Tag: Hawaii

Posted on

Return to the Tipsy Tiki at International Market Place

Tipsy Tiki is the bar located in the food court at the International Market Place, previously known as Myna Bird. When we visited last year we appreciated that while this location was connected to the nearby La Pina Cantina there was also a separate list of tropical drinks under the Tipsy Tiki moniker. We enjoyed the Hawaiian-style Tipsy Tiki Mai Tai made by the bartender last year.

This year the Tipsy Tiki-specific menu has gone away, so when you ask for a cocktail menu it’s a Margarita-heavy menu for La Pina. There isn’t even a Mai Tai on the menu, which seems shocking given the still-present Tipsy Tiki signage.

Nonetheless, I’m pleased to report that my friendly bartender was easily able to make a Mai Tai and even went to extra effort to procure an orchid for garnish. It was an entirely serviceable Mai Tai that tasted just fine.

While a food court tiki bar doesn’t really scratch the itch of the hardcore tikiphile, there are far worse “tiki” experiences in Waikiki than this one (hello Cuckoo Coconuts!). I like the tiki touches here and did find the service to be very good. Plus my 11:00 am Mai Tai wasn’t half bad.

Posted on

Heyday at White Sands Hotel

The White Sands Hotel was the host hotel for the Tiki in Waikiki weekend event, a refurbished historical hotel with plenty of midcentury design goodness. We chose not to stay there because we wanted someplace more modern and larger, but we spent plenty of time there. We thank Mike and Holly for hosting a fun room party with great drinks on the Friday evening as well as during the Saturday pool party.

Heyday is a round bar in the middle of the White Sands grounds, adjacent to the pool. Food is available after 3:00. A notable feature are the swings that serve as barstools for most of the circumference of the bar. They look great, but are practically not as fun as you’d think – and they make it hard to get to your drinks. They have a good selection of spirits and had a special on Real McCoy 12. The bar has a varied menu with some inspired recipes. The common use of free-pouring most of the ingredients means this isn’t quite as “craft” as maybe they aspire to, though both Mai Tais I had here were well-balanced.

the backside of Heyday

The Mai’i Tai is a riff featuring tea-infused rum, aged Kō Hana Hawaiian rum, orange and lime juice, and orgeat. This didn’t blow me away but I thought it was worthwhile and nicely leaned a little light which seemed to hit the spot around the pool. And there was plenty of booze, too.

The 1944 Mai Tai features aged Jamaican rum, Hawaiian rum, and Martinique agricole, plus Dry Curacao, orgeat, and lime. This is a formidable Mai Tai with a great blend of rums, worth seeking out the next time you’re in Waikiki. Heyday also offers a Beachside Mai Tai with pineapple juice and a Cool Kid Mai Tai featuring Campari.

White Sands has another bar with a camouflaged entrance called the Green Lady Cocktail Room. “Ask for Room 8.” We poked our head in and this small space was packed and had a cool vibe inside. Hard to beat the relaxed ambiance of the poolside bar Heyday, though.

Hanging at Heyday with Bob and Ashley
Mai’i Tai
1944 Mai Tai
Doc Parks and Michel von Schiltach
Heyday at end of the pool
Posted on

Hau Tree Lanai Brunch at Kaimana Beach Hotel

Years ago I visited the Kaimana Hotel located in the shadow of Diamond Head. Those visits were to see lunchtime solo performances by the legendary Arthur Lyman. He’d roll in, plug in the vibraphone and then play for a couple hours. Always the gentleman, Lyman would play his famous songs such as “Taboo” and “Yellow Bird” before asking for requests for those in attendance. It was such a pleasure to see Lyman play before his passing.

For this year’s O’ahu trip I wanted to return to the Kaimana hotel, so we jetted over for brunch at the Hau Tree Lanai. This is a wonderful location in the morning, since the patio is situated in shade and we were just feet away from the lapping waves. We were seated right next to the Hau Tree itself.

