The Blue Hawaii cocktail is usually not my jam, especially when it has a ton of pineapple juice and only uses vodka.
But I thoroughly enjoyed this Infinite Coastline at Forbidden Island the other day. The Blue Curaçao liqueur was forward in the cocktail and the light rum was a very nice accent. Best Blue Hawaii I’ve had in… maybe ever.
You can also order this with Rum Fire Overproof Jamaica Rum, which is 63% ABV and totally delicious. That version is $2 more and I’m sure is the quintessential version. I would have done this except I’d already had another cocktail and was driving.
Be sure to check out the Infinite Coastline the next time you’re at Forbidden Island.
Mrs. Mai Tai suggested trying this speakeasy cocktail bar again, so we were pleased to score a last-minute reservation right for opening. The Blind Rabbit is located in the Anaheim Packing District venue, and seems to have relaxed a lot of the “rules” that previously were enforced. We had a lot of delays getting our Lyft and were stressed we might miss the 15 minute grace period.
In the end, we arrived right on time to find … ourselves as the only customers inside the bar! As such our server was quite attentive, even after other guests started to arrive. The hostess kept a tight ship, shooing out some guests who walked right into the bar without first checking in.
The Blind Rabbit’s menu is fairly small and features some cocktails with ingredients such as Mezcal that aren’t in my wheelhouse. While I know that the staff can go off-menu, we do like to try from the cocktail menu.
Icy Colors Change – Gin, Elderflower, Lemon, Pomegranate. I enjoyed this light cocktail, though my light did not change.
Ardbeg Your Pardon – I’m not a fan of peated Scotch, so I asked the server about this cocktail with Ardbeg Scotch, Rye, and spiced syrups. Ardbeg is indeed peated, but I took and chance and found that it didn’t overpower thanks to the Rye.
For my last drink I did go off menu to ask for a Rum Old Fashioned with Jamaica Rum. The bartender prepared this wonderfully and it’s always wonderful to savor my favorite style of rum.
Mrs. Mai Tai enjoyed a Zombie variant called Happier than Ever and served in a cool Viking skull mug. She also got an off-menu cocktail the server recommended for its similarity to a Pacific Cooler Capri Sun.
Icy Colors ChangeHappier than EverArdbeg Your Problem
After drinks, we ate dinner at The Iron Press upstairs where we had absolutely fabulous Pretzel Bites and a Simple Burger. So great.
The social media accounts for Appleton Rum in the U.S. and U.K. went live today with a teaser about the “legend” returning, with a subtle “17” as part of the design. We did see May 17 being mentioned earlier today.
This is surely a reference to the Appleton 17 Legend Jamaican Rum that had a label approved by the TTB nearly a year ago.
The label says this limited edition rum expression is intended as a “re-creation of the legendary rum crafted by J. Wray & Nephew in the 1940s” that “inspired the bartending world.” There isn’t a specific mention of Trader Vic Bergeron or his most famous creation, the 1944 Mai Tai, but this certainly is intended to make you think of the legendary Wray & Nephew 17 that was the first rum using in Vic’s Mai Tai.
Was feeling like I hadn’t had a rich and funky Mai Tai in a while, so I pulled out this wonderful bottle of Doctor Bird Jamaica Rum. This is the special Madeira cask release that was put out in conjunction with Bitters and Bottles a couple years ago, and I prefer this to the standard-issue Doctor Bird that’s finished in Moscatel casks. It is also issued at a hearty 59.2% ABV.
The result was a very chewy Mai Tai that tasted fantastic. Totally savory to have funky rum like this delivered in the Mai Tai format, where some of the rough edges are minimized.
I’m even getting a little fresh mint from a nascent planting in the backyard.
Glassware is obviously inspired by the rum. It’s an opening day B-Rex design for Dr. Funk San Jose. It would be great if the good doctor would do more of these, just saying.
Felt like making it a little extra spicy tonight, so did a riff between two favorites. This was quite nice, without overpowering sweetness or spice.
1½ oz Lemon Juice 1 oz Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Concentrate Syrup ⅓ oz Don’s Spices #2 (50/50 Vanilla Syrup/Pimento Dram) 3 oz Jamaican Rum Blend (courtesy Andy from @easytikidrinks) 4 dashes Angostura Bitters
I love this Trader Vic’s Pilsner glass for tall drinks like this. Looks great with the classic logo treatment. We’ll see if the Mai Tai Planters Punch ever gets famous.
There were some discussions of this cocktail online this week and so I took at run at it. I tweaked the original recipe by lowering the Green Chartreuse a little and definitely going for a heavy pour of John D. Taylor Falernnum that is not as bold as the Falernum syrup used in the original version of the cocktail.
¾ oz Lime Juice ¾ oz John D. Taylor Falernum (heavy pour) ½ oz Green Chartreuse 1 oz Wray & Nephew Overproof Jamaica Rum Shake with ice cubes and strain
This was just right for me. Enough of the Chartreuse to taste, but not enough to overwhelm. But it works very nicely with the bold Wray & Nephew rum.
A little remix that I gave half a thought to and tried. I subbed half the simple syrup for Ogreat in a Planters Punch to … okay results. It tasted like a Planters Punch, and the funky Jamaican rums at 45-46% ABV gave this a nice punch. But it needs something else or maybe different proportions to be excellent.
Planters Punch
1 oz Lime Juice
½ oz Simple Syrup
½ oz Orgeat (Latitude 29)
1½ oz Hampden Estate Single Jamaican Rum
1½ oz Worthy Park Single Estate Reserve
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
