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.
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.
Mrs. Mai Tai and I had a great time at the second and half annual Tiki in Waikiki weekender this past weekend. This was our first time at the event, which is produced by Angelina Khan and Noa Laporga of Skull & Crown Trading Co. fame. There were quite a few volunteers who helped with the event, including Adrian Eustaquio who served as MC for most of the events. Sylvia Flores was also omnipresent and also gave us some great tips for things to do in the city.
Friday recap: opening ceremony and tiki vendors at the International Market Place, followed by delicious cocktails from Skull & Crown in the Don the Beachcomber treehouse. First time in decades to have exotic drinks in the treehouse! There was an off-premise event in Chinatown, but we enjoyed the room party thrown by Michael and Holly at the host hotel White Sands.
Saturday recap: fab seminars from Adrian covering the Tiki Ti and Martin Cate’s about Hawaiian tourism, followed by a pool party at the White Sands. Then a bus ride up to Kō Hana rum distillery for a tour and a luau party. We enjoyed the Hawaiian food and especially the musical acts including Thomas Mackay and Vibra Cubana. But we were truly impressed by local favorite Starr Kalahiki who’s really a fabulous singer and entertainer.
Kō Hana rum distillery
Sunday recap: truly incredible seminar from DeSoto Brown, then bartender competition in the International Market Place courtyard. We then were bussed to a theater to see a test screening of the Donn of Tiki documentary. We thought this film about Don the Beachcomber was outstanding. Then we finished the evening with another catered evening in the patio behind Skull & Crown including cocktails from Skull & Crown and also Doc Parks. Sunday also featured a silent auction to raise money for Maui, organized by Chase Samson. I won the tickets to Tiki Oasis 2024!
What a magical weekend! Thanks again to Noa, Angelina, and all the support team.
Treehouse CocktailsPool Party at the White Sands HotelDoc ParksAngelina and Noa from Skull & Crown
First stop after landing in Waikiki was the Mai Tai bar at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel for a cocktail and some eye candy. We love the tables at the edge of this bar that are adjacent to the beach with great views of Diamond Head.
Ali’i Mai Tai and Royal Mai Tai
The Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai remains a competent island-style Mai Tai, with Pineapple and Orange Juice but also with real Orgeat and Orange Curacao. Mrs. Mai Tai enjoyed the Pink Palace, which is a Pina Colada with Grenadine added for color.
We have less positive things to say about the $40 Ali’i Mai Tai, which features Kō Hana Koho barrel aged rum, El Dorado 15, Ferrand Dry Curacao, orgeat, and fresh lime. Sounds good? There’s also “freshly muddled pineapple” which to my taste didn’t seem that fresh, along with a generous toping of Coco-Loco foam. The fruity topping tastes good on its own but doesn’t really work with the rest of the cocktail, and then completely overpowers the flavor once it gets incorporated into the cocktail. The color and notably also implies a great deal of pineapple juice, otherwise the two aged rums would turn this darker. I couldn’t really taste the rums in this, poor since it is supposed to feature them considering the price.
So, word of advice – skip the $40 Mai Tai and just go with the standard. There’s plenty of to enjoy here, including live musicians playing most days. Seating is open, so keep a look out for the tables right next to the beach.
This recipe comes from a 1997 Honolulu Star-Bulletin article, and curiously doesn’t include any Pineapple Juice.
1990s Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai 5 oz Mai Tai Mix 1 oz White Rum 1 oz Myers’s Dark Rum Fill glass with ice, add mix and rums
Mai Tai Mix 10 oz Orange Juice 4 oz Orange Curacao 2 oz Orgeat 2 oz Rock Candy Syrup 2 oz Sour Lemon Combine all ingredients and add water to make 1 quart
This complex and large format Mai Tai Mix likely isn’t particularly approachable for the home bartender, though if a math wiz wants to scale this down for individual serving size we’ll gladly attribute your effort.
Update: our friend Cory Schoolland did the math and while the exact amounts for some of these are technically a bit higher or lower than indicated this is very close without having to measure in single milliliters.
Mai Tai Mix (single use) 1½ oz Orange Juice ⅔ oz Orange Curacao ⅓ oz Orgeat ⅓ oz Rock Candy Syrup ⅓ oz Sour Lemon Juice 1¾ oz Water
This special release of an aged Kō Hana rum from O’ahu comes via a partnership with our friends at Skull & Crown Trading Company and their Dagger Club. Issued at a fab 61% ABV, you’re going to taste every bit of the Pakaweli sugarcane spirit aged 2 years and 7 months in the barrel (second use American Oak, char level 2). It’s delicious stuff, with some very fine spice notes.
Aged rums from Kō Hana don’t come around every day and come in a 375 ml bottle at a premium price. Sometimes you have to splurge.
If you’re a Honolulu local, you can get pours at Skull & Crown Trading Company, one of the best tiki bars on planet Earth, and also at Smuggler’s Cove in San Francisco. Don’t procrastinate, though, these won’t last long.
Bottles are available for purchase for a limited time through a secret link to Kō Hana’s website. DM @skullandcrowntradingco for the link.
