Tag: PalmSprings

Posted on

Terry’s Mai Tai at The Copper Room Added to List of Top 10 Mai Tais in the World

With the closing of our beloved Kon-Tiki Oakland, it is finally time to amend our list of the Top 10 Mai Tais in the World. This list is all about what’s in the glass, not the surrounding decor or atmosphere, and is based on the standard-issue Mai Tai at the venue.

In considering which Mai Tai replace it with, there were several that came to mind.

  • The Ultimate Mai Tai at Tiki Tom’s (Walnut Creek): I’m biased in saying it but I think they do a great job and the last time I had it there I even impressed myself by how much I loved it.
  • Cane & Table Mai Tai at Cane & Table (New Orleans): a rich and chewy Mai Tai with a blend of pungent rums including rich sugar cane juice distillate.
  • Terry’s Mai Tai at the Copper Room (Yucca Valley): a vintage bar on a dusty road next to a tiny airport in the middle of nowhere has one of the finely balanced Mai Tais? Yes, friends.
  • Off Menu Mai Tai at The Beachcomber (London): a really fantastic Agricole Mai Tai, speciality of the bar.
  • Mai Tai at Maitiki (Vienna): Saint James plus Smith & Cross/Appleton 12 means this rum blend is superb.
  • Strong Water Anaheim: consistently good featuring Jamaica and Demerara rums plus zesty lime, expertly garnished.

In making the decision, I eliminated Cane & Table due to the ever-evolving nature of their rum blend, and not being a local I can’t make a call on whether the quality is keeping up. As much as I want the overall list to expand beyond the United States, I thought the more local contenders were better, and I decided that nepotism of sorts wasn’t good for designating Tiki Tom’s either. Someday Strong Water might boot one of the existing Top 10, but I went with the Mai Tai loved even more.

Which leaves us with Terry’s Mai Tai at The Copper Room.

Terry’s Mai Tai is the brainchild of Terry Six, former bartender/manager at The Kon-Tiki, so there’s more than a little symmetry in choosing this to replace The Kon-Tiki. The transcendent drink is made with a “secret blend of four rums” and homemade orgeat, offering rich flavors and an amazing mouthfeel that is great to the last drop. Based on Six’s pedigree, I had the highest of expectations coming into this and it topped it in every way.

View the List: Top 10 Mai Tais in the World

Posted on

Terry’s Mai Tai at the Copper Room

I was reminded by Daniel at Bootlegger that the Copper Room in Yucca Valley has a great Mai Tai. It shouldn’t come as a surprise as it is the brainchild of Terry Six, former bartender/manager at The Kon-Tiki. When someone I knew visited a couple years ago I asked how the Mai Tai was and they said “It will still be your favorite” referring to the amazing Mai Tai that Terry made for me on his last shift in Oakland. So we traveled out of Palm Springs for some cocktails and decided to see if the hype was worth it.

The Copper Room is a restaurant and lounge next to the runway of the Yucca Valley airport and is nothing special on the outside but is a trip back to the 1970s thanks to the wood panel interior and numerous retro touches. The semicircle bar faces the windows looking out on the runway, with a huge premium spirits collection on a shelf above. Several staff members were sporting colored glasses or shades and I had to pinch myself that I wasn’t in a hipster bar in SF or LA. Despite the old school vibe the place was filled with young people who knew where to get a great drink and socialize at 3:30 on a Saturday afternoon. I expected to see a bunch of old timers here, but the only old guy was the one sitting with Mrs. Mai Tai.

The Mai Tai is made with a “secret blend of four rums” and homemade orgeat. It is served with mint and an actual lime shell, not the dehydrated lime wheel that seems to be so popular these days. I can forgive the mountain of ice because this was a truly transcendent Mai Tai, one of the best I’ve had this year and a contender for Top 10 Mai Tais in the world. The rum blend has rich flavors and this cocktail has an amazing mouthfeel that is great to the last drop. I was amazed, even after arriving with my highest of expectations. Terry wasn’t working when we visited but we thank him once again for an amazing Mai Tai.

There’s an old quote from Herb Caen who referred to Trader Vic’s when he said “the best restaurant in San Francisco is in Oakland” and we certainly can say the same thing in referencing this cocktail and the region it hails from: the best Mai Tai in Palm Springs is in Yucca Valley.

Posted on

Amazing Cocktails and Vibe at Bootlegger Tiki

Housed in a corner of a former Don the Beachcomber location, Bootlegger Tiki stands head and shoulders as the best craft cocktail tiki bar in the region. We made sure to secure reservations and were seated at the bar. Bootlegger is a small room, only eight bar stools, two high top seats, and three booths, so the interior is intimate. The patio affords additional seating options and is nicely appointed but not nearly as immersive. Despite such a small space, there are two service wells which means that orders are pushed out without delay. The bar recently celebrated their 10th anniversary in business, and music on our visit stuck to tropical and exotica tunes.

