Yes, it’s a Mai Tai. It has lime, rum, orange liqueur, and orgeat – just like a Mai Tai should. But we are substituting a high quality Blue Curacao in place of the Orange Curacao and using flavorful clear rum, letting that sweet blue color shine. Giffard is our strongly preferred brand of choice and the best Blue Curacao by a mile.
Any quality aged white rum would do fine here. I’m using Denizen Aged White rum but Probitas, Hamilton White Stache or Breezeway Blend, or even Planteray 3 Star would be fine. You just want to have a little age on the rum to impart some barrel notes that nod to the Mai Tai’s original long-aged rum. Any Overproof Jamaica rum such as Wray & Nephew, Rum Bar, Worthy Park, or Monymusk would fit the bill here though in this case I’m using Rum Fire.
Blue Mai Tai 1 oz Lime Juice ½ oz Orgeat (Latitude 29) ¼ oz Simple Syrup ½ oz Giffard Curaçao Bleu ½ oz Denizen Aged White Rum 1 oz Rum Fire Overproof Jamaica Rum Shake with crushed ice and garnish with mint.
The clearer and less brown/cloudy your orgeat is the better. Latitude 29 fits the bill perfectly and could be used at ¾ oz to omit the simple syrup entirely.
You can’t do this at every bar, and even at some bars where they know you it can be a dick move if they’re completely slammed, but sometimes it’s amazing when you ask the bartender to riff on something or use a special ingredient for drink. Such was the case on Friday when I popped into downtown Oakland’s Kon-Tiki while on my way to a party.
Kon-Tiki is now using a somewhat pared down menu, though it still includes the Grog, Zombie, Uma Uma, and Virgin’s Sacrifice that have been on every menu since day one. There’s also their standard Mai Tai, which is a steal at $14 and remains one of our Top 10 Mai Tais in the world. There’s also a $44 Mai Tai using some rare Samaroli rum, if you want to spoil yourself.
The bar was busy but not yet overly so, so I asked for an “impress me” Mai Tai. What came back was a really great one using Monymusk Special Reserve Jamaica rum, a blend of rums aged for at least 10 years. Comparable to Appleton 8 or 12, with a tad more funky taste. This was a rich Mai Tai that was perfect for a one and done visit. We thank Carlos for making a great choice.
Kon-Tiki was playing a nice mix of soul-leaning tunes, nothing too familiar or poppy and nicely giving off 1970s vibes. A couple big groups came in as I was finishing, and it really remains a place where the guests and staff give off a lot of great energy.
Mai Tai week continues with a twist, thanks to Derek from Make & Drink who treated me to a Mai Tai Slushie made in his Ninja machine. Derek is launching Make & Drink Frozen, a new YouTube channel devoted to frozen cocktails, so check out today’s video and also give his new channel a watch.
Derek’s slushie was comparable to the one I had with an industrial machine at Tommy Bahama’s Marlin bar in San Diego. Three fine Jamaica rums were used in Derek’s Mai Tai, and you could float some rum for additional flavor or ABV if that’s your thing.
We guested on Make & Drink to try Mai Tais made with eight different aged Jamaica rums in a Mai Tai, in order to determine the best single bottle rum of the bunch.
The rums included:
Appleton 8
Appleton Signature
Denizen Merchant’s Reserve
Monymusk Classic Gold
Planteray Xaymaca
Rum Bar Gold
Smith & Cross
Worthy Park Select
The results were really interesting and based on the ranking by both Derek and me even a little bit shocking. Watch the video to see which rums we rated the highest and which one was the overall winner.
Trader Vic’s Emeryville’s Mai Tai Weekend finished with another great Mai Tai Day event, including a larger group of vendors, performances by APE, Hot Laundry and DJs, a silent auction, seminars from Eve Bergeron, spirits tastings, guest bartenders, plus Trader Vic’s cocktails and food. The format was basically the same as the last couple years and a commemorative Mai Tai Day 2024 glass was given to ticketed attendees.
Eve Bergeron’s seminar about her grandfather Trader Vic was a highlight for me, as she shared personal stories and details about the creator of the Mai Tai. Some of the displays left over from the Black Tai event were referenced in the seminar.
