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Top 10 Mai Tais of 2022

The list includes commercial restaurants and bars, plus Mai Tais we had at home tiki bars and events. You can view the full list and additional details on our page:
Top 10 Mai Tais of 2022

10: The Rum House

Trader Nic’s Mai Tai, named after the head bartender, features Hamilton Jamaican Pot Still Black and unaged Rhum JM, plus a tiny float of OFTD.

9: Dealer’s Choice Mai Tai by Adrian Castañeda at The Kon-Tiki Room

Adrian used 1 oz of Worthy Park Kon-Tiki Single Barrel (aged 5 yrs, cask strength), along with ½ oz each of Worthy Park 109 and Uruapan Charandra Anejo.

8: Sunken Harbor Club

Everything they say is true! The famed Mai Tai created by Garret Richard for Sunken Harbor Club in Brooklyn is indeed a top-notch Mai Tai.

7: The Kon-Tiki Single Barrel Mai Tai

This version with Kon-Tiki’s special single barrel release from Worthy Park was totally fantastic.

6: Dr. Funk (original blend)

The original rum blend in the Dr. Funk Mai Tai featured two of our favorite rums, Appleton 12 and Smith & Cross.

5: Smuggler’s Cove with Appleton and Hamilton Rums

We thank bartender Steven Liles for indulging us with the custom order and for making a great Mai Tai.

4: Hale Pele

Who knew that a combination of inexpensive Jamaican rums like Coruba Dark and Wray & Nephew Overproof could be so flavorful and memorable?

3: Maunakea Mai Tai at Skull & Crown Trading Co.

Skull & Crown three Mai Tais on their menu but we prefer this traditional 1944 style Mai Tai made with Appleton 12, Clement Select Barrel, Smith & Cross Jamaican Rum.

2: Classic Mai Tai with Appleton and Hamilton Rums by Skipper Nate at Trader Sam’s

I found myself at the bar at Trader Sam’s on a slow afternoon and Skipper Nate totally willing to work with me to find the very best Mai Tai that could be made on the premises.

1: Birds of Paradise Lounge

This Mai Tai features a complex four rum blend of Appleton 12, Smith & Cross, Plantation Xaymaca, and Kō Hana Kea.

It seems impossible to believe that a party Mai Tai served in a plastic cup could be the best this year but when the Correy and Mariella Bravo make a Mai Tai their way you know it’s going to be Maita’i roa ae.

View the full write up for the Top 10 Mai Tais of 2022

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Top Nine for 2022 on Instagram

For those of us who still value photos on Instagram, here are my top nine most liked photos. Thanks to all the followers and lurkers, plus my relentless almost daily posting, I received 38,400 likes in 2022.

  1. Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai
  2. Authentic Mai Tai costume
  3. Inside Passage 📷:@juliebeane
  4. Tiki Ti
  5. Save Trader Vic’s London (repost from @savetradervicsldn)
  6. Trader Vic’s Tiki Stem Coupe with Blue Caribbean Cocktail
  7. My Hawaiian Mai Tai presentation at Tiki Kon 📷:@juliebeane
  8. Mai Tai in Trader Vic’s San Jose Airport 1st Anniversary glass
  9. Cocktail at California Gold bar in San Rafael

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A Mixed Bag at San Diego’s Grass Skirt

Finally made visiting The Grass Skirt a priority. We thought that since it is all-ages at dinner time that it would work for our family trip, plus we were interested in experiencing Sippin’ Santa pop-up one more time this season.

Definitely a mixed bag.

Sippin’ Santa Holiday Pop-Up Decor

The decor here is pretty nice, but the music was nothing but reggae covers of pop songs. Which got old very fast and kind of ruined the Christmas vibe too. They also had sound system issues with their special effects. We do really dig their speakeasy entrance and there were some nice Christmas decorations up, though this is not as elaborately themed as some holiday pop-ups we’ve patronized.

Entrance to “Other World Travel”

We enjoyed the Shrimp and Pork Wontons, but overall didn’t think the food was that great here, with small portions and some odd choices (why does the tofu come with ground beef?). Our service was pretty good, and our server had a nice Christmas sweater on.

We ordered cocktails off the Grass Skirt menu rather than Sipping’ Santa, which in retrospect was overall a mistake. We didn’t care at all for the Clarified Painkiller (doesn’t taste like a Painkiller at all) or the Banana Berry Old Fashioned (barely any banana or berry flavors). The Tropical Soda needed more tropical flavoring. Boozing’ Susan’s World Famous Chi Chi did not live up to the hype in the name (like nearly all cocktails claiming to be “world famous” truth be told) and felt a little flat to me. Mrs. Mai Tai didn’t really like it at all and this type of cocktail is right up her alley.

