Tag: Christmas

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Tonga Hut Palm Springs for the Holidays

We had a nice visit to Tonga Hut in downtown Palm Springs, decorated nicely for the holidays including some festive music and holiday cocktail list. We were able to get a table in the lounge portion of the venue and were able to admire activity within the space that continues to be a great option for tiki veterans and newbies alike.

The cocktail menu has something for everyone and our cocktails were pretty good. I went with the Mojave Punch, which remains one of my favorites from their original cocktail list and features hibiscus syrup. Mrs Mai Tai ordered the Chai Tai which has a delightful Chai syrup and is very well-balanced with a great color as part of the presentation. I also ordered some chicken skewers that were well prepared and were served with a tangy glaze sauce.

Our service was super prompt and friendly, including a great job dealing with a mixup on my order (mutual issue with me and the server). We also spotted the replica Tiki Bob mugs for sale and found that they had a few of these left, so I took one of them home.

Chai Tai
Mojave Punch
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BAH RUMBUG!!

Another banger from San Francisco mixologist Nathan Robinson, this is sort of a “Planters Grog” riff that includes some bold flavors and a little maple syrup to keep things warm and seasonal.

This is quite good, if you have the Liquid Alchemist Falernum like I do. If you don’t have Liquid Alchemist I’d suggest using your own Falernum at half an ounce in combination with a quarter ounce of Allspice Dram as this will more closely approximate the flavor. And if you use a little extra Maple Syrup I wouldn’t discourage you from doing so.

Bah Rumbug by Nathan Robinson
1 oz Lime Juice
1 oz Red Grapefruit Juice
¾ oz Bold Falernum (pref. Liquid Alchemist)
½ oz Maple Syrup
1½ oz Demerara Rum (pref. Hamilton 86)
1 oz Black Blended Jamaica Rum (pref. Coruba)
Shake with crushed ice and pour into tall Zombie or Pilsner glass. Garnish with mint, if you have it.

Mele Kalikimaka and Merry Christmas

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The Best Sippin’ Santa Cocktails This Season are at 55 South in San Jose

Mrs. Mai Tai and I were in downtown San Jose for a show and stopped by 55 South for dinner and drinks. This is the fourth year that 55 South is participating in the Sippin’ Santa popup, and we’re still not sick of holiday bars so this seemed like the natural place to be.

Sippin’ Santa Cocktail

Having visited two other Sippin’ Santa locations this year we were both extremely impressed by the quality and taste of the four cocktails we tried, each of which exceeded our expectations and compared better to the other sites. For example, my Sugar Plum Mai Tai was not overly sweet and had a truly delightful mouthfeel and long finish, so much that it was by far my favorite holiday Mai Tai this season.

I finally tried the Sippin’ Santa cocktail this year, the longstanding menu entry with aged Demerara rum, Amaro, citrus, and gingerbread mix. This had just the right amount of holiday spice flavors and remained balanced as I drank the cocktail. The Choquito also had a great balance of flavors and didn’t have any of the syrupy coconut consistency you sometimes find with a Coquito, nor did it lean too much in a chocolate direction from the Créme de Cacao. Mrs. Mai Tai’s Holiday on Ice was another standout, featuring creamy coffee flavors.

Our food and service were great at 55 South, consistent with previous visits. We arrived around 4:45 pm and the place was festively abuzz thanks to two work groups having holiday parties, so the atmosphere was delightful. Sippin’ Santa runs through New Year’s Eve at 55 South.

Choquito
Holiday on Ice
Sugar Plum Mai Tai
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Forbidden Island Mug Swap

We had a great time for the annual tiki mug swap at Forbidden Island last night. Thanks to Chad for organizing and hosting this, we put our wrapped mugs into the pile and ended up with some new ones. Mrs Mai Tai really loved hers, and while I thought the mini bowl was nice I was thankful for a trade.

There’s a nice holiday cocktail menu and Mrs Mai Tai loved the Tropical Hot Coder. Meanwhile I drank a couple rums from the rum list and gladly accepted the suggestion for a premium Mai Tai made with Monymusk 10 yr Jamaica rum. Very good Mai Tai with additional depth.

