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New Top 5 Mai Tai: Dr. Funk in San Jose

We’ve made an update to our list of Top 5 Mai Tais. This is our list of the best standard house Mai Tais, without any tweaks or substitutions.

LONO Hollywood was previously in our number 5 spot, but they haven’t yet reopened after COVID. Plus, we’re so impressed by the Mai Tai at the newly opened Dr. Funk in San Jose that it seems like a perfect time to make a change on the official list. Congrats to Ken Wongdejanan and the entire team from Dr. Funk.

Dr. Funk uses Appleton 12 and Smith & Cross Jamaican rums as the base for their Mai Tai, combining it with house-made Orgeat. The team said they tried several different rum blends, including one featuring a Rhum Agricole, but found that this blend was the best. We agree! The heavier rums from Jamaica add flavor that truly punches through. 

Top 5 Mai Tais

  1. Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29, New Orleans
  2. Rumba, Seattle
  3. Smuggler’s Cove. San Francisco
  4. House without a Key, Halekulani Hotel, Honolulu
  5. Dr. Funk, San Jose
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Rum Review: Mount Gay Origin Series Copper Stills vol 2

I picked up this two-pack of Mount Gay rums at the “bottle shop” at The Kon-Tiki in Oakland and have really enjoyed it. The release is from a few years back and limited to 7200 bottles, but I’m surprised there are still bottles in the market. The release includes two Mount Gay rums made from the same materials, and aged in the same barrels. The difference is that one bottle was distilled in the Copper Double Pot Still and the other in Mount Gay’s Copper Column Still. An included booklet goes into further details about the methods of distillation.

This was really interesting to me, having had more than my fair share of Barbados rums in the last year or two. The ABV for these releases is 43%, so while these aren’t cask strength releases you do gain an appreciation of how the method of distillation truly makes a meaningful difference in the end result. Most notably for me is that when I try each rum just by itself I do taste some of individual flavors that I remember from when I try a blended Barbados rum release from Mount Gay. Both rums are quite good, though the Copper Pot is not nearly as bold and funky as the recent (and much pricer) 48% ABV Pot Still Rum release from Mount Gay (one of my favorite rums). As always, Mount Gay does a good job with the packaging. I think any rum enthusiast would enjoy comparing these two rums, and both have appeal.

As is the tradition here, we made a Mai Tai with these rums. But I was curious if I’d prefer each release on their own, or a blended release with equal parts of each rum. So, it was umtshootout” time and a blind taste test.

The verdict?

Blind taste preference was as follows:
First Place: Pot Still
Second Place: Blend
Third Place: Column

So, I’m still a Pot Still Rum man, but honestly all of these Mai Tais were quite delicious. But the Pot Still just had a deeper and more satisfying flavor.

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World-Class Tiki Bar Comes to San Jose: Dr. Funk

Our long national nightmare is over.

The 10th most populous city in America finally has a real tiki destination now that Dr. Funk has soft-opened in Downtown San Jose. We visited Tuesday during a soft-open for Tiki Ohana, and we’ve been told that Thursday is the first day open to the general public with next Monday being the official grand opening.

Situated at San Pedro Square, Dr. Funk is an immersive tiki bar with decor buildout by @topnotchkustoms + @m_p_o_r_i_u_m_ and bar program by @kenwongdejanan + @bondtylerbond44. The interior is first class, with seven huts, a long bar, and plenty of tables inside. Outside there are more seats on the tiki patio. There are lots of little nods to the actual doctor named Dr. Funk, including some bubbling potions above the bar. Service was great during our soft-open experience. Food was not yet being served, so stay tuned for further developments.

And the cocktails? FAN-TASTIC.

The namesake cocktail is quite good, leaning into Absinthe which is the signature ingredient. More unexpected was the creamy Dead Man’s Isle featuring Ube, Coconut Creme, and several rums. It had a very unique taste and was a big hit among all who tried it.

And the Mai Tai? Maybe one the best anywhere.

We need more samples before we’re able to add this amazing Mai Tai to our Top 5 worldwide, but it is a very strong candidate. Using Appleton 12 and Smith & Cross Jamaican rums, the Mai Tai was perfectly balanced including a creamy and sweet house-made Orgeat. And, if you’re so inclined, you can order it in a souvenir glass designed by local favorite B-Rex.