Brunch was fantastic, led by some Ube Cinnamon Buns that were to die for. Mrs. Mai Tai had a Mango Mimosa and I tried the Mai Tai that I remembered as being better than average from my visits years ago. The 1944 Mai Tai is made with Appleton and Kuleana rums, but I found this to be a little flat. Not really bad, but it didn’t hit me like I expected. As noted in a previous post I same reaction at some other places so it might have just been me.

As we ate, we noticed part of the beach being closed off but we couldn’t see exactly why. When we finished we walked out onto the beach to see a Hawaiian Monk Seal taking a siesta on the beach. Nice to see the folks keeping everyone away from the seal.

We really enjoyed our visit to the Hau Tree Lanai, a place we find very special. It’s pretty far off from the main drag of Waikiki but we felt the travel was totally worth it.

1944 Mai Tai
Arthur Lyman playing in 1999
Posted on

Skull & Crown Trading Co. – Hawaii’s Best Tiki Bar

During the Tiki in Waikiki weekend we visited Skull & Crown Trading Co. a couple times, including one visit with the standard service and one that was connected to the event’s Sunday luau featuring food stations and multiple cocktail bars.

We enjoy our visits and the excellent cocktails at Skull & Crown. The numerous historical items including several vintage tikis means this feels like a business that’s been in Honolulu’s Chinatown for a hundred years and somehow survived. We didn’t love the Moose and Deer head mounts since they didn’t really fit the theme, though we were told they would be going away. Service is always a strength here, and was again for us on both visits.

Our first visit this trip took place the night when we arrived and we were feeling the jetlag by the evening (or perhaps the day’s earlier cocktails). I ordered the Maunakea Mai Tai which is Skull & Crown’s traditional 1944-style Mai Tai, but the flavors weren’t as bold and complex as I remembered. This was the same reaction I had for a couple Mai Tais the earlier that day and the day after, so it might have just me that day. I normally find this Mai Tai with Appleton Estate 12, Clement Select Barrel, and Smith & Cross to be fantastic.

A couple nights later I tried the Firecracker, made with Tanduay Especia Spiced Rum, Select Aperitif, Fresh Tangerine, Peach, Li Hing, Chili Pepper Tincture, Lemon, and Orgeat. I asked for the chili pepper to be dialed down since I am sensitive and it tasted just fine for me. I liked this cocktail. The Poe Poe we tried at the luau event featured Kō Hana Kea, Ube Syrup, Coconut, and Lemon. This pretty purple cocktail was not as heavy as something like Pina Colada or Painkiller, which might be a plus or minus depending on the customer. I thought it was pretty good.

Skull & Crown is a gem of a cocktail bar and is a must-visit for any tikiphile or craft cocktail aficionado.

Maunakea Mai Tai
Poe Poe
Posted on

House without a Key at Halekulani Hotel Waikiki

We wanted to revisit House without a Key, having been able to score walk-up seats the pool bar on our last trip but wanting to sit closer to the performances that start at 5:00. Our reservation was for 5:30 and we saw that “drinks only” guests were seated up front in the sun and many used the provided umbrellas to shade themselves. When we were seated for dinner, we opted to sit in the shade under covering.

The performers sing a variety of Hawaiian songs and at 6:00 a former Miss Hawaii comes out to dance. This is a very nice and relaxing locale and once you’re in shade a little is quite pleasant, so consider a slightly later reservation.

I ordered the Mai Tai, made to a 50s style Hawaiian Mai Tai spec (no pineapple) but with a dark rum float. I normally love these but found it to be flat this visit, and they’re probably still not using Lemon Hart 151 for the float, a rum that I think is essentially for adding a lot of flavor. It most definitely not Bacardi 151 per the menu, since Bacardi stopped making that years ago and for sure the float had more of a smoky flavor (I’m guessing it was Myers’s). We enjoyed the rest of our dinner and desert with the Halekulani’s famous coconut cake.

Posted on

Top Hawaiian Mai Tai at Don’s Treehouse in Waikiki

One of the highlights of Tiki in Waikiki was the Friday cocktail reception at the International Market Place‘s treehouse. This was set up as a tribute to Donn Beach, who envisioned the original market place back in the 1950s. A treehouse for two was a key feature back in those days, used by honeymooners and others who wanted a private dining experience. A. Private. Dining. Experience. You know…

We can thank our friends at Skull & Crown Trading Co. for setting up the cocktails being served in the treehouse for the first time in decades. There were a series of delicious options, including a very nice Zombie, but I was totally blown away by the Mai Tai on the menu.

