The Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai

Housed in a corner of a former Don the Beachcomber location, Bootlegger Tiki stands head and shoulders as the best craft cocktail tiki bar in the region. We made sure to secure reservations and were seated at the bar. Bootlegger is a small room, only eight bar stools, two high top seats, and three booths, so the interior is intimate. The patio affords additional seating options and is nicely appointed but not nearly as immersive. Despite such a small space, there are two service wells which means that orders are pushed out without delay. The bar recently celebrated their 10th anniversary in business, and music on our visit stuck to tropical and exotica tunes.

Bootlegger features a rotating menu that changes every so often, and number 17 features a host of original tropical cocktails plus five tiki classics including the Mai Tai. Bootlegger’s rum blend features an Agricole and Dr. Bird from Jamaica, which means that the Mai Tai is punchy and a flavor bomb. This is what a Mai Tai should be!

Bartender Daniel walked us through some of the originals and prepared them with aplomb, keeping up breezy conversation along the way. I was very impressed by the tropical blend in the Mai~Papaya with two rums, banana liqueur, passionfruit, orgeat, and papaya. The Queen’s Chair is an elevated Planters Punch with Jamaican rum, spices, citrus, and passionfruit, and I thought it was simply fantastic. Using heavy rum like this works so well in combination with bold flavors like allspice and cinnamon.

Mrs. Mai Tai enjoyed the Thai Iced Tiki, which features tea-infused Smith & Cross Jamaican rum and is served in a Chinese food to-go box complete with fortune cookie that says “Bootlegger Tiki loves you.” The feeling is mutual, even more so after she tried the Rhubarbie that includes Rhum Barbancourt and Rhubarb liqueur. The subtle creamy flavors and lemongrass of this cocktail were balanced to make this cocktail really approachable and easy to drink.

For some reason we skipped Bootlegger on our last visit to Palm Springs but we’ll never make that mistake again. It really is the top tiki destination in the region.

Mrs. Mai Tai and I spent the morning doing antique shopping and decided to visit The Reef nearby for lunch. We were pleased to see that the place fairly busy with groups and couples, all enjoying the tropical ambiance either indoors or for others out on the patio. The music was set to Jimmy Buffett Radio, which stuck me as just fine for daylight hours near the Caliente Tropics pool.

Our server Alex was prompt and friendly, and we enjoyed our lunch including a gigantic Caliente Burger for me. Mrs. Mai Tai’s tasty Singapore Sling was very well prepared and balanced, though my Mai Tai unfortunately was too limey and didn’t have particularly bold rums. This is in line with previous visits where cocktails can be hit or miss.

The lack of pretension is a plus for The Reef and we saw several hotel guests roll in and our for drinks to bring out to the pool, so this remains a great daytime option for those staying at the resort or even day guests. It is just a lot of fun being here and looking at all the decor elements and even the retro video montage on the TV by the bar. We also peeked into the bar at the adjoining Sancho’s restaurant and saw several folks doing some drinking in the cantina which has its own retro charm.