Tag: Jamaicarum

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The Best Tiki Bar in SoCal is Trader Sam’s

We had another great visit to Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar at the Disneyland Hotel on our recent trip, arriving in the mid-evening on a Sunday during the holiday week between Christmas and New Year’s. Despite being such as busy weekend at the resort, we were paged and seated at the bar within just 20 minutes even without a reservation.

The cozy confines of this bar feel like home, thanks in part to the Skippers who recognize regulars or even irregular vacationers with a greeting. Such was the case for us again this time as Skipper Melissa said hello and took our order. For many years Mrs Mai Tai’s favorite drink has been the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Rum, which is the Trader Sam’s version of a Painkiller. And they made it just as great as usual, though as her tastes are changing it now might be too sweet for her palette. I asked for a Mai Tai with Smith & Cross Jamaica rum and it was simply fantastic and made totally on point, thanks to Skipper Melissa.

The ability for the bar staff to adapt to customer requests and even develop their own custom “secret menu” items is truly what separates Trader Sam’s from many bars. Even in a high volume location like this, I’ve never seen them bat an eye at this and in some occasions they’ve even encouraged orders of off-menu items. The staff here from greeters to servers really work well together.

Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Rum and Smith & Cross Mai Tai

The Disneyland version of Trader Sam’s has a few special effects when certain drinks are ordered, but this is relatively mild to the Disney World version where you can barely breathe in between effects and gags; the Disneyland version is better where it is a special event not an onslaught. The immersive space is impressive as is the friendly customer service at this Trader Sam’s where we saw a bartender reposition a guest so that they could see the Shipwreck on the Rocks display for their order.

Trader Sam’s has been an intro to tiki bars for so many people who likely are forever spoiled by the dark immersive space with so many thematic elements and exotica music that’s always on point. It is about as good as any tiki bar anywhere given the size and it is our favorite in the region.

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BAH RUMBUG!!

Another banger from San Francisco mixologist Nathan Robinson, this is sort of a “Planters Grog” riff that includes some bold flavors and a little maple syrup to keep things warm and seasonal.

This is quite good, if you have the Liquid Alchemist Falernum like I do. If you don’t have Liquid Alchemist I’d suggest using your own Falernum at half an ounce in combination with a quarter ounce of Allspice Dram as this will more closely approximate the flavor. And if you use a little extra Maple Syrup I wouldn’t discourage you from doing so.

Bah Rumbug by Nathan Robinson
1 oz Lime Juice
1 oz Red Grapefruit Juice
¾ oz Bold Falernum (pref. Liquid Alchemist)
½ oz Maple Syrup
1½ oz Demerara Rum (pref. Hamilton 86)
1 oz Black Blended Jamaica Rum (pref. Coruba)
Shake with crushed ice and pour into tall Zombie or Pilsner glass. Garnish with mint, if you have it.

Mele Kalikimaka and Merry Christmas

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Forbidden Island Mug Swap

We had a great time for the annual tiki mug swap at Forbidden Island last night. Thanks to Chad for organizing and hosting this, we put our wrapped mugs into the pile and ended up with some new ones. Mrs Mai Tai really loved hers, and while I thought the mini bowl was nice I was thankful for a trade.

There’s a nice holiday cocktail menu and Mrs Mai Tai loved the Tropical Hot Coder. Meanwhile I drank a couple rums from the rum list and gladly accepted the suggestion for a premium Mai Tai made with Monymusk 10 yr Jamaica rum. Very good Mai Tai with additional depth.

Lots of good cheer in Alameda.

Mug Draw
Traded Mug
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Ultimate Queen’s Park Swizzle?

I’d be meaning to make this and it was featured on this weekend’s video from Derek on Make & Drink on YouTube. Derek highlights the difference between Trader Vic’s original 1946 recipe from his Book of Food & Drink with the commonly seen modern Queen’s Park Swizzle using colorless rums and a gigantic float of Ango on top. That style looks great on menus and social media, but leans closer to Mojito territory and doesn’t hold up to the Ango as well. And let’s remember Trader Vic’s noteworthy description of this cocktail, “Queen’s Park Swizzle is the most delightful form anesthesia given out today.”

So, I went with the classic Trader Vic’s recipe that originally called for a Demerara rum. I’m actually out of 86 proof Demerara rum, so I used the Hamilton Florida Rum Society blend that’s 60% Demerara and 40% Jamaican rum, and I compared it to my boozy Jamaican-forward Ultimate Mai Rum blend to see which I preferred.

