Felt like making it a little extra spicy tonight, so did a riff between two favorites. This was quite nice, without overpowering sweetness or spice.
1½ oz Lemon Juice 1 oz Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Concentrate Syrup ⅓ oz Don’s Spices #2 (50/50 Vanilla Syrup/Pimento Dram) 3 oz Jamaican Rum Blend (courtesy Andy from @easytikidrinks) 4 dashes Angostura Bitters
I love this Trader Vic’s Pilsner glass for tall drinks like this. Looks great with the classic logo treatment. We’ll see if the Mai Tai Planters Punch ever gets famous.
For Tiki Mug Monday, we’re looking at mugs Trader Vic’s, the home of the Mai Tai. They’ve had so many iconic mugs over the years, but these are our favorites.
Maori Haka, based off the totem in Trader Vic’s Emeryville. I also like the white variant.
Seahorse – the drink they serve the Seyhorse cocktail in, not sure which spelling is preferred
Marquesan Drum – great on top of the bar to store mint, garnishes, straws
Coconut Cup – fine for any drink
The Modernist – produced in 2021 in conjunction with a book from Sven Kirsten
And my personal fave? The Seyhorse with handy spines to grip the mug!
This is an Irish Whiskey variant of the Eastern Sour. Like the Mai Tai recipe variants we discussed a couple weeks ago, Trader Vic’s created the Sour template and then substitutes different types of spirits to give the cocktail a new name, often related to a new Trader Vic’s location.
Eastern Sour: Bourbon
London Sour: Scotch
Munich Sour: German Brandy (sometimes Cognac)
Toronto Sour: Canadian Whisky
Tokyo Sour: Japanese Whisky? Recipes are unclear.
Jalisco Sour: Tequila
Dublin Sour Recipe from Trader Vic’s (2023) 2 oz. Irish Whiskey Squeeze ¼ Fresh cut Lemon Squeeze ¼ Fresh cut Orange (save spent shells) 1 oz. Lemon Juice 1 oz. Orange Juice Dash (¼ oz) Orgeat Dash Rock Candy Syrup Shake with cracked ice and pour in your new St. Patrick’s Day Glass and top with spent shells for garnish.
Sharp-eyed readers will note this recipe differs from the classic recipe from the 1972 Trader Vic’s Bartender’s Guide. That book called for the “juice of half an orange and half a lemon.” That basically means 2½ oz of orange juice and just about 1½ oz of lemon juice. Trader Vic’s says they use the smaller amount because an entire half orange and half lemon are too large for the glass.
Using Jameson, the whiskey is really lost in this cocktail, even with just the 1½ oz of OJ I squeezed from my small-ish orange. Bolder spirits such as Scotch or Bourbon are a better match for all that juice, and I also recommend upping the Orgeat to ½ oz.
In any case, raise a Dublin Sour on Saint Patrick’s Day and toast: “A good friend is like a four leaf clover, hard to find and lucky to have”
We were supposed to go away for the weekend but puppy problems meant that we had to postpone. But light traffic on 880 meant that take-out lunch from Trader Vic’s Emeryville worked just fine on Saturday.
The Crab Rangoon and Cheese Bings traveled pretty well, and are all-time favorites. Mrs. Mai Tai tried the new East Bay Lemon Butter Chicken, lightly breaded with a lemon butter sauce, capers, parsley, broccolini tips, and pake noodles. She thought it was okay, but needed more sauce.
Meanwhile, I tried the Aloha Bowl with Salmon. These bowls are similar to the same named bowls at the Vic’s at the San Jose Airport and include sushi rice, dressed greens, carrots, daikon radish, edamame, and avocado. I really liked this bowl and while I’m not always a fan of avocado it worked well here in the same way it works in a California Roll.
The to-go cocktails were right on point. The Mai Tai for me and a Chi-Chi and Bahia for Mrs. Mai Tai. Just add ice and shake. Vic’s will provide ice as part of your to-go order.
