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Ronrico Mai-Tai (1962)

This is from a print-ad circa 1962 and is noteworthy for a few reasons.

Firstly, it is a very early printed Mai Tai recipe, substantially similar to others from the mid-late 1950s. This was the original “Hawaiian Mai Tai” style that featured a split base of light rum paired with a flavorful dark Jamaica rum. I can assure you the Myers’s of that era was quite flavorful, and issued at robust 97 proof! A “jigger” in this time period was usually 1 oz.

As is typical of these early Hawaiian Mai Tais, the sweeteners were used in equal portions. Dash in this case being equal to ¼ oz. While the cocktail pictured does seem to be somewhat reminiscent of a fruit salad, it is also noteworthy that there’s no pineapple or orange juice. Remember, the Hawaiian Mai Tai was not born with pineapple juice.

1 jigger Ronrico White
1 jigger Myers’s Jamaica Rum
Juice of One Lime
1 dash Orgeat
1 dash Simple Syrup
1 dash Orange Curacao

I love the line “Don’t waste your time making it”. The person writing the copy also misspelled “Myers” rum, though they surely weren’t the first and far into the future people will still be misspelling it.

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Goodbye, Skipper Rum

This Demerara Rum has been one of favorites of the genre, issued at a robust 45% ABV and being miles more flavorful than Pusser’s or Lemon Hart 1804. It’s a blend of seven rums, all aged for at least three years.

But, sadly, Skipper seems to have exited the U.S. market. Even worse, the Skipper Rum available in the U.K. is only at 40% ABV. So, tonight was the series finale.

As the bottle ran out, I made a Mai Tai and found it to work very well alongside some chewy Liber Orgeat. That’s the Mai Tai in the tall glass pictured.

And finally I made a Daiquiri (not pictured). This was fantastic when paired with some Liber Demerara Syrup. “The best in this rum world?” Oh that Daiquiri was pretty damn close.

Skipper Rum Mai Tai
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Spike’s Breezeway Cocktail Hour Swizzles

These new swizzle sticks from The Hula Girls’ Spike Marble are really great. Designed by @larissapinupart, they are a counterpart for Spike’s YouTube show. Good branding and attractive colors, of course.



Most noteworthy about these is the notch that allows the girl to sit on top of your glass. Genius! More swizzles should do something like this.

The set of 8 swizzles is still available but supplies are selling fast. Check out The Hula Girls  store for additional details.

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Mai Tai Planters Punch

Felt like making it a little extra spicy tonight, so did a riff between two favorites. This was quite nice, without overpowering sweetness or spice.

1½ oz Lemon Juice
1 oz Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Concentrate Syrup
⅓ oz Don’s Spices #2 (50/50 Vanilla Syrup/Pimento Dram)
3 oz Jamaican Rum Blend (courtesy Andy from @easytikidrinks)
4 dashes Angostura Bitters

I love this Trader Vic’s Pilsner glass for tall drinks like this. Looks great with the classic logo treatment. We’ll see if the Mai Tai Planters Punch ever gets famous.

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Trader Vic’s Mugs

For Tiki Mug Monday, we’re looking at mugs Trader Vic’s, the home of the Mai Tai. They’ve had so many iconic mugs over the years, but these are our favorites.

  • Maori Haka, based off the totem in Trader Vic’s Emeryville. I also like the white variant.

  • Seahorse – the drink they serve the Seyhorse cocktail in, not sure which spelling is preferred

  • Marquesan Drum – great on top of the bar to store mint, garnishes, straws

  • Coconut Cup – fine for any drink

  • The Modernist – produced in 2021 in conjunction with a book from Sven Kirsten

And my personal fave? The Seyhorse with handy spines to grip the mug!

Which is your favorite?

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White Sangria at Olla Cocina in San Jose

A fun Saturday night to see Depeche Mode in San Jose. We had intended to pregame at Dr. Funk but we got a little bit of a late start and there were already patients in the waiting room see the Doctor, so we had dinner at Olla Cocina a couple doors down instead.

We’ve enjoyed this restaurant over the years, and see it has returned to a traditional table service restaurant after a little while where their method was to order food when you entered. The food here is pretty good, but I do need to rave about the cocktails.

Traditional favorites the Margarita and Paloma were well-received, as was the Chicha Sangria that blends red wine with sherry and vermouth.

But the standout for us was the White Sangria, with white wine, grapefruit, elderflower, pisco, agave, pineapple, and lime. Garnished with a blackberry and grapefruit wedge. The elderflower was really forward in this cocktail and I didn’t really taste the wine much – fine by me as I’m not a big wine person. Really rich and very satisfying. So good that all ordered it for a second round and took advantage of the offer to have it served in a carafe for a little bit of savings.