Tag: TraderVics

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1950s-Era Hawaiian Mai Tai

When Trader Vic Bergeron included the Mai Tai on his cocktail menu for the Royal Hawaiian Hotel and Moana Hotel in 1953, he never knew the cocktail would become one of the most famous in the world. The cocktail’s exotic name surely helped get the drink ordered, but the taste is what made the tourists rave.

This style of Mai Tai was similar to the original 1944 recipe, but was adjusted to omit the long-aged rums that had been the featured spirit in the cocktail up to that point. The use of light rum in combination with a flavorful dark rum was common across all published recipes of this era, including in the recipe that Bergeron provided to a guest in a letter in 1956. This affords a lighter style to the cocktail, likely considered more refreshing and approachable for the average hotel guest. 

The dark Jamaican rum of this era was not as ester-forward as what you might find today, and funky rums wouldn’t have been a good choice for tourists. So, think of something like Coruba or Myers’s rather than Smith & Cross. The commonly seen Demerara rums you find today would be a fine substitution. Rum floats were not common during this time-period, but more than two ounces of rum was often seen. So wonder the tourists loved those “tummy warmers.”

Though the recipes of this era vary, there are some common elements. Besides the use of both light and dark rum, the sweeteners were included in equal parts. Before pineapple and orange juice were added to the Hawaiian Mai Tai in the 1960s, we did see that citrus juice was used in healthy amounts. Lime was common, sometimes used in combination with lemon juice.

Looking at the recipes and how they varied, we taste tested some variants and came up with a generic version that is both representative and also easy to prepare. Not too boozy, not too tart. Just right.

1950s-Era Hawaiian Mai Tai (Generic)
1 oz Lime Juice
⅓ oz Orgeat
⅓ oz Rock Candy Syrup
⅓ oz Orange Curacao
1½ oz Light Rum
1½ oz Dark Jamaican Rum or Demerara Rum

Shake with crushed ice and pour into a double-rocks glass, topping with more crushed ice. Garnish with mint or orchid, and either a pineapple spear or a speared pineapple chunk with a cherry.

The Halekulani Hotel still makes a Mai Tai that’s similar to this recipe, though they do add  a ½ oz float of flavorful Lemon Hart 151 Demerara Rum.

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Relaxing Sunday Lunch at Trader Vic’s

Had an impromptu trip to Berkeley and we stopped in at Trader Vic’s Emeryville for a late lunch on Sunday. We were seated in the lounge and had a great time with our favorite appetizers Crab Rangoon and Cheese Bings. I had the Trader Vic’s Salad with chicken for lunch.

Went a little beyond the norm by having the E’Ville Awa cocktail, a very fine Trader Vic’s-style cocktail with pineapple, rums, gin, and brandy. I went with the no-booze Coral Reef for desert, a sweet blended drink with strawberries, pineapple, and coconut cream. Yummy, and sure to give you a brain freeze.

Meanwhile Mrs. Mai Tai tried the Golden Grog, which is a grog-riff using Rhum Agricole, pineapple juice, and honey. Quite nice, and the agricole definitely helps this lean in a different direction than many of the Vic’s cocktails.  She also tried the Mango Mai Tai, having tried the Guava last time. That’s made with light rum and while it tastes tropical it doesn’t really have a lot of “Mai Tai” taste to me. Which might be a plus or a minus, depending on who you are.

Always lovely to look at the scenery inside and to soak in the history of this Vic’s location that opened 50 years ago this year.

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Trader Vic’s Hawaiian Bazaar & Brunch

We skipped brunch but it is always fun to check out the vendors at the Hawaiian Bazaar at Trader Vic’s Emeryville, one of the few tiki marketplace events that take place in Northern California.

We caught up with some local favorites who we’ve purchased from before, including Woody Miller, B-Rex, Sweet Siren Designs, and Tiki Lounge Lights. All had some great stuff, though we were most impressed by the Greg’s amazingly cool peacock chair lamps.

