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Presidio Brunch at Sessions

We did a family outing to see the new Presido Tunnel Tops park, and then to the nearby Walt Disney Family Museum. The Park is pretty impressive, running over the top of the highway 101. The plants and everything are brand new and I’m sure will fill out over the coming years, but this is still picturesque. Pro tip: arrive early to avoid the crowds. Even at 11:00 am on Sunday the place and the parking were quite full. Our family photo for the Christmas card with the Golden Gate Bridge didn’t really work, thanks to the heavy fog.

We went over to Sessions for brunch afterwards, part of the Lucasfilm campus. We’ve been here a few times, including the May the Fourth event with Smuggler’s Cove last year. The food is gourmet and the cocktails are outstanding, plus we get to visit the Yoda statue nearby. So it’s a treat and not an everyday visit, unless you have “Star Wars Money.” I really enjoyed my waffle, topped with strawberries and toasted granola.

The cocktail was Carnaval Caribe, made with El Dorado 12, Bacardi, Curacao, Cynar, Falernum, Pineapple Shrubb, and Lime. Really rich and flavorful.

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Exotica Moderne Issue 16

The new issue of Exotica Moderne is now out, featuring several contributions from me.

  • Music review of the new mini-album from Vancouver surf band The Hang-Ten Hangmen
  • Cocktail recipe: London Dry Spin
  • Feature article: Why the 1944 Mai Tai Isn’t “the 1944 Mai Tai”

There’s lots of great material in the rest of the issue, as always, so be sure to order a copy before they’re gone.

Purchase Exotica Moderne 16 from House of Tabu

 

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Black Tot Day 2022

This is the rum we crack open for a pour of at home on Black Tot Day, the day when the Royal Navy stopped issuing rum rations in 1970.

I love Navy Rum, including the original rum from the 1960s that I’ve been fortunate to try a couple times. I also have several delicious rums that follow the tradition, such as Pussers, Wood’s, and Skipper Rum. These rums are exclusively Demerara rum from Guyana, so aren’t the blend of rums that were poured into large vats in London before being issued to the ships. But they do have a lot of the same character.

But those aren’t as amazing and special as this one from Black Tot Rum. They have yearly limited releases such as this 50th Anniversary release from 2020 that is a blend of rums from Guyana, Barbados, Trinidad, and Jamaica. Plus .5% of original Navy Rum. Bottled at navy strength, obviously, at 54.5% ABV. I won’t be watering it down like they did on the ships.

Up spirits!

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Turkey Rum

I’m not joking. And it isn’t bad at all. In fact it is pretty amazing.

Matchbook Distilling has a limited edition rum called Some Night in Autumn that is “Molasses mashed with dunder double pot distilled with a turkey hanging in the kettle.” A. Turkey. And that Turkey provides a fine finish to this rum. Definitely rich on the tongue with a fat finish that will make you think of Thanksgivings of your youth.

It wasn’t on my radar but as I understand it, there is a tradition for agave spirits to be redistilled with local fruits, nuts, and poultry called Pechuga. So, this rum borrows from that tradition.

Thank you Kon-Tiki for carrying this special rum. Another great expression from the Kon-Tiki’s excellent selection of fine rums and spirits.

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Aperol Bird

We had some pineapple juice and so I did a Jungle Bird riff using Campari’s sweeter cousin, Aperol. I have been enjoying Aperol Spritzs this month and thought this might work in a cocktail that calls for the more bitter Campari. I’ve grown to appreciate the Jungle Bird as a cocktail, but regular readers know I lean sweet.

Aperol Bird
½ oz Lime Juice
4 oz Pineapple Juice
½ oz Simple Syrup
¾ oz Aperol
1 oz Hamilton Jamaican Pot Still Black Rum
½ oz Goslings Dark Rum
Shake with cubes.

This was okay. I’ve found that when the Hamilton is used by itself it can sometimes overpower a cocktail, hence cutting it with Goslings. As it turns out, it probably would have been better with all that Jamaican rum instead. The Aperol does give this a lighter and sweeter taste but it isn’t able to stand up to all that pineapple juice as well as Campari.

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Trader Vic’s Hawaiian Bazaar & Brunch

We skipped brunch but it is always fun to check out the vendors at the Hawaiian Bazaar at Trader Vic’s Emeryville, one of the few tiki marketplace events that take place in Northern California.

We caught up with some local favorites who we’ve purchased from before, including Woody Miller, B-Rex, Sweet Siren Designs, and Tiki Lounge Lights. All had some great stuff, though we were most impressed by the Greg’s amazingly cool peacock chair lamps.

There were some new vendors at this event. Rob and Jeanine Allspaw brought their Mischief Motu carvings up from Southern California for the first time that I can remember, and we scored a few items for our bedroom walls. Oakland artist Kelly Jo Mullaney had some interesting shirts and paintings – and many of the designs have hidden elements. Tiki Makaio was showing off some wood coasters and bottle openers that have vintage designs – and he does custom work too. Check them out.

Can’t go to Vic’s and skip a Mai Tai. Mrs. Mai Tai had been meaning to try the Guava Tai, a sweet variant that for sure you’re not going to miss the guava in. I went my favorite, the San Francisco Mai Tai – the standard Mai Tai with 151 float.

Nice to catch up with some folks out on the back patio and in the marketplace. It was a beautiful sunny day in Emeryville.

Tiki Makaio
Sweet Siren Designs (with Wayne Stonecipher)
Woody Miller
B-Rex
Kelly Jo Mullaney
Mischief Motu
Greg Smith from Tiki Lounge Lights
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Revised List of Top 10 Mai Tais

People often ask where they can get the best Mai Tai. So, we’ve recently updated and expanded the list of the best ones to a total of ten. These are my top Mai Tais made without any rum or ingredient substitutions, current as of July 2022, and they’re all great Mai Tais that anyone should enjoy.

Note that for purposes of the “rating” on this list, it only about what’s in the glass and not about the rest of the bar visit experience. Not that any on this last have poor ambiance or service, mind you.

Here is the alphabetical list of the top 10 Mai Tais that you can have right now.

Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29 – New Orleans
Dr. Funk – San Jose
Hale Pele – Portland
Halekulani Hotel – Honolulu
The Kon-Tiki Room at Palmetto – Oakland
Rumba – Seattle
Maunakea Mai Tai at Skull & Crown Trading Co. – Honolulu
Smuggler’s Cove – San Francisco
San Francisco Mai Tai at Trader Vic’s – Emeryville
Undertow – Phoenix

The list is ever-evolving. We had a close call in Seattle where Rumba is transitioning their Orgeat and we caught the bartender incorrectly using the previous ratios. And we hear that The Kon-Tiki in Oakland and Dr. Funk in San Jose are working on revised menus. So, we’ll have to see how that affects this list.

This list obviously skews to the United States. I’m willing to try anyone’s Mai Tai if a plane ticket and hotel is included in the invite.

Additional details, photos, and recommendations for these Mai Tais