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1950s-Era Hawaiian Mai Tai

When Trader Vic Bergeron included the Mai Tai on his cocktail menu for the Royal Hawaiian Hotel and Moana Hotel in 1953, he never knew the cocktail would become one of the most famous in the world. The cocktail’s exotic name surely helped get the drink ordered, but the taste is what made the tourists rave.

This style of Mai Tai was similar to the original 1944 recipe, but was adjusted to omit the long-aged rums that had been the featured spirit in the cocktail up to that point. The use of light rum in combination with a flavorful dark rum was common across all published recipes of this era, including in the recipe that Bergeron provided to a guest in a letter in 1956. This affords a lighter style to the cocktail, likely considered more refreshing and approachable for the average hotel guest. 

The dark Jamaican rum of this era was not as ester-forward as what you might find today, and funky rums wouldn’t have been a good choice for tourists. So, think of something like Coruba or Myers’s rather than Smith & Cross. The commonly seen Demerara rums you find today would be a fine substitution. Rum floats were not common during this time-period, but more than two ounces of rum was often seen. So wonder the tourists loved those “tummy warmers.”

Though the recipes of this era vary, there are some common elements. Besides the use of both light and dark rum, the sweeteners were included in equal parts. Before pineapple and orange juice were added to the Hawaiian Mai Tai in the 1960s, we did see that citrus juice was used in healthy amounts. Lime was common, sometimes used in combination with lemon juice.

Looking at the recipes and how they varied, we taste tested some variants and came up with a generic version that is both representative and also easy to prepare. Not too boozy, not too tart. Just right.

1950s-Era Hawaiian Mai Tai (Generic)
1 oz Lime Juice
⅓ oz Orgeat
⅓ oz Rock Candy Syrup
⅓ oz Orange Curacao
1½ oz Light Rum
1½ oz Dark Jamaican Rum or Demerara Rum

Shake with crushed ice and pour into a double-rocks glass, topping with more crushed ice. Garnish with mint or orchid, and either a pineapple spear or a speared pineapple chunk with a cherry.

The Halekulani Hotel still makes a Mai Tai that’s similar to this recipe, though they do add  a ½ oz float of flavorful Lemon Hart 151 Demerara Rum.

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Overgrown Again at 65th and San Pablo

This is the lot in Oakland where the original Trader Vic’s location stood from 1934 until it was closed in 1972 when Emeryville location opened a couple miles away. I’m not sure when the building was taken down. Literally ground zero for the Mai Tai, invented here in 1944.

From time to time I like to visit and see what the current state is, and notably the lot is now completely overgrown! Compare the photos from 2021 and 2020 to see what this could look like, and to 2017 when it was also overgrown.

You’ll note that one of the two palm trees that framed the entrance to Trader Vic’s is still standing and even has some green fronds. The other one was cut down in 2019 to a 4 foot stump. That stump later disappeared and supposedly was carved into a tiki by Notch Gonzalez. At least according to the “I am Tiki, from Trader Vic’s” page on Facebook. Check it out for even more historical details.

Getting back to the lot, I noticed the “lot for sale” signs are no longer present. Maybe someone bought it. Maybe someone gave up trying.

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Relaxing Sunday Lunch at Trader Vic’s

Had an impromptu trip to Berkeley and we stopped in at Trader Vic’s Emeryville for a late lunch on Sunday. We were seated in the lounge and had a great time with our favorite appetizers Crab Rangoon and Cheese Bings. I had the Trader Vic’s Salad with chicken for lunch.

Went a little beyond the norm by having the E’Ville Awa cocktail, a very fine Trader Vic’s-style cocktail with pineapple, rums, gin, and brandy. I went with the no-booze Coral Reef for desert, a sweet blended drink with strawberries, pineapple, and coconut cream. Yummy, and sure to give you a brain freeze.

Meanwhile Mrs. Mai Tai tried the Golden Grog, which is a grog-riff using Rhum Agricole, pineapple juice, and honey. Quite nice, and the agricole definitely helps this lean in a different direction than many of the Vic’s cocktails.  She also tried the Mango Mai Tai, having tried the Guava last time. That’s made with light rum and while it tastes tropical it doesn’t really have a lot of “Mai Tai” taste to me. Which might be a plus or a minus, depending on who you are.

Always lovely to look at the scenery inside and to soak in the history of this Vic’s location that opened 50 years ago this year.

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The CanTiki in Glendale

I heard about this new Cantina/Tiki hybrid bar opening a few months ago, and CanTiki was right on the way back from dinner so we stopped in to check it out. It’s located on Glendale’s busy Brand Blvd, though a few blocks down from where most of the restaurants and bars are. Thus might explain why it was kind of slow when we visited.

Kill Mai Pain

Service at the bar was friendly nonetheless and we explored the menu. First things first, this isn’t a tiki bar. It’s a bar with a tiki inspired cocktail program. There are lots of choices and you can tell they’re trying to do something different with the cocktails.