Queen’s Park Swizzle by Trader Vic
Half of a Large Lime
Mint Leaves
3 oz 86 proof Demerara Rum (Lemon Hart or Hudson’s Bay)
2 dash Angostura Bitters
½ oz Simple Syrup
Squeeze lime wedges and drop shells with mint leaves at bottom of 14 oz glass. Fill glass with shaved ice, add most of ingredients and swizzle until glass frosts. Garnish with sprig of mint.

Comparing the two drinks, the Florida Rum Society rum provided some of the classic Demerara rum smoky notes and overall worked better in this cocktail. The Ultimate Mai Tai blend didn’t work as well because I went a little heavy on the Ango which seemed to overpowered the rum. You definitely want a bold rum in this style of drink.

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Ultimate Kingston Negroni

After years of having Campari in cocktails I’m finally getting accustomed this this bitter Italian liqueur, so much so that I actually like the taste of a classic Negroni cocktail and am really digging the riff that replaces gin with Jamaican rum.

New York bartender Joaquín Simó first made this cocktail in 2010, using the potent overproof Smith & Cross Jamaica rum as the featured spirit. I sure do love Smith & Cross but thought I’d try to create the Ultimate Kingston Negroni.

First I tried Planteray’s Xaymaca, a 100% pot still Jamaica rum issued at 43% ABV. This has more of the classic Jamaica rum flavor than something like Appleton and indeed it made a very nice Kingston Negroni.

Next I tried the Ultimate Mai Tai Rum Blend, an equal portion ratio of Appleton 12, Smith & Cross, Xaymaca, and Planteray OFTD that clocks in at 50% ABV. We love this in a Mai Tai, but it didn’t work amazingly in the Negroni to pair with the bitter Campari.

The best Kingston Negroni I could make? Well, that had Smith & Cross as the rum. Who’d have thunk it? I let Mrs. Mai Tai try this and she said “there is something funky in there.” She used the perfect word without even knowing that this is what folks use to refer to the classic overripe fruit taste of Jamaica rum. This one was by far the best Kingston Negroni.

Kingston Negroni
1 oz Campari
1 oz Sweet Vermouth
1 oz Smith & Cross Jamaica rum
Stir with ice. Strain over large cubes and express an orange peel.

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Got Mai Tai?

Had to head out to Oakland to celebrate the Mai Tai becoming the official cocktail of the city, popping into a bustling Kon-Tiki in mid-evening. The crew has decorated the venue for Halloween using a variety of retro looking decorations including some nice pumpkin lanterns hanging over the bar. There was quite the crowd too, with lively music that made Tuesday seem like a Friday.

I’ve been pretty transparent about trying to get Kon-Tiki to the top of my Best Mai Tai of 2024 list, but for months it has been stuck at number 2, a fab Mai Tai with Hamilton Pot Still Blonde, and couldn’t beat the excellent Mai Tai I had at The Sinking Ship at Tiki-Ko. I’ve tried a number of exotic rums in Mai Tais at The Kon-Tiki over the past few months, including their upscale $44 Samaroli Mai Tai. But none of them could do it and as much as I want Kon-Tiki at number one for sentimental reasons I’ve also got to keep it real and base the ranking on merit.

As I scanned the shelves I saw an old favorite that I had wasn’t really considering all this time but at the moment made perfect sense. So, I asked Carlos to make an Appleton 12 Jamaica rum Mai Tai and it was absolutely fantastic. So much bold flavor even from a 43% ABV rum that still presented the orange and almond flavors the Mai Tai is famous for, not overly limey and perfectly balanced. It’s my new number one of the year, all the more appropriate given the occasion.

There’s no need to keep continually trying to top the Mai Tai at Kon-Tiki for now, so we closed the evening with the Pop Star cocktail, delightfully blending juices, watermelon, Aperol, and hibiscus. So delicious, and quite the treat.

Pop Star
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Kingston Negroni at The Formosa

Landed in LA and met friends at The Formosa Cafe for some great food and cocktails. We love this place including all the eye candy and historical decorative elements.

I wouldn’t say I’m a huge fan of the Negroni cocktail, but it is Negroni Week so I met it halfway with a Kingston Negroni that subs Jamaica Rum for the Gin. It works pretty well with Vermouth and Campari.