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No Tai Bali Hai Visit

Tiki Oasis weekend in San Diego kicked off in traditional style with a quick visit to the Bali Hai Restaurant on Shelter Island with DJ Ship Rex who’d never visited before. I’d only ever been for lunch or dinner and the mid-afternoon vibe was a lot more casual, with seating at the bar and in the rear portion of the lounge (no window seats, sadly), accompanied by live music.


Rex and I both wisely decided to keep things in moderation by avoiding the Bali Hai’s infamous “no juice” Mai Tai made with at least five ounces of rum! We watched the bartender prepare these and after tiny splashes of orgeat, sweet and sour mix, and curaçao a bit of ice is put into the glass. Then bottles of light and dark rum are positioned to pour into the glass. As Rex described it, “pour until full” meaning that there is tons of rum in the Bali Hai Mai Tai. Limit two per customer, as they say.

Goof Punch


We stuck with the pleasant and juicy Goof Punch that’s sort of an island style Mai Tai with lots of pineapple juice and a ton of flavor. As we exited the venue we attempted to take a selfie with Mr. Bali Hai but the sun was basically blinding but still a fun focal point. We stopped at Trader Mort’s liquor store on the way out and found many bottles of rum for sale including some overpriced items but also some deals, plus tiki mugs and other Trader Mort branded merch.


Shelter Island is still high on our list of destinations in San Diego and the beautiful views remain breathtaking.

Trader Mort’s
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Tommy Bahama’s Amazing Frozen Mai Tai

Had to make time to swing by the Tommy Bahama Marlin Bar at the Fashion Valley mall while we were across the street at Tiki Oasis. This still impresses, it tastes like a Mai Tai and has plenty of rummy flavor thanks to the dark rum float.

The Marlin Bar has pretty good cocktails and I enjoyed some great sliders as well. There was even a couple playing live music during our visit.

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The Essential Ingredient in the Halekulani Mai Tai

Everyone is getting geared up for Mai Tai Day on August 30, including the Halekulani Hotel in Waikiki. This is the home of one of Waikiki’s best Mai Tais, made in a fashion very similar to the original Hawaiian Mai Tai that was introduced in 1953 by Trader Vic.

Earlier this year we covered the evolution of the cocktail based on published recipes that the Halekulani has made available over the years. The current version is pretty good and like that 1950s original Hawaiian Mai Tai it uses the sweeteners in equal portions, plus a dark rum alongside a lighter rum.

Every great Mai Tai needs a signature rum, and the Halekulani’s Mai Tai is no exception. The key ingredient here is the float of Lemon Hart 151 rum, which adds savory smoky notes to the cocktail along with the layer of color that tourists expect in Mai Tais in Waikiki. It is truly essential to the success of this cocktail, and mild low-proof dark rums simply don’t cut it. Other brands that are suitable for the float here would be Hamilton 151, Planteray OFTD, or any dark Guyana rum.

The recipe is not quite an original 1944, nor is it a “Tourist Tai” with tons of pineapple and OJ. The Halekuani Mai Tai is its own thing, and it is delicious.

Favorite memory at the Halekuani: relaxing in the shade to the sound of waves lapping on the shore, sipping an amazing Mai Tai that’s unlike any other on Waikiki.

Halekulani Mai Tai

1¼ oz Lime Juice

⅓ oz Orgeat

⅓ oz Rock Candy Syrup

⅓ oz Orange Curacao

¾ oz Bacardi Select/Black Rum

¾ oz Bacardi Gold Rum

Combine ingredients over crushed ice

Float ½ oz Lemon Hart 151 Rum

Garnish with lime wheel, sugar cane stick, and vanda orchid

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Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Rum vs. Ultimate Mai Tai Rum

As previously posted, I set out to recreate the Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Rum that was issued in the 60s-80s. Comprised of mostly Jamaican rum, plus Martinique and Virgin Islands rum, this rum was used the Mai Tai, Suffering Bastard, and other Trader Vic’s recipes of the era.

As we’re want to do, we did a little comparison test with this rum and our our Ultimate Mai Tai rum blend, a bold and boozy four rum combo of Appleton 12, Smith & Cross, Planteray Xaymaca, and Planteray OFTD. The two Mai Tais were made with common ingredients including shared pool of juice.