No longer a wasteland, San Jose finally has the tiki destination it fully deserves.

Dr. Funk Mai Tai Glass by B-Rex, held by B-Rex
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Miracle on 1st Holiday Pop-Up in San Jose

After our visit to 55 South, we headed over across the street to Paper Plane, which is doing the Christmas Popup in conjunction with Miracle. Paper Plane has been doing this for a couple years, so their decor is OVER THE TOP. Amazing stuff, and so many lights! Even on a Sunday night this place was packed, though service at the bar did move quickly.

We found the cocktails at “Miracle on 1st” to be excellent, and we want to return to try more. There’s a little bit more of a varied selection than Sippin’ Santa, especially if you’re into Whiskeys and Amaros.

Mrs. Mai Tai had the Jolly Koala, a bright cocktail with Bourbon, Vermouth, Mulled Wine Reduction, and Cacao Nib Aperitif. Plus a cute little Koala to make friends with. This was really great.

I stuck to my wheelhouse and ordered the tropical cocktail named after the catch phrase from everyone’s favorite Christmas movie: Die Hard. The “Yippie Ki Yay, Mother F****r” is a delightful and sweet cocktail with several rums, Ube & Coconut Orgeat, and Pineapple Juice. This one is so easy to sip that I was soon taking off my shoes and feeling the carpet.

The meetup was for members of the “South SF Bay Area Tiki Ohana” group on Facebook. If you’re a local, please join the group for more meetups and local info.

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Sippin’ Santa at 55 South in San Jose

The Christmas/Tiki themed pop-up has been gaining momentum over the past few years and is expanding to new locations. This year, downtown San Jose is in the mix thanks to 55 South who are hosting the pop-up for the first time (view menu). A cocktail bar and restaurant, 55 South had previously hosted monthly “tiki nights” that served as sort of gathering place for some South Bay locals who have been underserved for tiki for so long.

The 55 South team did a pretty good job with the decor. Quite festive and for sure plenty good for the first year to get everyone in the mood. Music was 70s-80s leaning Christmas music, so quite peppy.

Cocktails for Sippin’ Santa are developed in conjunction with Jeff “Beachbum” Berry (of Sippin’ Safari book fame). I had the Kris Kringle Colada, an excellent riff using Dark Jamaican Rum, Amaro, and Allspice, while Mrs. Mai Tai ventured away from her coconut sweet spot to try the Sippin’ Santa with Demerara rum and citrus. Unfortunately that one seemed to be lacking the “Gingerbread mix” that makes it a holiday favorite.

Nonetheless we had a great time and the bar was quite busy even at opening on a Sunday. I had the “Tiki Tacos” that were quite good, and Julie liked her Edamame Salad. The meetup was for members of the “South SF Bay Area Tiki Ohana” group on Facebook. If you’re a local, please join the group for more meetups and local info.

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Mai Tai Monday: Wright & Brown Distilling

Made a fab Mai Tai for Trader Vic’s birthday using a rum made in Oakland, the city where the Mai Tai was first made in 1944. 

Oakland’s Wright & Brown is distilling rum as well as a variety of whiskeys. The rum I used is pot still distillate made from Black Strap Molasses and is aged for a couple years. Quite wild and full of flavor, so it works great in a Mai Tai.

For my Mai Tai I used 1½ oz Wright & Brown and ½ oz Coruba just to add a little additional richness.

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The Kon-Tiki Holiday Bazaar

One of the aspects of The Kon-Tiki that I made sure to include in my recent Exotica Moderne article about the bar was their participation in community events and partnerships with businesses and organizations in Oakland.

Such was today’s Holiday Bazaar. Several local vendors were set up inside and there was a small holiday cocktail menu and burgers available from the bar. Not really tiki, except for Woody Miller.  I bought the lovely green glass tree from Arcadian Stained Glass and some goodies from The Disco Greenhouse. And I bought some rum from the Kon-Tiki Bottle Shop.

The cocktail menu was quite festive, including a drink riffing on the bar’s Krampus themed decor. I sampled the tasty Disco Banana riff “Bad Banana” that dialed back the cocktail’s harder funky notes in favor of a fruitier blend that likely played better with the non-tiki crowd.

Cheers to the Kon-Tiki crew for putting together a great community event.