Tag: Jamaicarum

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Great Appleton 17 Mai Tai at Kona Street Market

Buckle in for a roller coaster of an experience and note the unique set of circumstances.

I was in the City for a work event and met up with local raconteur Nathan Robinson for drinks at Kona’s Street Market downtown. After enjoying a Kona original called the Banana Stand we had a good rapport with bartender Jason and it wasn’t too busy, so I asked if he could make a 1944 Trader Vic’s Mai Tai using the Appleton 17 Legend rum that newly appeared on their top shelf after the previous bottle was drained a couple months ago.

Note that Kona is still selling this at the ridiculous price of $30 for a neat pour and only a few bucks more in Mai Tai format, making this an absolute bargain.

Jason made sure to check that we didn’t want the dark rum float that normally comes with their Mai Tai and measured everything carefully. But the initial taste was anything but legendary due to what can only be characterized as very bad lime juice. Nathan took a little swig, confirming to us that “the lime is off”. Jason offered to remake it and I him he didn’t have to but after consulting with another member of the team I saw him juicing a fresh lime and preparing another version of the cocktail.

Does the Legend still make a fabulous Mai Tai? Yes, it still does! That second Mai Tai was just how I remember it, a fantastic flavorful rum that is so present in the drink with an extraordinarily long finish so you can savor every sip.

We want to highlight the circumstances of a not-so-busy bar, ongoing conversation with the staff, and the obvious industry experience that Nathan’s questions and comments with the bartender demonstrated. Your mileage would vary if it was slammed or if you roll in to mansplain your way into ordering this off-menu cocktail. A really fantastic experience overall, thanks to Jason and the Kona team.

I left a very big tip.

Banana Stand
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Frozen Mai Tai at Bahama Breeze

After my conference in Redmond was over around Noon, I had a few hours to kill before heading to SeaTac airport for the trip home. After a few twists and turns I found myself in Tukwilla at the Westfield Southcenter, at which point I realized there was a Bahama Breeze restaurant in the back parking lot.

Entering Bahama Breeze was a tropical respite from the cold Seattle rain, and I found a table in the bar and free WiFi to actually do a little work before my flight. The place was pretty busy for a Friday afternoon with several large groups and a bunch of people meeting up in the bar as well.

Scanning the menu I spotted the Ultra Chill Mai Tai in the frozen section, featuring Appleton Signature rum, orgeat, pineapple, passion fruit, and lime juice – plus an Appleton floater. This seemed like an elevated version of what you might expect at a place like this and I’m pleased to report this frozen Mai Tai was pretty damn great. It tasted like a Mai Tai and there was plenty of booze in there, too. The Ultra Chill Mai Tai is highly recommended.

For a second drink I noticed they had Appleton Estate 8 on the list of premium rums, so I asked for their “Ultimate Margarita” but to sub the Appleton 8 for the tequila. The result was pretty close to a 1944 Mai Tai and plenty of flavor (should have asked no salt on the rim, though). The server was super fast and responsive and the island vibe inside was inspired.

It is too bad there aren’t any Bahama Breeze locations near me, but I’ll never skip this place on the way back to SeaTac.

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The Devil’s Reef Remains SEATAC’s Stellar Tiki Experience

The main draw for Mrs. Mai Tai’s inclusion on our Tacoma weekend was to finally visit Devil’s Reef, which she’d missed through a series of circumstances in the past. The tiki bar and restaurant remains a stellar representative of the genre, featuring a dark theme, superb music, and amazing cocktails.

Over the course of two evenings, we opened the bar and got to experience some amazing drinks. The cocktail program is the brainchild of co-owner Jason Alexander who was on hand overseeing the shift both nights. We were honored to receive a special Mai Tai prepared by Alexander himself featuring Rare Cane Jamaican Rum and perfectly balanced with some funky 68% ABV rum, shooting straight to the top of our running Best Mai Tai of the Year list.

The cocktails at Devil’s Reef have a bit of variety but are mostly rum-based and served on crushed ice. We really loved the Gilman House Special, featuring berries and pineapple rum, and the delightful grog variant called Red Right Returning with passionfruit, cinnamon, and Mister Fogg Navy Rum. Julie tried some that I’d loved before including Captain Obed’s Grog that includes spices and maple syrup, plus the coffee-forward Eldritch Cartographer. We also loved the Serannian Sling, a gin cocktail with spices and Cassis.

