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Sugar Plum Mai Tai at Sippin’ Santa

We had a great time in downtown Pleasanton’s Beer Baron for their first year hosting the Sippin’ Santa holiday popup, produced by Miracle and Jeff “Beachbum” Berry. The tropical and holiday decor was nicely done, including a Beachbum nutcracker! We were seated in the upstairs room, so much more quiet than the main room and patio.

One of the new additions to the Sippin’ Santa menu this year is a Sugar Plum Mai Tai, featuring Haitian and Nicaraguan rums, lime, orgeat, cinnamon syrup, and plum mix. The cinnamon is dialed way down and this tastes like a standard Mai Tai with a mild fruity finish from the plum mix. The rums here are approachable but they’re still appropriately forward in the drink, making this a really great Mai Tai to try. The shark mug doesn’t really have anything to do with the cocktail, but its pretty nice and priced to sell at $20, so we took it home.

Other cocktails were generally excellent also, including a rich and creamy Tom and Sherry, a White Russian riff called Holiday on Ice, and the sweet and mild Frosty the Merman. We thought the icy texture of the Choquito left the rest of the drink a little bland.

Our food was really great at Beer Baron including a Bavarian pretzel with queso cheese and I loved my burger and fries. Even on a Tuesday night before Thanksgiving there was a sizable crowd, but our server was so friendly and attentive we hardly noticed any delays in drink orders. Given this is the first year for the holiday pop-up, expect large crowds through the holiday season.

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Louisiana Rum: Bayou White / Sweet Crude

I picked up these two Louisiana rums at a grocery store around the corner from our hotel in the French Quarter. I was so impressed a bottle of the now-discontinued 504 Silver from Louisiana I wanted to try some other brands.

Both are 80 proof pot still rums made from sugar cane juice and bottled without age in a barrel (edit: Bayou is made from molasses, Sweet Crude from sugar cane syrup). The overly heavy grassy notes you sometimes see in cane juice rums aren’t present, though the softness I found in 504 or in the Cacachas I’ve tried isn’t there either. Both are clean with mild flavors and a bit of astringency. Nothing particularly special other than the idea of having a rum made in America and using cane juice rather than molasses, and the promise that a rising tide of rum production in Louisiana will lift all boats.

Both were similarly priced, though the Bayou White seems a little richer than the Sweet Crude.

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Tip Top Proper Cocktails: Bee’s Knees

Tip Top Proper Cocktails are one of my favorite ready to drink cocktail brands, and their Mai Tai is the best I’ve tried. The Bee’s Knees is pretty good, though I felt that the honey was too forward and had a honey flavor that reminds me of processed honey candy that I’m not a fan of.

My preparation involved refrigeration and direct pour into the coupe. I’d strongly recommend a quick shake with ice cubes to chill this down even more, plus adding a little bit of dilution that I think would have opened up the flavors a bit. Nonetheless, still a very good RTD option to keep in the fridge in the case of emergency or when traveling.

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The Aloha Caftan Society Theme by Mark Riddle

We saw this at the Tee-Ki Togs table at the recent holiday bazaar at Trader Vic’s Emeryville, where the cover model Audrey Moorehead was selling it in a bundle with her signature earrings.

Following up on 2023’s acclaimed LP Lahaina Sunset, Mark Riddle returns with an EP celebrating the Aloha Caftan Society. You may know Riddle by his stage names “Marty Lush” of Tikiyaki Orchestra fame and “DigiTiki”of podcast fame. If you find that your collection of caftans is overflowing, well, Riddle’s bouncy theme song is the perfect companion for your next meetup and strut. The EP is available from Riddle’s digitiki.com on a hot pink flash drive.

The EP contains three versions of the “Aloha Caftan Society Theme,” with a straightforward lounge version setting the mood, incorporating a hypnotic whistle riff that’s the most memorable component of the theme. The upbeat “Tiki A-Go-Go Mix” has a little bit of modern remix vibe, guitar from Skip Heller, and spoken word snippets. The “Long Walk Mix” is a relaxing journey that’s over 8 minutes long and features extended flute solos from Jay Work. Two bouncy lounge originals complete the set, with “Sun Hat” weaving Riddle’s signature vibraphone with organs and “Walter Goes Shopping” offering an inspired shuffle.

This is a great EP of music and worth seeking out even if you don’t wear caftans.

