SanFrancisco – Page 5 – The Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai

February 22, 2025February 22, 2025

Doc and Sam Return to Zombie Village

I’m fine with calling this the event of the year because if something else tops it I might not survive! Thursday night was a special event at Zombie Village featuring Doc Parks and Sam Miller from the opening day staff. Sam brought his SLC Ramora Bar partner Mikey Edwards and there were DJs Woody Miller, Ship Rex, and Principal Ponder. We saw so many people, some coming from Sacramento, San Jose, and Los Angeles, plus the return of former Villager Adrián Castañeda who came from Barcelona.

This was billed as the last stop on the Doc Parks Encore Tour, offering an array of cocktail specials in the upstairs Voodoo Lounge that’s only occasionally open these days. We love hanging out amongst the skulls and of course Parks’ cocktails are always on point. Return of the Doc was a creamier version of the Disco Banana and the Pink Pony Club featured botanical notes and just of hint of smoky mezcal. Both of these were truly outstanding.

Sam and Mikey were set up downstairs with standard ZV drinks available at the entrance well. When we arrived early Mrs. Mai Tai and I did our usual order of a Coco Pandan and Disco Banana, both day one cocktails and still so good. Both of us thought the Slam Wagon was a great uplift of a Painkiller template, but the Mai Tai riff called Muxu Muxi featured espellate orgeat and while I’m familiar with orgeat I wasn’t with espellate (it is a French pepper) and so the cocktail was way too spicy for me. I did enjoy the burst of orange and fruit flavors.

The venue was packed all evening and the rotating DJs meant there were various style of music along the way. We saw so many industry folks including people from other local tiki bars past and present. For one night only it reminded us of the glory days of 2019 at the Village. We hope this means ZV will continue do more to create mind share and that the end of Parks’ tour means he has a regular gig coming up soon.

February 7, 2025April 18, 2025

Appleton 17 Rum at Kona’s Street Market SF

Apologies in advance to those outside the Bay Area.

Act fast friends, because there is still some Appleton 17 in the wild and the price is a total steal. Get over to Kona’s Street Market in downtown San Francisco and check the back bar for the bottle. I had the pleasure of scoring a neat pour last week and this expression designed to replicate the original Mai Tai rum remains worth seeking out, so much flavor and still approachable at 49% ABV.

For some reason this is priced at just $30 for a 1½ oz pour. That is essentially the same as you’d pay if you bought the bottle at retail, so there’s basically no markup. Don’t waste time asking why when you could be heading to Kona’s right this very moment and getting a taste of this exotic elixir.

You might be tempted to try this in a Mai Tai, which is what I did during a visit to Kona’s in December. At just $40 for the cocktail it is certainly a good value for this rum. And it wasn’t half bad, but it wasn’t nearly as good as the amazing other Appleton 17 Mai Tais that I’ve had so set your expectations accordingly

There it is, Mai Tai fans, possibly your last opportunity to try this rum and even in a Mai Tai if you prefer. Let me know how it goes.

February 4, 2025May 9, 2025

Smuggler’s Cove Cargo Crate Mug

These interesting mugs were launched late last year but I finally got around to ordering. They’re based on the crate tables that are scattered throughout Smuggler’s Cove and designed by Aaron Seymour. Each mug was scanned and reproduced and the lid includes a rubber gasket so you could display them on the side or use them for actual storage. The mugs were produced by Beeline Creative with a large but limited run of 500 mugs per design with all designs currently still available.

The mugs ship in a gorgeous box by Tidbit Design with details about the mugs and the collection, and the mugs are tightly placed into styrofoam for safe shipment. My mug of choice was “Ship to SF” and there are ten designs to choose from. While these mugs aren’t ideal for carrying around at a party, they do feel nice and look even better.

Smuggler’s Cove did a special last month that was a two-for-one sale if you bought the “Sugar” mug. They’re now doing the same thing with the “XXX” mug, so these are much more affordable if the $70 price was a barrier to entry. Get them now before they’re gone by visiting Smuggler’s Cove or going to www.smugglerscovesf.com/store.

January 30, 2025January 30, 2025

Raid the Cove Rum Night at Smuggler’s Cove

Had a great time visiting the City on a chilly Wednesday evening to participate in a special discount program at Smuggler’s Cove. “Raid the Cove” meant that all rum pours were 20% off, a sizable discount especially for some of the Cove’s legendary rare (and, yes, expensive) rums.