This is one of the new menu offerings at Trader Vic’s Emeryville and I very much enjoyed this light and fruity cocktail.
Vic’s says this is “a classically prepared rum swizzle with pineapple, passionfruit, and subtle nutty notes.” I noticed they’re using Peychaud’s as the bitters “float” on top and it is prepared with John D. Taylor Falernum and the Trader Vic’s Royal Amber rum. Definitely a Trader Vic’s style cocktail and a good balance between the fruit and rum.
The improved heater that was supposed to be part of the maintenance in January isn’t done yet, so bring a jacket if it is cold outside (or, order a hot drink). But the service at the bar was great and the atmosphere was totally relaxing inside.
I’d been thinking of doing a comparison test anyway, but was inspired by this week’s episode of the Tiki with Ray show on YouTube featuring the topic of “My Favorite Mai Tai” and a discussion of Menehune Juice.
Menehune Juice is a Mai Tai variant developed by Trader Vic’s in the early 1970s and is essentially a replacement of the aged Jamaican-forward rum with a Light Puerto Rican Rum. Other variants from this time period include the Pinky Gonzales (sub Tequila) and Honi Honi (sub Bourbon). The Menehune craze of the 1960s allowed Vic to put the Menehune Juice on the menu and you even got to take one home with you.
For this test, I compared the 1944 Mai Tai, Trader Vic’s Mai Tai, and Menehune Juice as they are prepared by Trader Vic’s restaurants today. Notably, the latter two use Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Concentrate as a substitute for the Orgeat, Rock Candy, and Orange Curacao. That Concentrate is used in Trader Vic’s restaurants and is occasionally sold off the Trader Vic’s website (I bought mine as part of the Trader’s Treasures membership). For the 1944 I’m using the present day recipe that calls for ¾ oz of Orange Curacao (I used DeKuyper).
I was surprised how much I liked the Menehune Juice, which I found light and refreshing but still “rummy” in a good way. I do enjoy the Mai Tais made with the Concentrate. But, no surprise that my personal preference was for the more complex body and taste of the 1944. Mrs. Mai Tai said she preferred the Trader Vic’s Mai Tai and then the Menehune Juice, so it seems true that there’s a cocktail for everyone at Trader Vic’s.
1944 Mai Tai (Trader Vic’s present day, referenced as The Original Mai Tai on menus) ¾ oz Lime Juice ¼ oz Rock Candy Syrup ½ oz Orgeat ¾ oz Orange Curacao 2 oz Trader Vic’s Royal Amber Rum Shake with crushed ice and pour into Mai Tai glass Squeeze ¼ of a lime, then garnish with spent lime shell and mint sprig
Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Typically labeled “Our signature Mai Tai has been modified to perfection” on menus. ½ oz Lemon Juice ¾ oz Mai Tai Concentrate 2 oz Trader Vic’s Royal Amber Rum Shake with crushed ice and pour into Mai Tai glass Squeeze ¼ of a lime, then garnish with spent lime shell, fruit stick, and mint sprig
Menehune Juice Same as Trader Vic’s Mai Tai but sub 2 oz Trader Vic’s Light Rum in place of the Royal Amber.
I used Trader Vic’s products throughout, except subbed Latitude 29 orgeat and Liber Demerara for the Rock Candy in the 1944 recipe.
Los Angeles Times, February 8, 1970. First printed mention of Menehune Juice.
We’re flying to Vegas for the weekend and stopped by Trader Vic’s San Jose Airport for dinner. The Mai Tais tonight were totally on point, and the best so far in all my visits to this airport location of Trader Vic’s. Everything came together in perfect balance and an early leader for Mai Tai of the year.
The view tonight wasn’t bad either. Look at the sunset! We enjoy watching the air ships from within the tiki bar.
I had the Teriyaki Salmon bowl and it too was really great. Lots of things to love including edamame, carrots, rice and more. Service was super helpful and prompt too. It bums me out when we have to fly out of SFO or OAK instead of SJC.
