MaiTaiDay – The Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai

June 2, 2026June 2, 2026

New Format for Mai Tai Day 2026 at Trader Vic’s Emeryville

Mai Tai Day is the day each year where we celebrate the birth of the world’s greatest cocktail and the man who invented it, Trader Vic Bergeron. The date is based on Oakland’s 2009 Mai Tai Day proclamation, the city where the Mai Tai was invented.

Trader Vic’s Emeryville has been hosting ticketed Mai Tai Day celebrations since 2019, with varying degrees of scope depending on the year. A couple years ago it was the 80th anniversary so there was a three-day celebration including a “Black Tai” event that was all-inclusive in the restaurant along with a dressy theme. In most years, Mai Tai Day has featured a festival vibe with vendors and performances in the parking lot plus drink and food stations inside.

Trader Vic’s Emeryville recently announced this year’s theme and a different scope for event ticketing.

Mai Tai Day 2026: Mai Tais then Fly

Flight departs August 30th. Destination: paradise.

Mai Tai Day 2026 is an all-inclusive tropical takeover: themed rooms, Tahitian dancers & drummers, rum tastings, island food, and enough Mai Tais to forget you never left the Bay.
3PM – 8PM. 21+. Limited seats. This one will sell out.

This one-day event seems to be similar to the Black Tai event with an all-inclusive food/drink format and ticket price of $200 plus fees. This setup will provide for a more intimate experience but has also generated some consternation from some previous attendees who are balking at the high entry price. That’s certainly understandable, especially for those who won’t drink their “money’s worth” of Mai Tais and other cocktails. We will see if this actually sells out or not, and whether this format works better for Trader Vic’s, but in any case we’ll see you there.

The travel theme seems to be paying homage to the Oakland Airport and Kona Hawai’i locations that are opening in the near future. The airport location is supposed to open very soon, though several rumored April and May openings have passed. The Kona location is connected to a refreshed Hampton Inn by Hilton Kailua-Kona Bay property that is taking reservations for October, and the venue just launched their website and Instagram profile @tradervicskona.

September 1, 2025June 2, 2026

Mai Tai Day 2025

What a fabulous day in Emeryville for the annual Mai Tai Day celebration at Trader Vic’s. This year was similar in format from what they’ve been doing since 2019, a ticketed event with a tiki vendor marketplace and live music out in the parking lot, seminars and spirits tasting inside plus guest bartenders, DJs, and Trader Vic’s cocktails and food. Trader Vic’s rums were a noteworthy new entry for tasting this year.

Mrs. Mai Tai and I got things started with a wonderful Frozen Mai Tai. Out on the deck there were Mai Tais for sale but also the opportunity to make one yourself with the guidance from the Trader Vic’s bartenders. People trying this seemed to be having a lot of fun, but we just let Mika make the Original Mai Tai and the Guava Tai for Mrs. Mai Tai – both were excellent. I also tried the Spice Trader from guest bartenders The Barbary, a very allspice forward cocktail. Forbidden Island was the other guest bartending station this year and their signature Forbidden Island cocktail sold out quickly.

Seminars are always a highlight for me. I kicked things off inside a packed Lanyu Room with my presentation on the Search for the Ultimate Tai. The audience was very receptive and we thank them for bearing with the heat of the room. Slides are available if you attended or are interested. We also caught a bit of Mike Hooker‘s presentation about Holmes Cay rums including their interesting and well-reviewed new Réunion Island Rum Traditionnel. Mike even treated me to a delicious Mai Tai with this rum.

Eve Bergeron shared details of a forthcoming new Trader Vic’s cocktail book that’s being written now with a target for a release next summer. The book will feature cocktails from throughout Trader Vic’s 80+ year history including current cocktails and specialty items that are unique to each location. She also shared some details including a 1948 Trader Vic’s Oakland menu that included the Mai Tai.

I was asked to provide the Mai Tai Toast outside and hope I did a good enough job given all the Mai Tais I’d had up to that point. It is always a pleasure to share the good word of the world’s best cocktail and Mai Tai Day is always a highlight of the year.