Lots of good cheer in Alameda.

Mug Draw
Traded Mug
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Dr Funk’s The Grinch Takeover

After a successful Beetlejuice overlay for Halloween, Dr. Funk has a Grinch theme for Christmas. The big guy is there to welcome you and there are fun thematic elements sprinkled about. Not quite as much of a “Christmas explosion” as some of the Miracle/Sippin’ Santa pop-up locations for better or worse, but it is nice that you can still this is a tiki bar.

We attended the Third Anniversary event that included an official launch of Dr Funk’s nice mug and a fantastic bundle with their formidable Grog that we think is a fantastic version of a Navy Grog. They were also doing a raffle to support Family Giving Tree, plus DJ Ship Rex spinning tunes. Lots of fun and nice to see the venue embracing a little bit of history and building traditions.

The special Grinch cocktail menu is overall a lot better than the one for Beetlejuice. The Mean One is similar to the aforementioned Grog and the wonderfully creamy and decadent Whobilation Libation features chocolate notes from the Kōloa Kauaʻi Cacao rum and dark chocolate coconut cream. The Cindy Lou-Apple has several overproof rums and it leans lighter than you might expect because the spirit focus is from the Laird’s Apple Brandy, nonetheless there’s still plenty of flavor and this should be really appealing to the diverse downtown San Jose audience.

Cindy Lou-Apple

While you’re in downtown you can also check out Nuvo Hospitality’s other bars for more festive holiday pop-ups. O’Flaherty’s Irish Pub next door to Dr. Funk is themed to Home Alone and Five Points around the corner is doing everyone’s favorite Christmas movie – Die Hard.

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Different Sugar Plum Mai Tai at Kona’s Street Market

We popped into downtown San Francisco’s Kona’s Street Market to check out their Sippin’ Santa pop-up. We saw that the menu options were the same as our Sippin’ visit to Beer Baron, but the bartender mentioned that their rum blends were different due to availability reasons.

So, I tried the Sugar Plum Mai Tai and found this one to be significantly different. Much sweeter and forward with the plum mix, so much so that it didn’t really remind me of a Mai Tai. Which isn’t to say this one was worse, in fact I could see this one being favored by a lot of customers who might like a cocktail that isn’t as spirit-forward. They say the cocktails for these pop-ups vary by location a little, even within the same state, and this was most definitely true for Mrs. Mai Tai who found the Frosty the Merman cocktail to have a lot more flavor.

Each of these Miracle/Sippin’ Santa locations sets their own prices for the drinks and merch. Kona’s cocktails were understandably around $3 more than Beer Baron in Pleasanton, and their mugs were $20 more as well, though some of the glassware items were less expensive. Your mileage may vary.

We really enjoyed our visit to Kona’s Street Market, where the bar staff were super friendly and the decor was appropriately elaborate.

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Miracle Holiday Pop-Up at The Fat Pigeon Livermore

We visited downtown Livermore for a visit to the Miracle holiday cocktail pop-up at The Fat Pigeon. In the year since they opened, the Fat Pigeon has hosted themed pop ups related to the Golden Girls and a witch theme for Halloween, and now Miracle for a second time. The small venue does have a heated tent outside that’s reasonably decorated for the holidays but inside is warmer and more elaborately themed.

The cocktail list for Miracle varies a little from bar to bar, but I stuck with one the cornerstone offerings, the Christmapolitan. Made with vodka, elderflower, dry vermouth, spiced cranberry sauce, lime, and absinthe mist, with a rosemary garnish, the blend of flavors and spices elevates this cocktail and I have to get it at least once per season. I also tried the “Nice Shot” which is rye whiskey and gingerbread syrup, quite nice and thematically on point.

The Fat Pigeon does offer some appetizers and shared plates, though we didn’t partake this time. We like the vibe and service here, plus there’s plenty to do in downtown Livermore before or after if you want to make an evening out of it.