These are actually pretty close, but both Mrs. Mai Tai and I preferred the Ultimate Mai Tai blend.

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Value Mai Tais at Airport Bar?

Heading to Tiki Oasis in San Diego by way of the San Jose Mineta Airport, so I made sure to arrive early for some drinks and food at Trader Vic’s SJC to get into the mood. It was still before 10:00 am so while I could get a Mai Tai I couldn’t order off the lunch menu yet. No trouble, the Tahitian Toast with Salmon was quite filling, but I asked for the jalapeño spread to be omitted as spicy is not my thing. The waiter asked if I would like some avocado with it and after saying yes it arrived with avocado. “Some” avocado indeed. It was delicious and totally filling too.

My Mai Tai was just great and the Guava Tai I ordered was just as good. I enjoy the little bit of tropical juices that Trader Vic’s adds for these Tropical Tais. As seasoned mixologists know, a little bit of mango or pineapple or guava go a long way and Trader Vic’s doesn’t drown it with these juices like some places do. It’s the perfect amount.

The prices at Trader Vic’s SJC are not too bad these days, either. All drinks are $18.39 including tax, which isn’t cheap but no longer expensive when you account for the tax being included. We’ve seen Mai Tais and other cocktails well over $20 that aren’t nearly as good, which is amazing for a bar at the airport. Trader Vic’s SJC is a treasure.

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Mai Tai Rum Old-Fashioned

I found this one in Trader Vic’s Helluva Mans Cookbook and in Trader Vic’s Rum Cookery & Drinkery (both 1970s). It is a classic cocktail riff that uses rum rather than whiskey.

The specified rum is Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Rum, which we wrote about yesterday, a blend of rums from Jamaica, Martinique, and Virgin Islands. I remade this rum at home using currently available rums and used it in this cocktail.

From Trader Vic’s Helluva Mans Cookbook:
“If you like a good pungent rum that’s got a good flavor, you’ll find this a very nice drink. We blend this Mai Tai rum from five or six different rums from different islands.

Mai Tai Rum Old-Fashioned
1½ ounces Trader Vic Mai Tai rum
½ ounce water
2 dashes maraschino cherry juice
2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
Pour first 4 ingredients into a 10-ounce old-fashioned glass filled with ice cubes. Stir well. Add a twist of lemon peel. Decorate with a fruit stick and fresh mint.”

Tasting Notes:
Sadly, this wasn’t one of Vic’s greatest hits. It tastes like watered down rum with little hints of sweetness and anise because, well, that’s what it is.

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Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Rum

This rum was a multi-island blend produced by Trader Vic’s starting in the late 1950s and commercially issued through sometime in the 1980s. I found some recipes that call for this rum, which of course was also specified in the Mai Tai of that era. So I tried to replicate it using currently available rums.

The breakdown of components is:
70% Jamaica
20% Martinique
10% Virgin Islands

That Virgin Islands rum is basically used to lengthen the product and to reduce the overall cost, but only by a little, in contrast to the Jamaican rum that would have aged for some time. Vic also sold 15 and 8 year Jamaica rum bottles.

The Martinique rhum used here is the subject of debate. Here’s how Trader Vic describes rhum from Martinique:

“Martinique rums are similar to dark Jamaica rums because they are dark and pungent in flavor and aroma. They are especially suitable for flavoring sweets and for making rum punches of the heavier variety.

Some of the Martinique rums are distilled and bottled in Martinique for export to us (Rhum St. James); some are distilled in Martinique, shipped to France for aging, and reshipped to us as French rum (Negrita). These French rums are extremely dark and carry more of a molasses taste than the Martinique-bottled rum; the French like them in wintertime hot grogs.”
Trader Vic’s Rum Cookery & Drinkery

This doesn’t sound like a rhum agricole to me, but “smoky and funky” sound a lot like Worthy Park 109, so I’m using that in place.

In recreating the rum, I used:
4 parts Worthy Park Single Estate Reserve (aged 6-10 years)
3 parts Appleton 8
2 parts Worthy Park 109
1 part Cruzan Aged

This is a flavorful rum, though not one that I would quite call pungent, so perhaps I could have omitted the Appleton in lieu of more Single Estate Reserve.

In any case, it sure makes a great Mai Tai, just like the Trader said it would.