Dropped by Dr. Funk on Monday before the Surfrajettes show for dinner and some cocktails. Aside from continued “product testing” of Dr. Funk’s still awesome Mai Tai, I tried the Jamaican Highball this time.
More than just a “Wray and Ting”, the Jamaican Highball features Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum, lime, turbinado, grapefruit soda, and Bitter Truth Grapefruit Bitters. Those additional ingredients and flavors help to enhance the the rum and soda base. I was looking for a slightly lower ABV and asked for Rum-Bar Silver to sub for the Wray. This still provided that classic unaged Jamaican rum flavor and worked great in this cocktail.
Was pleasantly surprised to hear about the new menu release at Charlotte’s Royal Tot tiki bar, where they’ve added the Ultimate Mai Tai to their menu. This is the first bar to feature my Ultimate Mai Tai blend on the regular menu, beating Tiki Tom’s which announced it was coming but hasn’t yet released their new menu.
Sharp eyes will note a subtle sub from my published recipe. Royal Tot is subbing Clement Creole Shrubb for Ferrand Dry Curacao, a swap I do all the time at home. I should probably indicate that either orange liqueur is preferred. But otherwise, they’re using my Ultimate Mai Tai Rum Blend, Plantation Xaymaca, Plantation OFTD, Appleton (12) Rare Casks, and Smith & Cross.
I’d be interested to see how well this sells. Given the limited supply of all three Jamaican rums in this blend, the $30 price doesn’t seem so bad. If you’re in the area, give it a try and let us know how it tastes.
Step one is to pour the rum and then try it. And then step two is to drink some lager. And then step three is some more of the Worthy Park 109. And then step four is to repeat steps two and three.
Its fantastic. Worthy Park 109 is such s flavorful and approachable rum, even at 54.5 ABV. And if it is a little extra boozy, there doesn’t seem to be a downside.
The Kon-Tiki was rocking pretty great tonight thanks to Arminder himself, many of the Oakhana regulars, great food and drinks, and an outstanding surf playlist.
Congrats to @coldbrew429 for completing the rum list at The Kon-Tiki. Mike says it took less than a year which is quite an achievement. As is the tradition, there was a special cocktail list tonight in Mike’s honor.
The Kon-Tiki was in fine form tonight and Mrs. Mai Tai and I decided Friday Eve was a perfect time for cocktails and the world famous Kon-Tiki Burger. Just outstanding, and a great eclectic mix of music that spanned Yacht Rock but also 1970s funk, David Bowie deep cuts, and even a little vintage Gary Human. When that vintage music is playing, there aren’t better places than The Kon-Tiki.
I also decided to start a new Expedition rum list. We’ll see how long it takes to complete 100 rums; I’m certainly not going to push too hard to complete it in less than a year like I did last time – but you never know. The Kon-Tiki has a pretty nice selection of rum, so there are plenty that I haven’t had the pleasure of tasting.
The rums tonight were good spirts to start the exploration; the Saint Benevolence Aged Rum Clairin that I raved about the other day was absolutely fabulous as a Mai Tai at Kon-Tiki. The Worthy Park Port Cask expression was less of a hit for me, and you could absolutely taste the port cask influence even in a Mai Tai. It muted the Worthy Park taste that I love, without adding something that elevated the spirt. I’m glad I tried it but probably won’t revisit.
The Ultimate Mai Tai Special: Mai Tai and a Kon-Tiki Burger
So many times we end up at a bar or restaurant that has a pretty good selection of cocktails but nothing really using rum. Such was the case on our San Diego trip where we ate at the hotel’s restaurant a couple times. The food was nominally Mexican, so of course they had a pretty nice selection of tequila and a variety of Margaritas on the menu.
The problem, of course, is that I don’t always love tequila. And I’ve learned that even if they have lime juice, simple syrup, and rum that asking for a Daiquiri will usually lead to disappointment. So, I asked for a rum-riff on one of the cocktails on their menu.
I ordered a Cadillac Margarita with the tequila replaced with their best rum, Myers’s Dark Jamaican Rum. This “Cadillac Daiquiri” was actually pretty good. The added complexity with Grand Mariner being used did make this into a pretty reasonable tropical cocktail.
I had picked up the Appleton Hearts 1995 early this year and found it to be amazing, aged 25 years in Jamaica and 100% pot still with 1400 g/100 LAA congeners. Simply fantastic, but all the bottles have long since been sold out locally.
I went on the hunt and found a 1999 still for sale online. I’d heard it was lighter than the ’95 and it certainly is so, though 855 g/100 LAA congeners is still far higher than most rums. I’m glad I picked it up, as it does impart a little more of the traditional Appleton flavor than ’95’s flavor bomb.
But, needless to say those 585 extra congeners are put to good use in the ’95, which remains one of my favorite rums ever.
And the story ends with a bit of a surprise. I was scanning local retailers for former “daily drinker” pick Appleton 12 (impossible to believe it is in short supply, but here we are in 2022). And while searching for “Appleton” at local chain K&L Wine Merchants I found a bottle of Appleton Hearts 1995 for sale! And for a price lower than when these were new last year. So, I could not resist snapping it up. These vintage pot still Appleton rums aren’t coming back.
Since Tiki Tom’s let the cat out of the bag on their Instagram Story, we can confirm it is true. Our “Ultimate Mai Tai” recipe is going to be used as a premium Mai Tai on the forthcoming new cocktail menu at Tiki Tom’s in Walnut Creek.
We get a kick anytime someone makes a Mai Tai with our Ultimate Mai Tai Rum Blend, a boozy combination of four heavy rums mostly from Jamaica. So it is our honor and pleasure that Tiki Tom’s is interested in trying this for their new menu. And it is not without some significant challenges most notably the limited availability of Appleton 12 rum.
There are some other interesting things coming to the new cocktail menu so be sure to stay tuned to their social media for updates.
Ultimate Mai Tai by Kevin Crossman 1 oz Lime Juice ½ oz Orgeat (Latitude 29) ¼ oz Demerara Syrup (BG Reynolds) ½ oz Orange Curacao (Ferrand Dry Curacao) ½ oz Appleton 12 Jamaica Rum ½ oz Smith & Cross Jamaica Rum ½ oz Plantation OFTD Rum ½ oz Plantation Xaymaca Jamaican Rum Garnish with Mint Sprig and spent Lime shell