I had doubts about the Mai Tai/Painkiller hybrid Kill Mai Pain that featured a hodgepodge of ingredients and also had a float of Cruzan Blackstrap rum (had I realized that was there I would have asked for a sub or chosen a different cocktail). It wasn’t bad but not that memorable. I should have tried the Fly for a Mai Tai available on tap, which seems like a more traditional take.

Banana Hammock

Much better was Mrs. Mai Tai’s Banana Hammock, an inspired Daiquiri riff that included a couple rums, Giffard Banana liqueur, and Aztec Chocolate bitters. It was quite good.

There are a few tables and a few booths, and everything inside is painted black. All the pillows in the booths had some sort of Nicolas Cage imagery on them, which we found interesting. The Christmas tree was left over from a Christmas in July promotion. There were a few drink specials and it does seem like they frequently partner for food pop-ups, so check their social media for the latest updates.

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Mai Tai Myth: Trader Vic Kept the Recipe a Secret

Leading up to Mai Tai Day (August 30), we are sharing five Mai Tai myths.

While there was a great deal of secrecy around cocktail recipes at Don the Beachcomber locations, there was a different practice with Trader Vic’s. While the original 1944 Mai Tai recipe wasn’t published until the 1972 Bartenders Guide Revised, it also wasn’t a trade secret known only to Trader Vic. He had already published many of his Trader Vic’s recipes in the 1947 Bartender’s Guide.

A customer wrote to Bergeron in 1956 requesting the recipe for the Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai and Trader Vic himself signed the letter sent back to the customer. We know because letter went up for auction in 2010. This remains the earliest documented Hawaiian Mai Tai recipe and is similar to the original 1944 Mai Tai.

This recipe and others like it were published in newspaper articles and books, but Trader Vic’s didn’t sue or publicly complain about the recipes being shared. It was only when the Sun-Vac corp tried to copyright the Mai Tai for their commercial Mai Tai mix that lawyers got involved. Vic won the out of court settlement.

Want to learn more? Check our essay The (De)Evolution of the Hawaiian Mai Tai, or view the article in Issue 15 of Exotica Modernemagazine. Or join us at Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Day event on August 28 for a special seminar on the Hawaiian Mai Tai.

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Mai Tai Myth: Nobody knew the Mai Tai Ingredients Until 1970

Leading up to Mai Tai Day (August 30), we are sharing five Mai Tai myths.

Trader Vic Bergeron issued a press release in 1970 describing how he original developed the Mai Tai and he also included the original recipe. During this time period and continuing to present day, Mai Tais are made with non-original ingredients such as grenadine, orange juice, and pineapple juice, so we’ve seen speculation that this means that body knew what was actually in a Mai Tai. The most frequent rationale goes something like “nobody knew what was in a Mai Tai, so they made due with what they had.”

Nonetheless, there are numerous 1950s-1960s published recipes in newspapers and books such as the popular Esquire Party Book (1965) that provided Mai Tai recipes featuring the original ingredients: lime, rock candy syrup, orgeat, orange curaçao, and rum. This isn’t like the Zombie where nobody knew about Don’s Mix or even what was in it.

The proportions of those published recipes differed from the original 1944 recipe, in large part due to Trader Vic’s own tweak of the recipe that he provided to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in 1953. We’ll have more about that recipe in our next post. But the constant use of the obscure orgeat in these recipes is reason enough to blow the myth that nobody knew the ingredients of a Mai Tai.

Want to learn more? Check our essay The (De)Evolution of the Hawaiian Mai Tai, or view the article in Issue 15 of Exotica Moderne magazine. Or join us at Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Day event on August 28 for a special seminar on the Hawaiian Mai Tai.

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Tam O’Shanter: Celebrating 100 Years

We had reservations to go to Tam O’Shanter in January, but those were cancelled at the height of omicron. We were staying nearby in Glendale so this was a perfect opportunity to give the restaurant a second chance for a visit.

We were intrigued in learning more about the history of the Scotch-inspired steakhouse that is celebrating 100 years in business this year. While prime rib isn’t our thing, themed environments are and Tam O’Shanter really delivers. While we were seated outside under a charming tent and nearby an equally tranquil garden, we also got to peek inside at the myriad dining rooms inside. Frequented for many years by Disney animators and Walt Disney himself. Table 31 was Walt’s favorite and there are carvings in the table done by Disney animators.

We went in a turkey direction for our meal, but I decided to test the unfamiliar waters of Tam O’Shanter’s vast Whiskey collection. Walt Disney’s favorite cocktail was a Scotch Mist so I figured this was a good choice for the occasion. I asked for a Scotch that wasn’t so “peaty” and the bartender used Cutty Sark which was just fine with me. Scotch, ice, and a twist of lemon.

The service was great and we enjoyed the food. Being able to score a reservation inside would be a priority for future visits, since the interior is so elaborately themed.

You can learn more about the Tam O’Shanter in this video from our friends Tiki with Ray and Stephen Curran. The embed below is part of a longer video covering historical Disney-connected destinations in Los Angeles and starts in the section covering Tam O’Shanter.