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
Got to try another one of the new cocktails at Trader Vic’s this past Sunday. The Drunken Monkey features Blanco Tequila, Cachaca, along with citrus, banana, and almond. The whipped banana topping is delightful.
I really liked this. Very easy to drink and well balanced so that the tequila does not overpower.
The new cocktail menu at Trader Vic’s Emeryville leans heavily on Trader Vic’s favorites, including “the Original Mai Tai” which is a Mai Tai made from scratch and not from their Mai Tai Concentrate mix. But there are a few new cocktails that were developed with Vic’s alum Brent Harris. I was able to sample three of this on a recent visit.
Vic’s Itch
This is a Tropical Itch riff that includes Dark and 151 rums, bourbon, passion fruit, fresh lemon, and fassionola. This was quite tasty and most definitely boozy.
Vic & Dotty
Supposedly a There Dots and a Dash riff, though without Rhum Agricole in my opinion it has strayed pretty far off. Contains Royal Amber and Appleton rums, falernum, grog mix, citrus, and honey. Very flavorful and totally felt like a classic Trader Vic’s cocktail, including orange and lemon. So it fits in nicely alongside favorites such as the Eastern Sour or Fogcutter.
Trader Vic’s Painkiller – not pictured
Features dark and gold rums, orange and pineapple, and Vic’s “coco-nutty house made Mandalay mix” with a dash of cream. Painkiller fans will feel right at home, but there’s definitely something different here – and I like it. Just a bit more complex than your typical Painkiller. Curious if our friends in Emeryville are playing with fire legally, though.
I wasn’t able to sample the other new cocktails:
Banana Dreams: rum, pineapple, grapefruit, lime, banana, fassionola. Also available without rum as the Dreamless Banana.
Drunken Monkey: blanco tequila, cachaca, citrus, banana, and orgeat, topped with lime zesty banana whipped cream.
For lunch I had all-time favorites Crab Rangoon and the Trader Vic’s Salad. It was nice to see the restaurant pretty full, too.
Quite the event on Thursday to celebrate the release of a refreshed cocktail menu at Trader Vic’s Emeryville. Don’t worry, Mai Tai and Navy Grog fans, those are still on the menu along with nearly all of your Trader Vic’s favorites. There are several new items developed in conjunction with Vic’s alum Brent Harris. Some of these are riffs on classic cocktails, and we’ll have more about that in tomorrow’s post.
The event Thursday featured Shag who did the cover for the new menu. The design is inspired by Trader Vic’s classic cocktail menu cover, done in Shag’s style and including a bunch of Trader Vic’s icons. Notably, this design omits the sexualized elements – but also women entirely. This is the first of a series of cocktail menu covers designed by contemporary artists.
Shag was also available from 6-9 pm to sign menus ($20 with donation to Easter Island Foundation) and any other Shag items. I arrived at around 7:40 and got the last menu available for sale. There were Aloha Shirts available in the same design but those were sold out well before I got there. True Trader Vic’s fans will have an opportunity for an additional batch of shirts.
The restaurant and lounge were totally packed, with DJ Otto spinning tunes. If future events come up again, be sure to plan ahead and make reservations.
RTD is A-OK
Up an hour early today to take the dog in for surgery. Shitty week at work seeing how many colleagues are vax deniers. Then an hour wait to pick up the dog (she’s fine, but surgery wasn’t cheap). So it was a heck of a day.
So this tasty canned Mai Tai seemed like a great idea.
I purchased my canned Mai Tai at BevMo locally, but these are now available to order online and shipping to 38 states!
Order Now: drinktradervics.com
Our friend Greg Smith aka @tikiloungelights did some amazing work on a pair of matching lamps for our bedroom.
Trader Vic’s Maori Haka mugs were inspired by a tiki at Trader Vic’s in Emeryville. Mugs are mounted on a wood base and bamboo pedestal with a wood carving above. Matching Shades made of real Tahitian Tapa cloth in shades built from scratch complete this custom design. Bulbs are 3-way LED.
Great is easy to work with on custom jobs like ours. You can see more on the Tiki Lounge Lights account, and locals can check out lamps in person at the Holiday Bazaar at Trader Vic’s on November 7th.
Our new site page discusses the Mai Tai recipe from the Havana Trader Vic’s, circa 1958.
In addition to being an interesting historical artifact about a little known (and shortly lived) Trader Vic’s location, it is one of the earliest documented references for the use of a Rhum Agricole in a Mai Tai.
Since Mai Tai Day is like Christmas here at Ultimate Mai Tai Headquarters, we couldn’t resist making one at home according to the official 2021 Mai Tai Day specs from Trader Vic’s. These were the very lovely glasses that were available as part of the Mai Tai Day celebration yesterday at Trader Vic’s Emeryville and are also still available on the Trader Vic’s online store.
I’m a sucker for glassware with the recipe on the glass, so this year’s edition is extra special.
Mai Tai 44 Recipe
2 oz Trader Vic’s Royal Amber Rum
½ oz Orange Curacao
1 oz Fresh Lime Juice
½ oz Orgeat Syrup
¼ oz Simple Syrup
The Vic’s Royal Amber is not really positioned as premium sipping rum, but despite the lack of specific island pedigree or age statement, it does well in a cocktail. Tonight’s Mai Tai was such an example, a very easy to drink Mai Tai with delicious rummy flavor. Cheers once again to the Mai Tai.