Posts

Posted on

El Dorado Single Still Port Mourant Cask Strength

It is so great to see El Dorado offering some of their seminal pot still products in a single still format. Long known for being the secret ingredient in many blended Demerara rums, Port Mourant is a wooden pot still constructed in 1732! And it is still making fabulous rum.

I would say that if you’ve had the pot still releases from Mount Gay or Appleton that this is somewhat more approachable, even at 56.7% ABV. This is not quite as heavy as those other releases, and the flavor isn’t as intense. Nonetheless, this 12 year aged rum will knock the socks off most rum lovers and for sure will impress any rum newbie. You can really savor every sip.

As is the practice at Ultimate Mai Tai headquarters, we tried this rum in a standard 1944 Mai Tai. So delicious. The Mai Tai really shines when there’s a heavy, higher proof rum in the glass, and so this El Dorado was really excellent. The pot still flavors still shine through, even in a cocktail format.

The 750ml bottle runs anywhere from $125-150, alongside the Versailles and Enmore still releases that are also reaching the market right now. Check them out at your favorite liquor outlet or at finer bars with great rum collections.

El Dorado Single Still Rums

Posted on

Tiki with Ray Live at Forbidden Island

Some shots of the interview with Otto Von Stroheim on the Tiki with Ray show, filmed live at Forbidden Island. The interview is now live on Ray’s YouTube channel, and is a breezy history of Otto’s role in our community and some stories about Tiki News, Tiki Oasis, and more. Ray is a good interviewer, and Otto knows how to be a good interviewee. Check it out.

It’s really great that Forbidden Island can host these kind of events, alongside the usual regular Tuesday night Ohana gathering shenanigans.

Posted on

California Gold: Cocktails in San Rafael

Finally made it out to California Gold, a beer and cocktail bar in downtown San Rafael. Located in a historic building, there are tons of retro accoutrements and nods to California history.

We arrived at opening on Saturday for a couple rounds and thank goodness since it was quite packed by the time we left. Service was pretty decent and the cocktails were quite good. I loved the grog style Voodoo Western with bourbon, rum, passionfruit, cinnamon, grapefruit, lime, falernum, and voodoo secrets. Mrs. Mai Tai had the Carousel Park Swizzle, a nod the Queen’s Park Swizzle. All great.

This seems like a great place for cocktails in San Rafael’s cute downtown.

Posted on

I Hate Oddly Shaped Bottles

There’s only so much surface area and height inside the few liquor cabinets I have stashed around the house. So bottles that are wide and short are less ideal than bottles with a small foot and that are taller. But bottles that are extra tall aren’t better, either.

So you know that the rums inside these bottle must be pretty special.

Saint Benevolence Rum Clairin from Haiti is one my favorites, so I always restock when a bottle is finished. Definitely a more savory taste than molasses-based rums from places like Jamaica or Barbados, but so far away from the overly grassy sugar cane juice-based agricole rhums from Martinique. Easy to sip but also great in cocktails. Makes a killer Mai Tai.

The El Dorado single still releases were something I tried at the San Francisco Rum Fest, and when Bitters & Bottles put them on sale I knew I had to buy one from the series. So, I splurged on the Port Mourant. More about this rum in a future post.

Posted on

Another Use for a Canned Mai Tai: COVID Isolation

This was dinner that Mrs Mai Tai made the other night, which I ate while isolating in my office since the weekend with COVID again. Only a mild case, thankfully.

So, having the option for a Trader Vic’s canned Mai Tai was pretty nice. Add this to the reasons to get these and gave them on hand at home. Plus a reminder that among the canned Mai Tais in this price tier, the Trader Vic’s is the best we’ve tried so far. Available at BevMo and online.

More info: Ready to Drink Mai Tais

Posted on

Steve the Bartender Reviews the Ultimate Mai Tai

For some reason this video didn’t make it into my ego filters after it was published on Mai Tai Day. Thanks to Australia’s Steve the Bartender for showing off the Ultimate Mai Tai rum blend and recipe to his 600,000 subscribers.

Steve totally gets it.

The Ultimate Mai Tai rum blend features four flavorful rums, including two overproof ones. So it’s a rum blend for rum lovers, as Steve says. I’ll take Steve’s verdict, “it’s an excellent Mai Tai” any day. Cheers, mate.

Ultimate Mai Tai by Kevin Crossman
1 oz Lime Juice
½ oz Orgeat (Latitude 29)
¼ oz Demerara Syrup (BG Reynolds)
½ oz Orange Curacao (Ferrand Dry Curacao)
½ oz Appleton 12 Rum
½ oz Smith & Cross Rum
½ oz Plantation OFTD Rum
½ oz Plantation Xaymaca Rum
Garnish with Mint Sprig and spent Lime shell

Watch the video on the Steve the Bartender channel

Posted on

Revisiting Tiki Tom’s

We returned to Tiki Tom’s last Thursday when the temps in Walnut Creek were 112°. Thankfully, everything was cool inside.

The interior remains gorgeous and music is on point. We also got a preview of some new special effects that are coming soon in conjunction with some upcoming menu changes. It’s great to see investments continuing here, even after their elaborate renovation last year.

The cocktail prices have come down a bit since our last visit, so the $15 Mai Tai ($10 for Happy Hour) is within reasonable norms in the Bay Area. Especially since this Mai Tai is so tasty, using an aged and overproof Jamaican rums. Mrs. Mai Tai really loved the Ohana Punch, a Pina Colada riff featuring green apples, walnuts. So outstanding she ordered a second. The menu is split between classics and originals.

Our food was pretty good and all items were delivered to the table at the same time, which is an improvement over the procedure on our previous visit. The menu leans into Hawaiian favorites, and I liked the Kahlua Pork Bowl with rice.

Thanks to our friend Tiki with Ray who arrived before we did, we were introduced to owners Darrin and Rick DeRita, as well as Steffani DeRita who is the GM. Suffice to say that they told us a lot about the rebirth of the venue and discussed some of the upcoming menu changes too. There are some very interesting things coming, including the BenZombie cocktail that pays homage to Bamboo Ben who led the renovation build. 

We appreciate the hospitality from the DeRitas who were super accommodating on a couple things during our visit.