Clarified Painkiller and Chi-Chi

Thankfully, I’m pleased to report that Tropical Tony’s Mai Tai was really good. A very nice rum blend and a nutty orgeat put this on my honorable mention list for best Mai Tai of the year. I would definitely return for this, one of the better Mai Tais in the city.

Nutty Mai Tai at the Grass Skirt
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Bali Hai Lunch

We had a nice family lunch at Bali Hai Restaurant. A very relaxed vibe with some great views of San Diego Bay, so this is always a favorite destination. It is a good option when you have underage people in your party, too.

I enjoyed the Goof Punch, with a blend of rums, orgeat, and juices. The thing I like about this is that it has a good rum to juice ratio, so this tastes like a balanced cocktail and not just a punch of random juices with alcohol.

I did not have the Mai Tai but they do have a stock ticker showing how many of the infamous cocktails they’ve sold. 2,910,446 as of Wednesday, with 75,010 this year (around 80,000 in 2021). Which means that they should hit 3 million in early 2024, something I’m sure that will be a big deal for the restaurant and for the greater San Diego community.

They’ve replaced the tables and chairs in the restaurant since our last visit in July. A little tighter for four but with wings to expand.

Still so many tikis and artifacts to look at here, including the Goof on the Roof and Mr. Bali Hai out front.

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The Luau San Diego

Had little bit of time on Monday night so I hopped over to check out The Luau, a newish tiki/surf bar in San Diego’s College East neighborhood. I figured it might be kind of slow but it was anything but. A nice mixed crowd of young people and some older ones hanging out on the Monday after Christmas.

Inside, Luau has a lot of painted walls with paintings and carvings, with some cozy seating up near the entrance. The bar is fronted with thatch, and there’s a very well appointed tropical patio out back. Music was a mix of styles, mostly 60s including Beach Boys, Monkees, solo George Harrison, reggae, and The Police. There are several framed prints making reference to the original 1950s Luau in Beverly Hills.

Every customer gets a welcome shooter made with Rum, Curaçao, Orgeat, Pineapple, Lime, and Soda as well as a little bowl of pretzels and goldfish crackers. The menu leans on touristy favorites such as the Blue Hawaii and frozen cocktails and the cocktails are free-poured and built in the glass. There’s a basic Mai Tai, a “skinny” Mai Tai, and the Mana Mai Tai made with “premium rums” and small batch orgeat. But the scant amount of rum bottles on the shelf and Hana Bay rum in the well indicated to me that “premium rum” might have a different meaning here compared to one of San Diego’s myriad craft cocktail bars.

Nonetheless, I did try the Mana Mai Tai and found it to be just fine. Certainly far better than San Diego’s most famous Mai Tai!

The bartender (John, I think) was working alone and given how crowded it was did a good job holding down the fort as bartender, server, barback, and cashier. Definitely a friendly demeanor and told me about the live music they have on the weekends and how they also do karaoke here.

I think if you look at the Luau with a “glass half full” approach you’ll be on the right side. This isn’t a craft bar, but if you come in with the right attitude you should have a lot of fun. There was a party of seven that came into the bar and when their Luau shooters arrived they toasted to Whale’s Vagina (a reference from San Diego’s most famous celebrity news anchor, Ron Burgundy).

It would be great if Luau ownership could continue to invest in the interior decor and maybe after a few years it would really have that true tiki bar feel. As is, it ain’t bad and seems like a great neighborhood bar.

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Hot Buttered Rum

Regular readers will know it is totally off-brand for me to do the DIY thing in the kitchen, but given I saw a couple of videos on YouTube this week it seemed easy enough. Though, in typically GNF fashion, this was not meticulously measured for the first go.

Hot Buttered Rum Batter
¾ cup Butter
1½ cup Brown Sugar
Add in tiny bits of Vanilla Extract, ground Cinnamon, ground Nutmeg, ground Cloves, ground Pepper, pinch of Salt.
Melt the Butter in a saucepan and then add in the Brown Sugar, stirring and folding. After fully mixed, add the dry ingredients and simmer/stir for 15 minutes. Pour into a container and let cool, then seal and put in refrigerator overnight.

Hot Buttered Rum
2 heaping teaspoons of Hot Buttered Rum Batter
1½ oz Jamaican Rum (Denizen)
6 oz Hot Water
Put batter and rum into cup, then add water and stir until the batter is dissolved. Garnish with a Cinnamon Stick and ground nutmeg.

This turned out pretty good, nearly as good as the Hot Buttered Rum I’ve had served at bars. If I were to do it over I would lean more on the Cinnamon side and consider adding Allspice and Molasses.

Happy Holidays!

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Kō Hana Kea

Mele Kalikimaka to me. Finally picked up a bottle of this delicious Kō Hana Kea rum from O’ahu. Savory notes common from spirits derived from fresh cane juice, but missing the heavy grassy notes you sometimes see. Kea is medium bodied and tastes great in the glass.

Kō Ho Ho.