There were some new vendors at this event. Rob and Jeanine Allspaw brought their Mischief Motu carvings up from Southern California for the first time that I can remember, and we scored a few items for our bedroom walls. Oakland artist Kelly Jo Mullaney had some interesting shirts and paintings – and many of the designs have hidden elements. Tiki Makaio was showing off some wood coasters and bottle openers that have vintage designs – and he does custom work too. Check them out.

Can’t go to Vic’s and skip a Mai Tai. Mrs. Mai Tai had been meaning to try the Guava Tai, a sweet variant that for sure you’re not going to miss the guava in. I went my favorite, the San Francisco Mai Tai – the standard Mai Tai with 151 float.

Nice to catch up with some folks out on the back patio and in the marketplace. It was a beautiful sunny day in Emeryville.

Tiki Makaio
Sweet Siren Designs (with Wayne Stonecipher)
Woody Miller
B-Rex
Kelly Jo Mullaney
Mischief Motu
Greg Smith from Tiki Lounge Lights
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Trader Vic Grog in Trader Vic’s San Jose Anniversary Glass

We had the pleasure of flying out of San Jose a couple weeks ago on the 1st anniversary of Trader Vic’s SJC – the world’s best airport bar. The problem was that our flight was at 7:30 in the morning, so our visit to Vic’s was at opening at 6 am (Mai Tais at 6:15 am!). And the 1st anniversary celebration was at Noon that same day, so all the event merch was held under lock and key. The staff graciously tried to get into it, but no luck.

So we have to thank our benefactor for getting us this amazing Trader Vic’s San Jose Airport glass, and the incredible airline wing-style pin. Mahalo, friend.

To celebrate I made a Trader Vic’s Grog. This is one of the cocktails I’ll sometimes go to at the restaurant when I look for something besides the Mai Tai. It’s a pretty good cocktail in this format, and is basically a crushed-ice and double sized version of the Siboney cocktail that’s served up.

For this version, I used two flavorful Jamaican rums. Some Worthy Park 109, a dark Jamaican rum at 54.5% ABV, alongside Hamilton Jamaican Pot Still Gold. I also made a tiny tweak by adding ¼ oz of simple syrup so that the cocktail was slightly less tart.

Trader Vic Grog
1 oz Lemon Juice
1 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Passionfruit Syrup (Liber)
2 oz Dark Jamaican Rum
1 dash Angostura Bitters
Add simple syrup to taste
Shake with crushed ice and garnish with mint.

It is not without a great deal of irony that after being a tiki bar wasteland for decades, that we salute San Jose that now has two very good tiki bars with this Trader Vic’s location and Dr. Funk downtown.

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Trader Vic’s Bottled Mai Tai

These seem to only be available in Hawaii, and are significantly different than the canned Mai Tais that have been introduced in the last year or so.

But, this was actually really tasty and pleasant. It is made with rum and orange liqueur and actually resembles a Mai Tai.

Served in a Trader Vic’s mug I picked up at Bailey’s Antiques.

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Trader Vic’s Tiki Stem Coupe

Picked up a couple of these very nice Tiki Stem Coupes from the Trader Vic’s online store. The 7 ounce glass is a little larger than my current coupes, and looks fabulous as well. Vic’s also has a couple smaller glass options, while still keeping the tiki stem.

The cocktail is the Blue Caribbean, a Blue Hawaiian riff featuring Rhum Agricole.

Blue Caribbean
½ oz Lime Juice
3 oz Pineapple Juice
1½ oz Cream of Coconut
½ oz Blue Curacao
1¾ oz Clement Premiere Canne (or other unaged Rhum Agricole)
¼ oz Dark Jamaican rum
Shake with Crushed Ice

A bit of a tight fit into this particular glass.

When I first developed this cocktail I served it in a Collins glass with crushed ice and that’s probably a better format than being served up. I do like how the Rhum Agricole works with the Pineapple and Cream of Coconut, provide a more complex flavor. Adding a tiny bit of flavorful Dark Jamaican rum adds an additional bit complexity without darkening up the cocktail.