Tag: RTD

I was pleased to sample this in the Jeff Granito suite at Arizona Tiki Oasis, since Jeff did the graphic design for the box. It is what it says: a ready to drink Mai Tai that includes rum and comes in a box. Bartender in a Box also makes available a Mai Tai and a Margarita product that comes without rum (so you can add your own). This seems like a great delivery vehicle for camping or picnic, where people can pour as much as they want rather than having to have their own can or bottle. The box including rum is available in a few SoCal Costco stores. Check www.bartenderinabox.com for details.

And the taste? Well, I’ve definitely had worse. It definitely leans in the fruity direction, and I mostly taste pineapple – though the product emphasizes there is almond flavor there too. There’s no annoying aftertaste that you get with some of these ready to drink cocktails.

And, for sure, this is the best looking packaging on any RTD Mai Tai. We love Granito’s design style.

Based in San Diego, Villager Spirits has a line of canned cocktails including a Mai Tai.

“Made with rum, curaçao, and lime” sounds like a great place to start. But things went sideways along the way in this very artificial coconut and pineapple flavored “Mai Tai.” Sadly, we couldn’t finish the can, so we can’t recommend this.

More handcrafting is needed.

The market for Ready to Drink (RTD) cocktails have trended upwards in recent years, offering a convenient alternative to beer and wine. RTDs are easy to prepare and consume, and are a worthwhile option for consuming cocktails away from home such as at the beach, camping, or on vacation. They also offer a convenient option at home, though their value is diminished at home since the quality is generally far less than from a freshly made cocktail.

Since the Mai Tai is a well-known cocktail, there are several Mai Tais on the RTD market.

View our recommendations on the new page: Ready to Drink Mai Tais

 

Festivus was the other day and I was thinking that I didn’t really have any grievances to air. The next day I bought this terrible ready-to-drink “craft cocktail” Mai Tai, so let’s call this a late Festivus because I have a lot of problems with this cocktail.

Cans are 8% ABV, so quite a bit less than the Trader Vic’s and Cutwater canned Mai Tais that are in the same market segment. This one isn’t even all rum, since it contains both rum and “neutral spirits.” There is supposedly lime and orange, plus natural flavors and colors.

Does that color look natural?

It’s like Mountain Dew and a Midori Sour had a baby. And it got all the worse genes from each parent.

It is terrible. Like pour out the entire four-pack bad. It definitely would take “feats of strength” to finish one of these.

It doesn’t taste anything like a Mai Tai, and honestly it doesn’t taste like any “craft” cocktail I’ve ever had. Maybe it tastes like cheap Margarita mix and Vodka, so if those are your two favorite cocktail ingredients then maybe Mai Tai Fling will be your thing.

HARD PASS

Ready to Drink (RTD) cocktails are still a growth industry, and I’m always on the hunt for an acceptable Mai Tai in a can or bottled format.

Whilst perusing Bitters & Bottles for spirits, I reviewed their growing RTD section and came across the Mai Tai from Proof Cocktail Co. The four-pack of 250ml cans (two servings per can) was $27. ABV is 23%, so this is plenty boozy –especially if you drink the entire can as a single serving by mistake, like I did.

Proof is most definitely not playing in the low-end of the market, and a good comparison product is the On the Rocks line of cocktails (which retail for around $12 for a 375ml bottle). The ingredient list is White Rum, Barrel Aged Rum, Curacao, Almond Orgeat, Fresh Lime and Orange Juice, and Pomegranate Grenadine.

Thankfully, the OJ and grenadine flavors are not particularly noticeable and instead there’s a pretty good rum taste along with lime and almond. This is a flavorful, easy to drink cocktail, though I personally would have preferred a higher degree of aged rum. I for sure have had worse Mai Tais made from scratch at even good cocktail bars, but nobody is going to confuse this with an elite Mai Tai made by a master bartender or at a high quality craft cocktail or tiki bar. This is even better than On the Rocks which had been my go-to at the high end of the market.

Overall. the Proof Cocktail Mai Tai is pretty damn tasty and also plenty boozy. Which means it could work real well for vacation, camping, and patio/poolside cocktail scenarios.

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