Tag: MakeAndDrink

Posted on

Mai Tai Trivia Recap

What a fabulous evening in downtown Oakland last night for the first ever Mai Tai Trivia event, hosted by The Kon-Tiki. We had a packed house of people testing their knowledge of arcane Mai Tai and Tiki Bar trivia, or just to see famed YouTuber Derek from Make & Drink make a live appearance.

We did four themed rounds of trivia, starting with Mai Tai Origins, What’s in a Mai Tai, and Stretching the Definition. We dedicated one round to general Tiki Bar trivia. Questions ranged from the simple (“In what city was the Mai Tai invented”) to deeper cuts such as the longest continuously operating tiki bar in Southern California. Hint: it isn’t Tiki Ti or Tonga Hut.

Teams were formed with up to four people, including some timely and themed names such as East Bay Dunder, Our Tai, and Demure. Prizes included some great Make & Drink Mai Tai glasses and coasters, Make & Drink pins, a tiki mug, and Surfside Sips glass straw gift packs.

The winning team was Cooler than QB that included hometown “Oakhana” regulars, followed in a tie for second from Hinky Drinkers and Squeaky Tikis. Congrats to these teams and thanks to all who played. We also thank Mrs. Mai Tai for helping with passing out and collecting ballots.

Arminder from Rum Revival and Derek from Make & Drink

We have to thank the amazing Kon-Tiki team who welcomed a large crowd and did a great job keeping up with orders. I enjoyed the Dhalia Negra cocktail from the happy hour menu and bartender Kriss made a Q.B. Cooler that was fantastic. I also made sure to enjoy a standard Mai Tai that’s not on the menu but always available, and Kon-Tiki’s Mai Tai is one of the best anywhere.

Question: when was the first Mai Tai Trivia Event?
Answer: The Kon-Tiki Oakland, August 21, 2024.

Cooler than QB
Hinky Drinkers and Squeaky Tikis
Dhalia Negra with Hibiscus-infused Charanda, Lime, Azucar
Posted on

The Penultimate Mai Tai

Derek from the Make & Drink YouTube channel asked me to come up with a two-rum Mai Tai as simpler version of our four-rum Ultimate Mai Tai. This was actually harder than you’d think, and I decided that using Appleton 12 and Smith & Cross from the Ultimate Mai Tai blend was sort of a cop out (though those two rums are fabulous in a Mai Tai). I ended up going with some newer rum expressions that are among my favorites.

The Penultimate Mai Tai by Kevin Crossman
1 oz Lime Juice
½ oz Latitude 29 Orgeat
¼ oz Demerara Syrup
½ oz Quality Orange Curacao
1½ oz Worthy Park 109 Jamaica Rum
½ oz Kuleana Rum Works Hawaiian Rum Agricole
Shake with ice and garnish with lime and mint.

The Worthy Park is a boozy and flavorful dark rum, similar in style to the punch rums from the 1950s. There is a little bit of the “funk” common to many Jamaica rums but there’s also a charred backbone as well. This rum is becoming more widely available and there’s literally nothing like it on the market today. Subbing an 80 proof dark Jamaica rum like Coruba or Myers’s isn’t going to provide the same results.

There’s a tradition of using Rhum Agricole in Mai Tais, so I thought I’d include a cane juice-based rum. My favorite in this style are the cane rums from Hawaii, which aren’t as grassy as those from Martinique but also have more flavor than some of the delicate Cachacas from Brazil. If you can’t find Kuleana or KōHana, then Copalli from Belize is a good sub.

Thanks to Derek for having me back on the channel to talk about Mai Tais once again. Look for a super interesting collaboration coming soon.

Posted on

Mai Tai Trivia at The Kon-Tiki, August 21

Kick off Mai Tai anniversary weekend with the ultimate Mai Tai Trivia challenge coming to The Kon-Tiki Oakland on Wednesday August 21 at 7 pm. Mark your calendars and join us for Mai Tai and Tiki Bar trivia, plus drink specials and prizes. Work as an individual or team to win bragging rights for life as the winners of the first and maybe only Mai Tai Trivia night.

Mai Tai Trivia is hosted by Kevin Crossman from Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai and Derek from Make & Drink YouTube.

Posted on

Make & Drink Lapu Lapu

There are a number of historical recipes for the Lapu Lapu / Chief Lapu Lapu cocktail, described in a recent video from Derek on the Make & Drink channel on YouTube. Besides going into the history of the cocktail and its notable presence as the featured cocktail at The Royal Hawaiian in Laguna Beach, Derek came up with his own Lapu Lapu recipe that we are trying tonight.

Make & Drink Lapu Lapu
½ oz Lemon Juice
½ oz lime Juice
2 oz Orange Juice
1 oz Passion Fruit syrup
¼ oz Rich Simple Syrup
1½ oz Light Rum
1 oz Pot Still Rum
1 oz Club Soda
¾ oz 151 Rum
Flash blend all ingredients except 151 rum for five seconds, then pour over crushed ice in a large snifter. Float ½ oz of 151 rum. Garnish with mint and a passionfruit shell with 151 rum, set on fire.

I took a few liberties here, notably on the garnish side since I had no mint and decided to use a lighted lantern pick. I used Liber Passionfruit Syrup, a light rum blend of Trader Vic’s white and Hamilton White Stache, Hamilton Pot Still Black Jamaica rum, and Hamilton 151 Demerara rum.

This is a really juicy cocktail and the excellent tangy Passionfruit Syrup from Liber really shines in this. I’m not getting much of the Pot Still rum, and if I was going to do this over I’d probably go 2 oz Pot Still and 1 oz Light rum. Or maybe just incorporate all the rum and not leave the 151 as a float, since a little of that famed Overproof Demerara rum can really add some great flavors to a cocktail.

Nonetheless, this is a really great version of this cocktail. Do you have a favorite Lapu Lapu recipe? Leave it in the comments.

Posted on

Make & Drink: 3 Bottles of Rum Challenge

This is a fun video, as you’ll see if you watch. The idea is to pick just three bottles of rum for your collection, so while this was a tough choice I actually came to my three basically right away. And regular viewers will not be surprised when you compare my list to the video I did almost three years ago called the 5 Bottle Rum Challenge.

The video is part of the Make & Drink channel, where Derek has been producing excellent videos including a couple collaborations with us. See the previous De-Evolution of the Mai Tai and The Recipe That Made It Famous  and World’s Worst Mai Tai videos.

Posted on

The World’s Worst Mai Tai

I found this recipe in the 1980 book from Michael Walker called simply The Cocktail Book. The entry says “There are several different versions of the Mai Tai, but this seems to be the most popular with bartenders and patrons alike.” Walker also says “this drink will taste deliciously innocuous, but beware! It has a habit of creeping up on you.”

Photo by Derek / Make & Drink

(World’s Worst) Mai Tai by Michael Walker
½ measure Dark Rum
1 measure Light Rum
½ measure Tequila
½ measure Triple Sec
1 measure Apricot Brandy
1 measure Orange Juice
1 dash Orgeat
1 dash Angostura Bitters
2 dashes Grenadine
Blend with ice until smooth. Decorate with slices of orange, lime, lemon, pineapple, and a maraschino cherry.

With all those ingredients and the elaborate garnish, I’m not sure which bartender would prefer to make this compared to a traditional five ingredient Mai Tai.

We shared this monstrosity with Derek from Make & Drink and he invited me over to the bar to try it! You can watch to the video to see our reactions but suffice to say while this might be an okay generic tropical drink it by no means should be called a Mai Tai. Not with tequila and apricot brandy.