Traveling the Bay Area and beyond to find the best Mai Tai in the world! Tiki, cocktails, and adventures by Kevin Crossman
The pour of Worthy Park Special Cask Series: Port Cask at Dr. Funk was really great. Such a flavorful Jamaican rum, aged 10 years with two in the Port wine barrel. Though, I’m not sure that I tasted a lot of “port” in the sipping glass. Nonetheless this was a great option from Dr. Funk’s growing rum list.
Practice what you preach. Last week I mentioned dipping into Dr. Funk’s extensive rum collection including the option to try a different rum in their excellent Mai Tai.
This is a Mai Tai made with only Clement VSOP rhum from Martinique. It was really good.
A fun time at Dr. Funk last night. Nice to see some of the tiki ohana for our monthly 1st Sunday meetup.
Had a very nice Mai Tai at Dr. Funk in San Jose with just Appleton 12 Jamaican Rum. This produced a cocktail that was less boozy and less funky than Dr. Funk’s standard Mai Tai that is made with Appleton 12 and higher proof Smith & Cross Jamaican rum. I’m often a big fan of Mai Tais made just with Appleton 12, though the one with Smith & Cross is better at Dr. Funk.
Most good bars will allow customers to try cocktails with a different, name-called spirit when requested by the customer (always politely, of course). We usually do this in a Mai Tai, but for rums a Daiquiri is also a good option. This can be a great way to discover new rums, especially if you’re not keen on drinking them neat. Dr. Funk has an expanding rum list (which has grown so large it’s no longer listed on the menu), so I’m looking forward to exploring their selection.
Speaking of Dr. Funk, we’re having the monthly 1st Sunday Ohana meet-up starting when they open at 4:00 and ending … later. I know many of the local folks will be attending the Brunch and Fashion Show at Trader Vic’s that same day but try to join us if you can or if you’re skipping Vic’s.
I still had more White Grapefruit Juice so I did a little riff that actually ended up tasting quite nice. This is definitely grapefruit-forward, but I think it pairs well with the gin and the hints of orange and the rich orgeat syrup. This leans tart, so if you like it sweeter I’d suggest bumping the Cointreau to ¾ oz.
London Dry Spin by Kevin Crossman
1 oz Fresh White Grapefruit Juice
¼ oz Fresh Orange Juice
¼ oz Orgeat
½ oz Cointreau
2 oz London Dry Gin (Beefeater)
Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass
The Orgeat used was homemade from Pearl’s Hideaway and is bit on the cloudy side compared to some commercial syrups such as Latitude 29. In this case, the cloudy white cocktail made this look a bit different from Daiquris and other cocktails served up. Liber & Co. orgeat would have similar cloudy results.
This was posted by Spike Marble on @thehulagirls Instagram and it was perfect timing as I was looking for something to use with the last of the White Grapefruit was I was gifted. They held up pretty good this month.
This is the cocktail that Spike developed for his Spike’s Breezeway Cocktail Hour show on YouTube, which I have enjoyed every Friday for the last two years. Spike talks cocktails (always in the glass that it was served in) and tiki, sometimes with special guests. It is educational and entertaining, so check it out if you’ve somehow missed it. You must be a fan of corks to fully appreciate the show.
The Breezeway Cocktail by Spike Marble
¾ oz Lime Juice
¾ oz Orange Juice
¾ oz White Grapefruit Juice
¼ oz Demerara Syrup
¼ oz Cinnamon Syrup
¼ oz Falernum
1 tsp Ginger Syrup
1 oz Soda Water
1 oz Hamilton White Stache Rum (sub: Denizen 3)
1 oz Doctor Bird Jamaican Rum
Blend for 6 seconds with crushed ice. Pour soda water into tiki mug, then rest of the drink with ice. Garnish with sliced limes, orange wedge, Luxardo Cherries, mint, orchid, garnish.
I didn’t go extreme with the garnishes, and used my favored Hay! Straws rather than the glass one specified by Spike.
This cocktail is light and refreshing, and the mix of spicy syrups does give it an interesting twist. I don’t have the Breezeway Cocktail Hour tiki mug, so I used this nice pilsner glass from Trader Vic’s. This is a tribute to Spike who often makes vintage Trader Vic’s cocktails on the show.
Spike has a Patreon for supporters of the show, and if you’re at the $10 level you can get a cool Breezeway Cocktail Hour pin shown below.
I’m not sure why it took us this long to get here, but it has been Shirley Temple week for Mrs. Mai Tai. Not a movie marathon, but several tastings of the mocktail made with Grenadine and Soda, topped with cherries. This seems to be right up her alley, having preferred blended cocktails such as the Chi-Chi and Lava Flow. But for whatever reason it never occurred to order this in the past.
Recipes vary but typically include some Grenadine and either Ginger Ale, 7-up, or Lemon-Lime Soda. Some recipes also call for little splash of Lemon or Lime Juice, which I think would be a nice addition.
As noted in the previous post, we had these at Hula’s after a night of cocktails in Paso Robles. Then, we ordered one at Forbidden Island and what came out was very, very different. Instead of bright red cherries and Rose’s Grenadine, this one was served with traditional Pomegranate Grenadine and dark cherries. This variant seemed to be popular in my Instagram story poll, winning 2-1. Knowing that many don’t love the red cherries, it would be interesting to see if Luxardo dark cherries on top of a Shirley Temple with Rose’s might be more popular.
I also ordered a Shirley Temple for Mrs. Mai Tai at SAP Center at Sharks game, and that one came out nice and sweet, but sans cherries. Bummer.
I see recipes online that refer to a Dirty Shirley, when vodka or rum is added. If dark rum is used, it is called a Shirley Temple Black, a funny homage to the actress’s married name.
The original Tiki Bob’s location in San Francisco has been closed for decades, but the iconic face of Tiki Bob is still present at the corner of Post and Taylor. Today, this is the Honey Honey cafe that serves sandwiches and crepes.
For many years, Bob was painted green to match the Honey Honey motif. But a few years ago local tikiphiles Heather M. David, muralist Donald Harvey, and Smuggler’s Cove owner Martin Cate received permission to restore Bob to his vintage glory and this is the look that remains in place today. Read more about the transformation and be sure to visit Bob when you’re in the City.
