The Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai
Traveling the Bay Area and beyond to find the best Mai Tai in the world! Tiki, cocktails, and adventures by Kevin Crossman
Made this simple cocktail to watch the San Francisco Giants clinch a playoff spot. I had oranges but no other citrus, which I guess is poetic considering that orange is the Giants’ main color.
1 oz Valencia Orange Juice
¾ oz Passionfruit Syrup (Liber & Co)
1½ oz Myers’s Platinum White rum
Shake with ice and strain
Buster Posey figure optional
There is no doubt this one goes down easy. It leans sweet, that’s for sure. Balanced cocktails can come by later.
Some of the California Rum Fest vendors offer their rums in a cocktail format, and the best one yesterday was Mai Tai at the Plantation booth. Made with Xaymaca rum from Jamaica, this little Mai Tai tasted great.
Kuleana rum had a nice rum punch that I enjoyed along with some samples of their rum from the Big Island of Hawaii.
One of the highlights of the California Rum Fest was the rums from Saint Benevolence. Two of their expressions are Clairins from Haiti, and profits from the business are funneled back to medical, educational, and economic charities in Haiti. Saint Benevolence is currently available in nine states, Canada, and the U.K. I’m a big fan of the unaged Rum Clairin expression.
I took another pass at tasting on their new aged rum This is the same clairin that’s been available for a couple years, but aged for at least a year. This aged version does present some different tasting notes including vanilla and spice. Totally worth seeking out.
After taking 2020 off, the California Rum Fest returned to San Francisco yesterday. The seminar schedule was a little lighter than last time, but Eve Bergeron had a great presentation about the Mai Tai, including some wonderful historical photos of The Trader himself. More about this presentation in the coming days.
The variety of rums available for tasting was quite reasonable and I got to try some new ones that I’ve been wanting to try. Most notable was the Worthy Park 109, a dark Jamaican rum at higher ABV. The booth also featured a very interesting cocktail called the Park Walk from Jeanie Grant of Palmetto (nice matchbooks too). The new Worthy Park Madeira and Sherry cask editions were also available and quite good.
The entry process into the event included a check of vaccination status and ran very smoothly. Some of the rum brands had giveaways such as stickers and pins, or recipe cards and details on the rum expressions. So, it’s a great way to learn more about new brands or dive deeper into a product line.
Finally had a good cocktail at Oracle Park. This is Flor de Cana rum and Ginger Ale, with a splash of lime. Delicious and refreshing.
Let’s go Giants!
As Smuggler’s Cove officially welcomes guests again, we want to highlight one of the new offerings. Fritch’s Favorite Five is a rum flight based on the picks that our late friend Alex Fritch made during our Five Bottle Rum Challenge video earlier this year. It’s actually a really great selection of rums that span a range of different styles and different countries of origin.
The flight offers tribute to our friend, and 100% of the sales go to Alex’s family. So go ahead and give these amazing rums a try, but know it is going to a good cause. And send a little toast Alex’s way as well.
Be sure to ask the Smuggler’s Cove crew about their rum club, the Rumbustion Society. This is a little more educationally oriented than some rum clubs are, and you can sample rums from The Cove’s vast selection (over 1000 bottles on site). A great way to learn more about rum.
Smuggler’s Cove is reopening today.
Reopening today is San Francisco’s Smuggler’s Cove, available to serve guests like they always have since 2009. No more cans or to-go soup, just fine cocktails and a vast selection of rums to taste.
We had the pleasure of visiting the Cove last week for a soft-reopen and it was so nice to be able to relax inside an immersive tiki bar while sipping on the finest cocktails in the city.
Mrs Mai Tai’s new favorite cocktail is Dr. Barca’s Fluffy Banana. So flavorful and light, perfect even for those who say they don’t like banana in a cocktail.
Meanwhile, I had the Smuggler’s Cove Mai Tai, which I’m pleased to say still ranks in the top 3 of all time.
There’s a new cocktail called the Pratique Punch, which is a great way to celebrate the reopening. There’s also a special rum flight which we’ll cover in detail in the next post but will put a quick plug in here too.
The Smuggler’s Cove staff couldn’t have been nicer and even with being benched for over a year due to COVID most certainly have come back strong. Note that The Cove doesn’t offer reservations and that entry will be by first-come basis, so if you’re planning to visit it’ll help to get there early before opening.