August 31, 2025June 2, 2026

Mai Tai Day Slides – The Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai

Presentation at Mai Tai Day 2025 at Trader Vic’s Emeryville

The Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai

Join Kevin Crossman for an informative and humorous presentation describing the hunt for the ultimate Mai Tai. Topics include newly uncovered historical details, best and worst Mai Tais, and how to get the perfect Mai Tai at your local watering hole. Advice and lessons for the home bartender will be provided, including finding the perfect rum blend to impress your guests.

Mai Tai Day 2025 Slides (PDF)

August 25, 2025June 2, 2026

Mai Tai Day Seminar

We’re pleased to return to Mai Tai Day at Trader Vic’s Emeryville to present a seminar called the Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai.

This will be an informative and humorous presentation describing the hunt for the ultimate Mai Tai. Topics include newly uncovered historical details, best and worst Mai Tais, and how to get the perfect Mai Tai at your local watering hole. Advice and lessons for the home bartender will be provided, including finding the perfect rum blend to impress your guests.

Tickets for Mai Tai Day are still available and the event includes other seminars, vendors, live music and DJs, and an art show. Plus plenty of Mai Tais, making this the best day of the year.

August 27, 2024June 2, 2026

Mai Tai Day 2024 Recap

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.

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.

August 31, 2023June 2, 2026

Mai Tai Day 2023 at Trader Vic’s Emeryville

We missed the big all-day Mai Tai Day celebration at Trader Vic’s this past weekend since we were in Hawaii. So we had to go to dinner on Wednesday to celebrate since Mai Tai Day is officially August 30th, chosen based on the proclamation by the city of Oakland in 2009.

It was just Mrs. Mai Tai and me after friends had to cancel at the last minute. But we always enjoy our dinners, especially when we hit a bunch of Trader Vic’s favorites such as Crab Rangoon, Peanut Butter Crackers, Trader Vic’s Salad, Island Fried Rice, and Mac Nut Mahi Mahi. Always so good!

The Mai Tai was made with my favorite rum, Appleton 12, and was quite nice as a toast to the ol’ Trader himself who invented the cocktail 79 years ago.

But the Trader Vic’s team are not living in the past, as witnessed by some fine cocktails that Mrs. Mai Tai had. She started with the delightful Koko-Nana Delight, simply coconut, banana, and rum – served in the cute Ramu mug. Even better was her second, the Pondo Punch. This rich cocktail contains a blend of rums, along with spiced citrus, guava, peach, and mango – and is served in the Angoram mug. A couple of really fine modern cocktails.

We were able to pick up one of the souvenir glasses from the Mai Tai Day celebration. As we exited the restaurant, the sun was setting over Emeryville’s picturesque harbor and we knew that Mai Tai Day 2023 was over.

August 31, 2022June 2, 2026

Mai Tai Day at Forbidden Island

Had to go somewhere for the actual Mai Tai Day on August 30. Forbidden Island hosts their Ohana nights on Tuesdays and they had guest bartender Captain Dave from the Captain’s Cabin bar in Arizona, so this was the choice.

We were all too happy to relax on FI’s well-appointed back patio. Mrs. Mai Tai ordered her standard Chamborlada, always a favorite here. She also had the Tradewinds that combines coconut and apricot flavors so well.

I went with FI’s standard Classic Mai Tai. They’re using a multi-rum blend in the Mai Tai and I thought it was pretty good. There’s a certain tanginess that I really liked. They have a new cocktail menu and there’s a Viking Mai Tai that I’ll try next time.

Captain Dave had a few drink specials and I dug the Shipwrecked in Scotland, which thankfully leaned more into the Jamaican rum than the Scotch. Lots of good flavors.

Nice to be able to say hello to Michael Thanos, who petitioned Oakland to recognize the Mai Tai and where this August 30 Mai Tai Day stuff originally emanated from. Cheers!