Tikeasy at Rosetta is the Bay Area’s Newest Tiki Bar

Livermore’s Rosetta Roasting coffee roastery is going full tiki for their evening cocktail persona this summer and adopting Tikeasy as the venue branding. We’ve been big fans of the Nightcaps at Rosetta cocktail program, but have certainly noticed a gradual shift to more tiki decor taking over the space including a magnificent A-frame to serve as a portal to the tiki area. The staff said that additional traditional tiki elements are coming soon. The dimly lit booths work great with exotic music and superbly executed tropical cocktails, and nobody would peg this as a tiki bar from the outside. It’s a speakeasy, tiki style.

The official launch of Tikeasy was on Sunday including a Mai Tai flight featuring two of my Mai Tai recipes. It was a lot of fun to welcome tiki friends visiting the Livermore location for the first time, plus locals who’d experienced evening cocktails there in the past but who appreciated some casual Mai Tai education. The Rosetta Mai Tai features Hamilton Jamaican Pot Still Black rum and notably switches from orange curacao for orange bitters. The team did a great job with my Ultimate Mai Tai and Blue Mai Tai variants.

The team behind Rosetta Roasting are true believers in tiki, and they’re taking a chance by trying something a little different in downtown Livermore. There’s a menu of over twenty cocktails to choose from, all expertly prepared. We saw many customers order the Zombie-like Man Overboard and also The Privateer that features tequila. Rosetta’s coffee roots are a big influence on the Espresso Martiki, featuring creamy Gardenia Mix to help make a great foam head. We also heard good things about Pele’s Passion, Pearl Diver, and Rum Fashioned. If you’ve visited, leave a comment with your favorite.

The Tikeasy is open Wednesday-Saturday at Rosetta Roasting in downtown Livermore, with savory bites and deserts available as well. Reservations are available and recommended as the space is cozy, with outdoor patio seating also available.

Blue Hawai-Tai at Jungle Bird Sacramento

The Jungle Bird tiki bar is celebrating Mai Tai week with some cocktail specials available now through Sunday, including our own Blue Hawai-Tai.

This cocktail leans a little sweet which is just fine since Jungle Bird will be serving this in a frozen format. They’re also using Mount Gay Eclipse as the aged rum base, another good call for this cocktail.

There are a couple of other special Mai Tais and a flight option, so folks up in California’s capital should make time to visit Jungle Bird this week.

DeKuyper Blue Curaçao

This inexpensive Blue Curacao has wide distribution and so I thought I’d give it a try and compare to the gold standard for the category, Giffard Curaçao Bleu. DeKuyper is 24% ABV and the Giffard is 25%, so an even comparison.

I made a traditional Blue Hawaii cocktail, including a split base with Vodka and Light Puerto Rican Rum (Trader Vic’s), though with only two ounces of Pineapple Juice. The Giffard has a deeper blue color, and a noticeable and pleasant orange flavor on the cocktail. The DeKuyper looked okay but didn’t elevate the cocktail at all.

Next, I made two Blue Hawai-Tais. This is a Mai Tai riff using lemon juice and featuring a flavorful light rum (Hamilton White Stache) and a Jamaican Overproof (Wray & Nephew). The orgeat used this time was Liber, hence the slightly creamy consistency. The conclusion was the same in that the Giffard improved the cocktail with a delightful orange flavor you can taste, and a deeper blue as well.

DeKuyper Blue Curaçao doesn’t impart any unpleasant flavors and is around $10 a bottle. So, it isn’t terrible at all, but not really that great either.

Blue Hawai-Tai Revisit

I am revisiting this cocktail after a few months and did a few variants to taste test. I was told it was too sweet, and I suppose that might be true for some people but it tastes great to me.

I would say that full pot-still rums like Rum-Bar or Rum Fire do work much better than the blended Wray & Nephew Overproof. I tested the “aged white rum” components with White Stache and Probitas and found that while I prefer the heavier Probitas overall this is a less important component than the White Overproof Jamaican rum portion.

Blue Hawai-Tai by Kevin Crossman
1 oz Lemon Juice
½ oz Orgeat
½ oz Simple Syrup
½ oz Blue Curacao
1 oz White Overproof Jamaican Rum
½ oz Aged White Rum

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with crushed ice. Shake and dump into a small snifter glass. Garnish with Mint and tropical fruit.

Blue Mai Tai

I did a revised version of my Blue Hawai-Tai cocktail for a Mai Tai contest at a party this weekend. I thought I’d emulate the Mai Tai Festival they do every (non-COVID) year in Kona, where the winning Mai Tai never looks like a 1944. Always something new, different, or fancy. So I did a “more of a Mai Tai” version of the Blue Hawai-Tai by adding Lime juice and only using Orgeat as the sweetener. No fancy foam topping, though.

Blue Mai Tai
½ oz Lime Juice
½ oz Lemon Juice
1 oz Latitude 29 Orgeat
½ oz Giffard Blue Curacao
1½ oz Rum Fire Overproof Jamaican Rum
½ oz Probitas light rum
Garnish with Mint

I came in second in the contest. The winning entry was quite delicious in a more traditional format with Denizen Merchant’s Reserve and Plantation Dark. So, I can’t fault the judges at all. It was great. But, I do know a few of the judges really liked this version, so that was pretty satisfying.

Blue Monday?

Have you got a case of the Mondays? Improve your spirit on #MaiTaiMonday by making a Blue Hawai-Tai, the love child of the Mai Tai and the Blue Hawaii cocktails.

Blue Hawai-Tai by Kevin Crossman
1 oz Lemon Juice
½ oz Orgeat
½ oz Simple Syrup
½ oz Blue Curacao
1 oz White Overproof Jamaican (Rum Fire)
½ oz Aged White Rum (Probitas)

Home Bartender: Blue-Hawai-Tai

The Blue Hawaii and the Mai Tai had a baby, and it’s delicious.

Blue Hawai-Tai by Kevin Crossman
1 oz Lemon Juice
1 oz White Overproof Jamaican Rum (Rum-Bar Overproof)
½ oz Aged White Rum (Probitas)
½ oz Orgeat (Liquid Alchemist)
½ oz Simple Syrup
½ oz Blue Curacao (Giffard)