We must salute the bartenders who work so fast but deliver consistent quality. Generally, you have got to bar to order drinks that will be delivered to your table, and we found the turnaround to be unexpectedly quick even after it started to get busy. We enjoyed sitting at the bar for a portion of our visit, though the booths are more conducive to conversation with locals who we met up with. Be sure to check out the drink mixer for a little memento of our visit, place there by the staff.

Like we always say, the best tiki bar in Seattle is in Tacoma.

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Sunday Rum Tasting: Jamaica Rum is the Best Rum

We dropped into Dr. Funk near opening on Sunday for a chill time relaxing with some rums from Jamaica that are on the Rum Asylum Level 1 list.

I compared two rums that have different approaches to the market, choosing Dr. Funk’s allocation of Myers’s Single Barrel Select rum and Worthy Park 109 dark rum. Both are affordable and approachable expressions, the Myers’s best for sipping and comparable to some of the lower aged Appleton rums. Worth Park is my go-to for cocktails when a “dark Jamaican rum” is called for and tastes a lot better in a glass than Pusser’s which I also tried during the sitting.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Mai Tai tried Planteray Xaymaca in the Daiquiri format and it turned out really great. Very drinkable and so much more flavorful than a cocktail made with light rum.

A portion of Dr. Funk’s Rum Collection

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Daiquiri and Big Rock at Dr. Funk

We rolled into Dr. Funk on Friday around 6:30 for more Rum Asylum Club rum tastings, plus a cheat day with Nacho Fries.

When working through the Rum Asylum list you can have the rum in a Daiquiri for $3 more. I wisely decided this was a great perk for the Denizen White (to up) 5 Year, a crisp lighter leaning rum that’s perfect in this format when expertly prepared and balanced like it was during our visit. I then chose Planteray Xaymaca Jamaica rum with an ice cube, so Dr. Funk dropped in a big ol’ rock in there and it tasted great.

Crowd wasn’t too bad when we got there, apart from the chick at the table next to us who had an extremely high pitched laugh that was constantly irritating us even we went around the corner to the restroom. There were also plenty of people enjoying the heat lamps out on the patio and music was on point as well.

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Trader Bob’s Mai Tai at District

This is a very serviceable Mai Tai that would be a pretty good destination if not for the fact that it is four doors down from Dr. Funk on San Pedro Square in downtown San Jose.

Trader Bob’s Mai Tai features the excellent Smith & Cross Jamaica rum, but whereas Dr. Funk pairs Smith & Cross with Appleton 12 year, District pairs it with the underwhelming Planteray Original Dark. So, this is just an okay rum blend. The lightly garnished cocktail also features homemade Orgeat plus Falernum, though I thankfully didn’t get a ton of spice notes that you sometimes get from Falernum. Overall, the flavor profile leans light and something a bit more than mild, and it is well balanced.

District seems to have a lot of focus on wine but also has a nice cocktail menu including this 1944 style Mai Tai. It is another quality destination in downtown San Jose.

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Samson Swizzle

This cocktail from former Zombie Village bar manager Sam Miller was the featured cocktail on Make and Drink on YouTube this week. We recently saw Miller at the reunion event at Zombie Village where the Samson Swizzle was on the menu, and I really should have ordered it.

Samson Swizzle by Sam Miller
¾ oz Lime Juice
⅓ oz Cinnamon Syrup
⅓ oz Passionfruit Syrup
1 oz Real McCoy 3 / light Barbados rum
1 oz Rum Bar Gold / lightly aged Jamaican gold rum
Angostura Bitters float
“Handful” of Mint leaves
Soda water
Build over the mint, top with ice and then swizzle. Add soda and more ice to fill, then float Angostura Bitters.

I didn’t have either of the specified rums at home. I subbed with Probitas which is a blend of mostly lightly aged Barbados rum and a bit of Jamaica rum, and used Planteray Xaymaca as a sub for the Rum Bar Gold.

This is a delicious cocktail and the soda is an important component as it helps to incorporate the mint flavors throughout the cocktail. The amount of Ango would vary depending on your personal preference.