The event ran smoothly considering the need for staff to gather all the rare and obscure bottles from within the tight confines of the venue. The staff really worked hard to fill orders and I saw many of the Rumbustion Society members working hard to add more rums to their checklist and saw numerous bottled drained!

I took the opportunity to try Appleton Joy for the first time, finding it quite good and definitely a lot more rich and funky than some of the other longer aged Appleton rums (especially Appleton 21). I compared Joy to Appleton 15 and definitely thought it was so much better, thanks in part to this blend of rums all being aged 25 years or longer.

We also took the opportunity to order a couple of Smuggler’s Cove’s famous original cocktails. Mrs. Mai Tai had Dr. Barca’s Fluffy Banana and I had the Rongo Rongo, both so rich and full of flavor (and booze!). Thanks to Melissa for making great cocktails despite all the chaos.

This probably wasn’t the best night for newbies to visit but for experienced rum nerds who are participating in the Rumbustion Society it was quite a good night for some less expensive rum pours.

January 17, 2025May 9, 2025

The Best Mai Tai of 2025: Smuggler’s Cove

Yes, I know that we’re not far into 2025 but I wanted to acknowledge the excellent Mai Tai I had at Smuggler’s Cove last weekend and sort of put the stake in the ground as the gold standard for mainstream cocktail bar Mai Tais. Can other bars top it? Possibly, but the vast majority won’t even come close.

And Smuggler’s didn’t too shabby with the other cocktails in our order, all so well prepared and balanced just like we always experience there. A lot of places pay lip service to “craft cocktails” but few provide consistent excellence like the Cove. Kudos to the staff for continuing the tradition.

There was a nice crowd there at opening on Sunday, but not so many that you couldn’t find a seat to relax. I was also able to pick up the fabulous 15th Anniversary Mai Tai glass featuring eight colors and a really great design. The last thing I need is another Mai Tai glass but I have to salute owners Martin and Rebecca Cate, they really do have great taste and that fab design is a testament.

December 11, 2024December 11, 2024

Different Sugar Plum Mai Tai at Kona’s Street Market

We popped into downtown San Francisco’s Kona’s Street Market to check out their Sippin’ Santa pop-up. We saw that the menu options were the same as our Sippin’ visit to Beer Baron, but the bartender mentioned that their rum blends were different due to availability reasons.

So, I tried the Sugar Plum Mai Tai and found this one to be significantly different. Much sweeter and forward with the plum mix, so much so that it didn’t really remind me of a Mai Tai. Which isn’t to say this one was worse, in fact I could see this one being favored by a lot of customers who might like a cocktail that isn’t as spirit-forward. They say the cocktails for these pop-ups vary by location a little, even within the same state, and this was most definitely true for Mrs. Mai Tai who found the Frosty the Merman cocktail to have a lot more flavor.

Each of these Miracle/Sippin’ Santa locations sets their own prices for the drinks and merch. Kona’s cocktails were understandably around $3 more than Beer Baron in Pleasanton, and their mugs were $20 more as well, though some of the glassware items were less expensive. Your mileage may vary.

We really enjoyed our visit to Kona’s Street Market, where the bar staff were super friendly and the decor was appropriately elaborate.

December 8, 2024December 8, 2024

15 Years of Smuggler’s Cove

Congratulations to Smuggler’s Cove on 15 years, as it opened today in 2009. One of the finest run and cocktail bars anywhere. We thank owners Rebecca and Martin Cate for keeping up the quality throughout the years, even during the “canned cocktail and soup” era during the pandemic, and of course the Smuggler’s Cove crew who are so talented and gracious to customers.

The engaging space tells the story of tiki with nods to Trader Vic’s, Don the Beachcomber, and Tiki Bob’s, while the curated menu allows patrons to experience the history of rum and exotic cocktails through the ages. And the team builds on the tradition with their own amazing creations such as my personal favorite The Pampanito or the cult classic Dr. Barca’s Fluffy Banana. It is still home to one of the world’s best Mai Tais, and the best I’ve had there was made with the amazing Appleton 17 year old rum that Martin helped champion.

I’m proud to be a member of the Cove’s rum club, the Rumbustion Society. You can see my name on one of the many plaques in the bar and their rum program is so elevated that there are several people who’ve had over 2000 (!) rums here. There are a lot of fantastic benefits of being a member including special events and (shhh) secret stuff, so consider joining the program.

We have enjoyed nights at the Cove as a couple but it is better with friends, even those who are tiki newbies. The Cove continues to amaze first timers and even for veterans there’s always something new to see or discover, or just a new cocktail or rum to try.

Cheers to you, Smuggler’s Cove.