Bootlegger features a rotating menu that changes every so often, and number 17 features a host of original tropical cocktails plus five tiki classics including the Mai Tai. Bootlegger’s rum blend features an Agricole and Dr. Bird from Jamaica, which means that the Mai Tai is punchy and a flavor bomb. This is what a Mai Tai should be!

Bartender Daniel walked us through some of the originals and prepared them with aplomb, keeping up breezy conversation along the way. I was very impressed by the tropical blend in the Mai~Papaya with two rums, banana liqueur, passionfruit, orgeat, and papaya. The Queen’s Chair is an elevated Planters Punch with Jamaican rum, spices, citrus, and passionfruit, and I thought it was simply fantastic. Using heavy rum like this works so well in combination with bold flavors like allspice and cinnamon.

Mrs. Mai Tai enjoyed the Thai Iced Tiki, which features tea-infused Smith & Cross Jamaican rum and is served in a Chinese food to-go box complete with fortune cookie that says “Bootlegger Tiki loves you.” The feeling is mutual, even more so after she tried the Rhubarbie that includes Rhum Barbancourt and Rhubarb liqueur. The subtle creamy flavors and lemongrass of this cocktail were balanced to make this cocktail really approachable and easy to drink.

For some reason we skipped Bootlegger on our last visit to Palm Springs but we’ll never make that mistake again. It really is the top tiki destination in the region.

Mai Tai and Thai Iced Tiki
Mai~Papaya and Rhubarbie
The Queen’s Chair
Posted on

The Reef Palm Springs Remains Relaxing

Mrs. Mai Tai and I spent the morning doing antique shopping and decided to visit The Reef nearby for lunch. We were pleased to see that the place fairly busy with groups and couples, all enjoying the tropical ambiance either indoors or for others out on the patio. The music was set to Jimmy Buffett Radio, which stuck me as just fine for daylight hours near the Caliente Tropics pool.

Our server Alex was prompt and friendly, and we enjoyed our lunch including a gigantic Caliente Burger for me. Mrs. Mai Tai’s tasty Singapore Sling was very well prepared and balanced, though my Mai Tai unfortunately was too limey and didn’t have particularly bold rums. This is in line with previous visits where cocktails can be hit or miss.

The lack of pretension is a plus for The Reef and we saw several hotel guests roll in and our for drinks to bring out to the pool, so this remains a great daytime option for those staying at the resort or even day guests. It is just a lot of fun being here and looking at all the decor elements and even the retro video montage on the TV by the bar. We also peeked into the bar at the adjoining Sancho’s restaurant and saw several folks doing some drinking in the cantina which has its own retro charm.

Posted on

Tonga Hut Palm Springs for the Holidays

We had a nice visit to Tonga Hut in downtown Palm Springs, decorated nicely for the holidays including some festive music and holiday cocktail list. We were able to get a table in the lounge portion of the venue and were able to admire activity within the space that continues to be a great option for tiki veterans and newbies alike.

The cocktail menu has something for everyone and our cocktails were pretty good. I went with the Mojave Punch, which remains one of my favorites from their original cocktail list and features hibiscus syrup. Mrs Mai Tai ordered the Chai Tai which has a delightful Chai syrup and is very well-balanced with a great color as part of the presentation. I also ordered some chicken skewers that were well prepared and were served with a tangy glaze sauce.

Our service was super prompt and friendly, including a great job dealing with a mixup on my order (mutual issue with me and the server). We also spotted the replica Tiki Bob mugs for sale and found that they had a few of these left, so I took one of them home.

Chai Tai
Mojave Punch
Posted on

How to Beat the Flippers

I picked up this very cool Book of Tiki 20th Anniversary Mug at the Shag Store in Palm Springs. The mug is huge – 30 ounces – to remind you of the gigantic Book of Tiki that inspired it. Such a cool design from Shag and Sven Kirsten, the author of the book.

Like many folks active in the tiki scene in the 1990s, we heard about The Book of Tiki for years before the release in 2000. Still a seminal book about the history of tiki bars, art, fashion, and more.

I paid $80 for this mug, in the orange glaze that’s part of the larger run of this mug. A far lower price than you’ll see online on eBay where it goes for over $100 and sometimes over $200!



Here is how you beat the flippers:

  • Drive 500 miles to Palm Springs (each way)
  • Refill gas tank several times ($90)
  • Have three meals a day on the road ($60-100 pp. x2)
  • Stay overnight in downtown Palm Springs hotel ($160+$35 resort fee/parking)
  • Buy mug and then walk to local tiki bar to celebrate ($20-40 pp., plus food)

So it’s easy to see how it is easy to beat the flippers. Look how much money I saved.

Love the book, love the artist, love the mug. It’s all okay.