The iconic Mai Tai at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki was introduced by Trader Vic Bergeron in 1953. During the 1950s the reputation for this cocktail built such a following that it was described as the “top tourist tantalizer” in 1959. This original Hawaiian Mai Tai was similar to the original, notably switching from long-aged Jamaica rums to a blend of Light Puerto Rican and Dark Jamaican rums – and no added pineapple or orange juice!
But the Mai Tai you get today at the Royal Hawaiian differs considerably, since it uses the pineapple juice and orange juice commonly seen in modern Island-style Mai Tais.
Mai Tais being served at the Royal Hawaiian, June 2022
1956 Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai
The earliest known recipe for the Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai comes via a letter written to a customer by Trader Vic himself. This is still substantially similar to the original 1944 recipe, though with different proportion of sweeteners and notably using both a Dark Jamaican rum and also a light rum. It is light and refreshing and a good dark Jamaican rum does punch through in this recipe. Try Worthy Park 109.
1956 Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai Juice of One Lime Dash of Rock Candy Syrup Dash of Curacao Dash of Orgeat 1½ ounces Trader Vic’s Puerto Rican Rum ¾ ounce Myers’s Plantation Punch Rum Stir and decorate with fresh mint
This style of original Hawaiian Mai Tai was commonly seen during the 1960s and beyond. It is noteworthy to note that Trader Vic never added pineapple juice to a Mai Tai.
1972 Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai – Classic Recipe
The use of Pineapple Juice became common in Mai Tais in Hawaii starting in the 1960s, but The Royal Hawaiian seems to be a late convert. There’s a published recipe from their sister hotel The Moana Surfrider in 1968 that’s substantially similar to the 1956 version. However, there must have been pressure to include Pineapple Juice from many tourists.
This recipe comes from Drinks of Hawaii, 2nd Ed. 1972, by Paul B. Dick. The entry describes this is “now being used by the Sheraton” implying a recent change. The recipe included in the book did not specify an exact amount of Pineapple or Orange Juice except to say that they should be used in equal parts. The recipe is notable in that it describes using 3 ounces of rum, including two flavorful dark rums. But a rum float is not specified.
This recipe was later used in many books by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry, who designated 1 oz each for the Pineapple and Orange Juice. This seems like the correct choice, keeping the balance with the other ingredients.
1972 Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai ½ oz Lime Juice ¼ oz Lemon Juice 1 oz Orange Juice 1 oz unsweetened Pineapple Juice ¼ oz Sugar Syrup ¼ oz Orgeat ¼ oz Orange Curacao 1 oz Demerara Rum 1 oz Dark Jamaican Rum 1 oz Light Rum
1990s – No Pineapple Juice
This recipe comes from a 1997 Honolulu Star-Bulletin article, and curiously doesn’t include any Pineapple Juice.
1990s Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai 5 oz Mai Tai Mix 1 oz White Rum 1 oz Myers’s Dark Rum Fill glass with ice, add mix and rums
Mai Tai Mix 10 oz Orange Juice 4 oz Orange Curacao 2 oz Orgeat 2 oz Rock Candy Syrup 2 oz Sour Lemon Combine all ingredients and add water to make 1 quart
Mai Tai Mix (single use) 1½ oz Orange Juice ⅔ oz Orange Curacao ⅓ oz Orgeat ⅓ oz Rock Candy Syrup ⅓ oz Sour Lemon Juice 1¾ oz Water
2010s Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai: Headscratcher
This devolved “secret recipe” was published on the Royal Hawaiian’s website, and includes some curious ingredients. The use of almond-flavored Amaretto liqueur in place of Orgeat syrup is sadly not uncommon in Mai Tais. Amaretto is fine elsewhere but doesn’t add the right flavors or body to the cocktail like Orgeat does. The use of Cherry Vanilla Puree, even in a small amount, is also a noteworthy head-scratcher.
2010s Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai Build in shaker with ice: 1 oz Bacardi Rum 1 tsp Cherry Vanilla Puree ½ oz Amaretto di Saronno ½ oz Cointreau 1 oz Fresh Govinda Orange Juice 2 oz Fresh Govinda Pineapple Juice ½ oz Whaler’s Dark Rum Float
Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai, 2019
2022 Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai Returns to Normalcy
In mid-2022, the Royal Hawaiian updated their website to include this updated “secret recipe” and thankfully it’s much more of a standard Island Mai Tai. It is nice to see Orgeat coming back, though I don’t find Old Lahaina rum to be particularly good. Nonetheless, I did very much enjoy the cocktail in June 2022 when I sat looking out at Diamond Head.
2022 Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai 2 oz Pineapple Juice 1 oz Orange Juice ½ oz Orgeat ½ oz Orange Curacao 1 oz Old Lahaina Light Rum 1 oz Old Lahaina Dark Rum (float) Shake all ingredients except the Dark Rum with ice. Pour in a large “bucket” glass. Float the Dark Rum, garnish with a parasol with cherry, pineapple and lime wedge.
