We thank bartender Kriss for indulging us with a little experiment, making a great Penultimate Mai Tai on our visit on Wednesday.
Based on the rums available we riffed a little bit but this is still a dark flavorful rum along with a Hawaiian rum. In this case 1½ oz of Diamond Reserve Dark and ½ oz Kō Hana Kea in a standard 1944 Mai Tai. A little less complex than our four-rum Ultimate Mai Tai blend but still really full of flavor.
The Kon-Tiki Burger and a Mai Tai is still my favorite thing in the town. Pretty busy on Wednesday, everyone keep it going and support our friends at The Kon-Tiki.
Forbidden Islandbrought together tikiphiles with members of the City of Alameda Democratic Club for a fundraiser and social. Raffle tickets were available for prizes donated by local businesses and tiki mugs donated by some of the local Ohana. Plus a silent auction for some tiki related items and a bit of Kamala swag including lawn signs and hats.
As with Forbidden Island’s Ukraine fundraiser from 2022, the team had two featured cocktails for the event.
The Kamalatai featured rums from Jamaica, India, and Oakland (“in case anyone needs reminding of her roots”) and was really well done, featuring Hamilton Pot Still, Amrut, and Wright & Brown rums. I’d love to see this punchier rum blend stick on the menu, it was that much better than the standard FI Mai Tai. Added to the list of top Mai Tais of the year.
Out of a Coconut Tree featured Jamaica rum, coconut water, pineapple, and honey. This leaned a little light but I thought it was really great. They don’t all have to be complex spice bombs.
The patio area was quite full during the evening, and the FI crew did a good job keeping up with demand. Thanks to Michael, Justin, Sara, and Jarrod for fab service.
We’ve got to thank Chris Parker for recommending this rum blend for a Mai Tai at The Kon-Tiki. It combines two cane-juice rums, one from Mexico and one from Hawai’i.
KōHana Kea is a 40% ABV rum from O’ahu, which we’ve had before and covered before. It is delicious and KōHana is greatly expanding the size of their sugar cane fields, poised to be the largest sugar cane grower on the island. Kea is their unaged expression and each bottle is made with a different cane variety, though I neglected to check which one on the label. I’ve yet to find any Kea that isn’t totally delicious.
Dokabend is a single varietal Aguardiente de Caña from Oaxaca, a pot still rum issued at 51% ABV. There’s a lot of very interesting cane spirits coming out of Mexico and this one comes from fields that are nearly 4000 feet high in the Sierra Norte mountains.
The end results was a very flavorful Mai Tai with traditional vegetal flavors but just a hint of smoke that I assume comes from the Dokabend, but not too smoky like the Mezcal from the same region. Definitely different than the cane rums I had from Haiti earlier in the evening and one of the best Mai Tais I’ve had at Kon-Tiki this year, which means it is the one of the best at any location.
This was my 100th visit to Kon-Tiki, which I guess maybe isn’t a lot since they opened in late 2017 but its more than any other tiki bar during this period. This visit was representative of why I love going here, being able to try different spirits neat or in a cocktail, fun retro-leaning music that isn’t always exotica but never Top 40, and great engagement with the crew.
Despite what you may have heard on television, no dogs or cats were harmed in the making of these two fabulous Mai Tais made with rum from Haiti. The Kon-Tiki in Oakland has a large collection of cane spirits and it took me a while to choose for these two Mai Tais.
Clairin Vaval is a traditional clairin with light grassy notes, and a cocktail that presented these notes in balance with the lime and sweeteners.
Rhum Barbancourt is aged for eight years and has a less-assertive body that many rums aged for this length. The Mai Tai turned out to prominently feature the fresh zest of lime as a focus, not tart at all but certainly the most forward flavor.
They’re still making great Mai Tais at The Kon-Tiki. Quite an energetic crowd for Wednesday’s Ohana night, plus many non-tiki people as well.
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.
Happy Mai Tai Day 2024! The Mai Tai was born in Oakland in 1944 and thanks to that city’s proclamation, we celebrate Mai Tai Day every August 30th. From humble beginnings and a few years in relative obscurity, the Mai Tai was Hawaii’s viral sensation in the 1950s. Starting in the 1960s, the Mai Tai evolved to incorporate pineapple juice.
You can learn more about the history of the Mai Tai with our long-form article. The essay covers the early years featuring long-aged Jamaica rums, the unusual rum blend in that original Hawaiian Mai Tai, a bit about the dark years, and the renaissance of cocktail that took place at the same time that premium rums became a market force.
The Mai Tai was created by Trader Vic Bergeron at the original Trader Vic’s, but we also highlight other notable figures in the Mai Tai’s significant contribution to cocktail culture including Jeff “Beachbum” Berry, Martin Cate, and Michael Thanos. Plus the bartenders of the craft cocktail revolution who recognized that Vic’s original Mai Tai was a milestone cocktail that deserves to be on the menu at any quality tiki or craft cocktail bar.
So, Mai Tai Nation, today’s the day. Raise a glass as a salute to the Trader and anyone who celebrates the world’s best tropical cocktail. Cheers, friends, long live the Mai Tai.
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