The Aloha Caftan Society Theme by Mark Riddle
The Groovy Sounds of Mark Riddle
DigiTiki Productions

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Dr. Funk Tiki Mug and Marketplace

Downtown San Jose was the place to be today for the inaugural tiki marketplace at Dr. Funk at San Pedro Square. There were a number of notable tiki and retro vendors, and the pedestrian-friendly locale meant there was a lot of great visibility for the market and also for Dr. Funk being the city’s premiere tiki destination.

We saw folks from as far away as Petaluma, Sacramento, and SoCal for this event, including DJs, cocktails on the patio, and a full menu for those with reservations and seating. Dr. Funk seems to be learning that you do have to work a little to maintain awareness of your business and this event portends of good things to come. The event was the brainchild of Jill Robeson and Amanda Hastings, so kudos to the pair at putting together a great event with the team from Dr. Funk.

There’s also an inaugural mug that’s a likeness of the actual Doctor Funk himself. This Tiki Farm mug looks great and is priced to sell at $45. This is a huge step up from the logo-printed glasses that have been on sale for a while and again seems to provide evidence they appreciate that the business needs to do more than open doors to maintain their core clientele.

New Dr. Funk Grog

One of the items available today was an amazing Grog that I was told was still in development but if what is in the glass is any indication I think they’ve already got what they need. Featuring plenty of juicy grapefruit plus spicy cinnamon and a ton of allspice to go with some funky rums, this thing is a boozy beast and absolutely fantastic. Kudos to Justin and team, lock in that recipe and put it on the menu!

Dr. Funk will be celebrating their third anniversary in December, so stay tuned for further events and celebrations.

Jill and Amanda
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The Best Mai Tai in Marin County at California Gold

Still catching up on somewhat old news, but I didn’t want to skip highlighting the fabulous tiki takeover weekend at California Gold in downtown San Rafael. This was appended to the weekend after Halloween and was a tiki/horror theme with a special menu of exotic cocktails. The overall decor was a pretty nice overlay on the “history of California” theme that California Gold already has and which I enjoy.

We’ve always had great experiences with the cocktails here, and their rum collection shows they know and appreciate our particular favorite cocktail genre. The takeover featured a number of classics but also recently created tropical tipples mostly from California Gold’s Isaac Shumway. The Mai Tai features a nine-rum blend. Not two or three or four, but nine! The flavorful blend was full of flavor and one of the best of the year for me.

We hear California Gold is considering doing this menu occasionally starting in 2025, so keep an eye out and make plans to visit San Rafael’s charming downtown.

Menu
Dead Reckoning

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The Best Mai Tai in New Orleans

If you were expecting me to tout Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29, you’d be right. And if you were expecting me to tout Cane & Table, you’d also be right.

Because what is my best Mai Tai may not be your best Mai Tai, as I’ll explain.

Latitude 29: Approachable All-Star

Latitude 29’s Mai Tai was fantastic when I visited in 2018 and remains a stellar entry, combining rums from Martinique and Jamaica, plus a small amount of a secret rum, and Berry’s signature Latitude 29 Orgeat. The rich cocktail has a lot of flavor but it doesn’t hit you in the face with grassy or brine notes that can be a big turn-off for many cocktail drinkers. Even after dilution there’s still a lot of great flavor.

Cane & Table: The Rum Lover’s Flavor Bomb

I was totally blown away by the rich and potent flavors of the Cane & Table Mai Tai that features three rums: Appleton 12 Jamaica rum, Rivers Antoine from Grenada, and Paranubes aged from Mexico. The barrel notes from the Appleton combine with the vegetal flavors from the sugar cane juice rums in a way I’ve seldom experienced, with brine notes and only subtle grassy notes. The heavy rums really worked for me, because I like heavy and boozy rums in a Mai Tai. But I suspect many cocktail drinkers would not share the sentiment.

Different Audiences

I know that not really picking a winner seems sort of like a cop-out, but I do think these are made for two different audiences.

  • Latitude 29 challenges the casual NOLA drinker with elevated cocktails that are so much better than the frozen Daiquiris on Bourbon Street. But this is still a safe and mainstream option, a perfect introduction for tiki newbies.
  • Meanwhile, Cane & Table’s Caribbean-inspired culinary menu bleeds over into the cocktails, challenging customers with flavors they may have never experienced before. If you know, you know – but not for everyone.

They are the best Mai Tai in New Orleans.

Latitude 29 Mai Tai
Cane & Table Mai Tai
Mai Tai To Go at Latitude 29
Latitude 29 Mai Tai