Mai Tai loved the Fantasyland cocktail and the glass designed by Mookie Sato.

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Dr. Funk Launches Expanded New Menu with Fresh Tropical Flavors

Downtown San Jose’s singular tiki bar Dr. Funk is launching an expanded cocktail menu on Tuesday, June 24, coinciding with their weekly Traditional Tiki Tuesday with DJ Ship Rex playing vintage 1960s music. We spoke with GM Alena Aaron about the menu changes and tasted a few of the new additions.

Many of Dr. Funk’s best regarded cocktails are staying as is, including the Mai Tai, Zombie, Rum Barrel, Shipwreck, and Phoenix Rising. The Puka Punch remains the go to option for a shared bowl and the overall cocktail count increases from 16 to 22, meaning there’s room for some more diverse offerings and more classics such as Three Dots & A Dash. There’s even the wonderful Espresso Oasis that features coconut rum, tiki syrups, and cold brew. With the Espresso Martini being the number one cocktail in the country and also Mrs. Mai Tai’s favorite, I can assure you this tropical variant is legit.

Espresso Oasis

Aaron told me the menu is intended to appeal to tiki cocktail fans as well as the non-tiki audience that packs San Pedro Square during late night and the weekends. The first adjustment of note is 86ing the divisive Cruzan Black Strap rum in the Jungle Bird and replacing it with a Jamaican rum. The beer list is also updated, leaning into the tropical genre with a pineapple-mango cider and one selection from Maui. But there’s no adjustment needed for the Mai Tai, a top seller and ranked as one of the Top 10 in the World on UltimateMaiTai.com, nor for the namesake Dr. Funk cocktail.

Longtime patrons will recognize a few cocktails returning to the menu, including the Myers’s Storm with Dr. Funk’s private barrel rum and ginger beer. Another returnee is the creamy Thai Chi, which Aaron says is favorite of the staff and which this writer found to be delightful. A milk punch is slated to be a permanent and consistent addition to the menu as well.

Thai Chi

The new Boozy Beachbum is a well-executed spirit-forward blend of rums with cinnamon, lemon, and chocolate bitters that has a fantastic texture and lingering flavors. Another new standout is the Laiki Luau which includes vodka, a nod to casual cocktailers who look for it on the menu, paired with Wray & Nephew rum that will blow the minds of those tiki newbies and make tikiphiles smile. The Laiki Luau is a fantastic and crushable cocktail that leans on lychee and passionfruit, perfect for drinking during the summer on Dr. Funk’s expansive outside patio. Also new: swizzle sticks based on the venue’s prominent entrance tiki carved by Notch Gonzalez.

The menu itself also features some traditional tiki bar components, including a new cocktail/mug combo with the amazing Funky Grog that soft launched a few months back. The menu references Dr. Funk’s new rum club and finally has a QR code to view the venue’s expansive and ever-changing rum list. While there are plans to adjust the food menu in a more tropical direction, Aaron says that change will come down the line. In the meantime, Dr Funk’s new cocktail menu arrives just in time for summer and offers returning patrons something fresh and now more than ever has something for everyone.

Laiki Luau, Espresso Oasis, Milk Punch, Thai Chi, Myers’s Storm, Boozy Beachbum

Dr Funk’s new cocktail menu arrives just in time for summer and offers returning patrons something fresh and now more than ever has something for everyone.

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Tiki Tuesday at The Cellar

We were tipped that The Cellar in Fullerton has been doing a special tiki menu on Tuesdays, with a new cocktail as a featured item each week. We’d visited The Cellar for dinner and drinks a few years back and enjoyed the old school charm and immersive experience of dining in an imagineer created faux wine cellar.

Hawaiian Room and Kingston Negroni

As we arrived right at opening and sat at the bar, we saw the featured item for our visit: the Hawaiian Room, a 1940s cocktail from the Hotel Lexington in New York City. This balanced cocktail was Mrs Mai Tai’s choice and has pineapple, lime, orange curaçao, apple brandy, and white rum. I looked at the rest of the cocktail menu and picked the Kingston Negroni, also quite great and using Smith & Cross Jamaican rum as it should.

Shortly thereafter, the bartender showed us a Tiki Tuesday menu of classics such as the Scorpion, Jet Pilot, and Navy Grog. I mentioned I was surprised there wasn’t a Mai Tai listed on this or on the main cocktail menu, but he pointed out the $45 Vintage Mai Tai that includes Foursquare 2011 rum from Barbados, along with marcona almond orgeat and Martinique rhum. He then suggested that people know they can get a good Mai Tai here anyway, at which point I suggested that it never hurts to list it explicitly because sometimes even craft cocktail bars can’t make it, when they don’t have orgeat, or sometimes they make it with pineapple or orange juice.

Mai Tai

Nonetheless, the confidence of the bartender made me think that ordering a Mai Tai would be worth it, so I asked for it with Planteray Xaymaca rum that I saw on the back bar. As I watched the prep I could see the inclusion of another spirit and I determined that they are so used to including Martinique rhum that they didn’t consider I wanted a single rum Mai Tai. I braced for a difficult conversation but after tasting the cocktail I decided that Martinique rhum did actually improve it after all, resulting in a fabulous Mai Tai that had a great orgeat and rum flavor.

A few more regulars started filtering into the bar, we decided two drinks were all we needed before going back to Disneyland for the evening. Tiki Tuesday at The Cellar was really fantastic.

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The Wooden Pearl

The Wooden Pearl is a new restaurant and cocktail bar now open in the Anaheim Packing House, with an enclosed space that’s fairly immersive considering its location in a food hall. We went in for cocktails and enjoyed the vibe and shells placed as decor.

My cocktail was That Koko is So Hot Right Now, described as “Blue Steel? Le Tigre? No. KOKO” and contains Mijanta Blanco Tequila, Yuzu, Lactose, Guava, and Strange Water Sparkling Coconut. It’s served on fire, though without the extravagant display common at tiki bars, and I sure love a good Zoolander reference. Even better was the taste, tropical and refreshing.

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Smokey Sunset at Parkside Market in Downtown Disney

Parkside Market is a two-story eatery in Downtown Disney in Anaheim, inspired by midcentury design and including some quick serve food options on the first floor and a bar called Vista on the second.

The Smokey Sunset is a Painkiller riff that uses Blood Orange juice rather than regular OJ and subs Ardbeg Scotch for the rum. The peaty notes are hard to miss and stand up well to the creamy sweetness, making this an interesting riff and a pretty good cocktail to sip on when you’re away from the parks but not at Trader Sam’s at the Disneyland Hotel.

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Hurricane at Blue Bayou Restaurant at Disneyland

I don’t know how anyone gets reservations at the Blue Bayou, the restaurant inside the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, so we joined the walk up queue a little before 11 am and got in for Lunch a little after the top of the hour.

We love the tranquil ambiance inside and our lunch was really great, including the Hurricane cocktail that while not so boozy definitely has a balanced flavor.

Seriously, though, how do you get reservations here? We’d love to sit by the water.