A variety of Trader Vic’s cocktails were available in the main bar, plus the Mai Tai Boat in the dining room. We also enjoyed a Mai Tai popsicle. Guest Bartenders from The Kon-Tiki, Forbidden Island, Pagan Idol, Sobre Mesa, and The Barbary meant that guests could try Mai Tai variants from other bars as well. We really enjoyed The Kon-Tiki’s Third Voyage and thought that Pagan Idol’s nutty Mai Tai riff was tasty. Guest could vote for their favorite with Pagan Idol winning.
While cocktails were only available via purchase, several spirits companies were doing tasting for no additional charge. We got to try rums and bottled cocktails from KōHana and rums from Myrtle Bank and Planteray.
Crazy Al doing Crazy Al things
APE was in fine form with their blend of surf, calypso, and reggae, fronted by Crazy Al who carved a tiki in real time to the beat of the music. These guys are always a fan favorite, especially when Al interacts with the audience.
Trader Vic’s CEO Rhett Rosen led the attendees in a toast, saluting the team who made this amazing weekend happen and to anyone who appreciates Trader Vic’s and the Mai Tai. There was another great turnout of people once again this year.
Mai Tai BoatChrist and Carlos from The Kon-TikiTiki Lindy repping Myrtle Bank rumSo Many Mai TaisMai Tai PopsiclePagan Idol’s Winning CocktailCheers Trader Vic’s
The 1958 Havana Mai Tai was an interesting oddball of a recipe and has some interesting connections to the use of Martinique Rhum in combination with Jamaica Rum. We joined Derek on Make & Drink to discuss and taste this Mai Tai.
The second event of Trader Vic’s 90th Anniversary weekend started off with a reception for three-day passholders. We had a reception in the Captain’s Cabin room and were treated to a Mai Tai and a half ounce pour of Appleton 17 Legend Rum. Where Trader Vic’s found three bottles of this I’ll never know, but it was nice to try this fabulous rum once again. Some bites were also part of this reception.
Cheers from Trader Vic’s
For anyone willing to participate, Trader Vic’s provided a map of nearby tiki bars. You were encouraged to visit these bars and have a featured cocktail that payed homage to Trader Vic’s cocktails of the past. For those not on the three day pass that would start at Vic’s with a cocktail. For teams able to get through all eight locations, they could upload a photo of their stamped map to possibly win a prize.
The participating bars were Smuggler’s Cove, Pagan Idol, Zombie Village, and Last Rites in San Francisco, plus Alameda’s Forbidden Island, and Kon-Tiki and The Barbary in Oakland. These were good choices, though Last Rites tries to pretend they’re not a tiki bar, and The Barbary isn’t tiki either but at least the owners are former Vic’s bartenders.
Cheers from Smuggler’s Cove
We heard Smuggler’s Cove was opening early for passholders, so Lyfted over and entered the doors at 4:08 pm to find four empty seats at the bar, practically unheard of. I totally loved the Eastern Sour riff that used fresh lime and orange along with quality Jamaica rums. I also had the Cove’s legendary Mai Tai.
Our next stop was Zombie Village right at opening where we enjoyed the Kapua Swizzle and Mrs. Mai Tai’s favorite the Coco Pandan. After some socializing we headed over to Pagan Idol and loved their Fogcutter riff called the Apple Crank. I really dug this, and also had an excellent Jungle Bird. We took a break for dinner across the street at Cafe Tiramisu.
We were starting to run out of steam, and regretting not sharing more of the cocktails. We finished at The Barbary, a bar new to all of us that has a tropical and nautical vibe. We liked the decor, though it was really warm inside. But none of really enjoyed the cocktails, with the off-menu Mai Tai being pretty terrible.
A salute to the teams who completed all the stops. This was a fun event that once again demonstrated the respect and admiration the various tiki bars have for each other and how Trader Vic’s remains the beating heart of the genre.
Appleton 17 LegendAppleton 17 and Mai TaiJamaican Sour at Smuggler’s CoveKapua Swizzle at Zombie VillageThank you Brenda and Glen for crawling with usApple Crank at Pagan IdolThe BarbaryMai Tai at The Barbary