The Banyan Mai Tai was made with Appleton Estate 12 rum, Kō Hana Kea rum, Smith & Cross rum, Dry Curacao, Lime, Orgeat, Demerara Syrup, and a topping of Angostura Bitters. Purists would say that bitters don’t belong in a Mai Tai, but I’m here to tell you that it was just fine to add them. With three rums amongst my favorites, this Mai Tai totally hit me perfectly. Especially considering the setting, too. Cocktails, in a treehouse under the banyan tree, what’s not to love? One of the top Mai Tais of 2023 and it will for sure make the yearly top 10 list.

Skull & Crown will be doing cocktails here on Fridays and Saturdays through the rest of the year, so if you’re in Waikiki be sure to check it out.

Banyan Mai Tai and Zombie
Cocktails at Don’s Treehouse
Posted on

Mai Tai Myths

Today is Mai Tai Day, celebrating the birth of the Mai Tai in 1944. It was the day selected when Oakland recognized the cocktail and declared Mai Tai Day in 2009.

To celebrate, here’s the series of Mai Tai Myths articles that ran last year. They provide historical perspective on the cocktail and sadly we continue to see misinformation being spread.

Mai Tai Myth: Hawaiian Mai Tais have Always had Pineapple Juice
First up is the myth that when Trader Vic introduced the Mai Tai to Hawaii in 1953 that it was created with pineapple juice. Pineapple juice is certainly the ingredient that changes a 1944 style Mai Tai to an “Island Mai Tai” and these are common in Hawaii and other tourist destinations. But pineapple juice wasn’t commonly used in Hawaiian Mai Tais until the 1960s.

Mai Tai Myth: Hawaiian Mai Tais have Always had Pineapple Juice

Mai Tai Myth: Nobody knew the Mai Tai Ingredients Until 1970
Trader Vic Bergeron issued a press release in 1970 describing how he original developed the Mai Tai and he also included the original recipe. We’ve seen speculation that this means that body knew what was actually in a Mai Tai. There are numerous 1950s-1960s published recipes in newspapers and books that provided Mai Tai recipes featuring the original ingredients: lime, rock candy syrup, orgeat, orange curaçao, and rum. This isn’t like the Zombie where nobody knew about Don’s Mix or even what was in it.

Mai Tai Myth: Nobody knew the Mai Tai Ingredients Until 1970

Mai Tai Myth: Trader Vic Kept the Recipe a Secret
While there was a great deal of secrecy around cocktail recipes at Don the Beachcomber locations, there was a different practice with Trader Vic’s. A customer wrote to Bergeron in 1956 requesting the recipe for the Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai and Trader Vic himself signed the letter sent back to the customer.

Mai Tai Myth: Trader Vic Kept the Recipe a Secret

Mai Tai Myth: The Mai Tai Created a Worldwide Rum Shortage
Trader Vic Bergeron stated “The success of the Mai Tai and its acceptance soon caused the 17-year-old rum to become unavailable, so it was substituted with the same fine rum with 15 years aging.” This is where the myth originates, with people doing a shorthand to say that “rum” had a shortage due to the Mai Tai.

Mai Tai Myth: The Mai Tai Created a Worldwide Rum Shortage

Mai Tai Myth: a 1944 Mai Tai Must be Made with Jamaican Rum
In this case we’re using the term “1944 Mai Tai” to mean a recipe along the lines or the original and to differentiate from an Island Mai Tai. Trader Vic’s themselves have recently had a 1944 Mai Tai on their menu using non-Jamaican rums. If using rums made outside of Jamaica is good enough for Trader Vic’s, it should be good enough for you. The Mai Tai does not have a geographical origin, like the Ti Punch or Daiquiri, so use whatever rum is your favorite.

Mai Tai Myth: a 1944 Mai Tai Must be Made with Jamaican Rum