Traveling the Bay Area and beyond to find the best Mai Tai in the world! Tiki, cocktails, and adventures by Kevin Crossman
We had such a fun time at the Mr. Fogg’s bars last trip we sought out something similar and discovered Cahoots‘ three locations of 1940s-themed bars. These are actually from the same Inception Group that are behind Mr. Fogg’s, so now all of it makes sense. All locations feature late 1940s post-war decor and period … Continue reading "Cahoots 1940s Themed Bars in London"
Staying in Soho, we got to try a bunch of new cocktail bars that we hadn’t visited before in London. One of these was Rhum Tavern, located just off Oxford and Regent Streets. Rum/Rhum/Ron is a focus with many rare and interesting bottles on display throughout the venue (do not steal!) and the decor decidedly … Continue reading "Rhum Tavern: London’s Best Rum Selection"
You’d expect a World Cup hangover at San Pedro Square, but the crew at Dr. Funk aren’t waiting to launch an updated cocktail menu for the first time in a just over a year. The new menu contains a number of new original cocktails that build on the foundation of exotic classics and are embracing … Continue reading "New Menu at Dr. Funk Features Fan-Favorite Cloud Over Kona"
While walking the city of York we stumbled upon the charming Life on Mars, a bar that serves dumplings, coffee, and cocktails. The interesting part is that this business is located in one of the bridge lodges on the Lendal Bridge. The venue has a main seating area, plus a semi-private room adjacent to the … Continue reading "Best York Cocktails at Life on Mars"
We would be remiss without wishing everyone a wonderful Black Tot Day, celebrating the date in 1970 when the Royal Navy ended the daily rum ration. The lore of Black Tot Day is really a great way to celebrate great rum still made today in the style of the British Navy, thanks to great brands … Continue reading "Black Tot Day"
We ran across this Whitebox canned Mai Tai in York, England – and it interestingly bills itself as a “1944 Mai Tai” with rum, lime, orange curacao, and orgeat. The 100 ml can comes in at 23% ABV, putting it right where you want it to be for a nice single-serving Mai Tai. And how’s … Continue reading "Whitebox Mai Tai: Amazing Canned Cocktail in the U.K."
As fans of gimmick bars, we gave the Frankenstein Bar and Bier Keller a shot during our recent trip to Edinburgh, arriving at around 9 pm on a Friday. The venue is located on George IV Bridge in a former Elim Pentecostal church, so there are plenty of authentic gothic vibes. The main bar features … Continue reading "Frankenstein Bar Edinburgh"
Upon arriving in town we made a beeline for The Tiki Bar Glasgow for some drinks and treats. The space occupies the basement level including a well-appointed beer garden featuring numerous Moai (and TVs for sports). Inside there are a variety of tikis and artwork, tons of bamboo and matting, plus a nice set of … Continue reading "The Tiki Bar Glasgow"
Cab-a-Rette is a taxi tour of Edinburgh that’s like no other, featuring driver and performer Sylvia who dons several personalities including Geraldine the Nun to show us the sights and puts on a show herself along the way. We’d seen this tour out in the wild when we were here three years ago and made … Continue reading "Cab-a-Rette Tour in Edinburgh"
We’d heard that Vintage Cocktail Club had great cocktails including a tiki section, so we planned to visit during our trip to Dublin Ireland. We made time during our first day in Dublin to check it out, having some difficulty finding the location thanks to a true speakeasy entrance and sleep deprivation from our red-eye. … Continue reading "Vintage Cocktail Club: Dublin’s Best Cocktails"
We ventured out of the downtown area of Dublin to check out Hole in the Wall, the ironically named pub that’s the longest in Europe. Tightly nestled between a suburban road and Phoenix Park, the pub owners acquired a series of buildings which now seemingly go on and on and on. The venue dates from … Continue reading "Hole in the Wall Pub: Europe’s Longest Pub"
The brightly colored Temple Bar is named after the Dublin neighborhood where it resides. The place has something of a reputation as a tourist trap, in fact our taxi driver warned us that it wasn’t worth it. We arrived at around 10:00 am with an opening time listed as 10:30. We did see that some … Continue reading "The Temple Bar Dublin: Far from a Tourist Trap"
The Bar of America is a Truckee restaurant that’s part of the Gar Woods chain of restaurants that are officially licensed to serve Trader Vic’s Mai Tais, including Vic’s glassware and made with Trader Vic’s syrups and rums. I chose the 1944 Mai Tai made with orgeat and orange curacao over the Trader Vic’s Mai … Continue reading "1944 Mai Tai at Bar of America"
We returned to Alter Ego Cocktail Club to give their Spring 2026 seasonal menu one last try, with Mrs. Mai Tai trying the High Heels and Cigarettes that features Scotch as a trainer for our upcoming trip to British Isles and Scotland. Meanwhile, I absolutely loved the zesty flavors of First Bloom that features basic, … Continue reading "Last Spring Cocktails at Alter Ego"
I had a lemon to kill and I’d been thinking about revisiting this hybrid Mai Tai / Blue Hawaii cocktail that I developed a few years back. It leans sweet, so feel free to pull back on the simple syrup, but I do still think this works and can be a crowd-pleaser for cocktail newbies. … Continue reading "Crowd-Pleasing Tiki Recipe: Blue Hawai-Tai Cocktail"
The Golden Gate Bridge fireworks were of interest to Mrs Mai Tai, but the high threat of fog made elaborate plans seem risky, so we took a sort of safe route by heading to Emeryville to have some drinks at Trader Vic’s before heading to the end of the peninsula to see if we could … Continue reading "Fireworks at Trader Vic’s Emeryville"
We spent time in the city last Saturday looking at the various Pride light displays and also getting our steps in ahead of our vacation to the British Isles starting next week. We did walk quite a ways, ending at the Ferry Building, but we did stop for a breather on the way back to … Continue reading "Shortcut to Cocktails at Pagan Idol"
The sea of World Cup revelers parted for the afternoon on Sunday, offering the opportunity for Dr Funk to hold their quarterly Rum Asylum rum club meeting. The featured rum this time was Worthy Park from Jamaica, one of our favorites. The session included tasting seven of Worthy Park’s expressions, including the recent 12 year … Continue reading "Dr Funk Rum Asylum with Worthy Park Rum"
Yes, we would break several laws to climb to the top of the Empire State Building to help everyone learn that the Mai Tai that Trader Vic brought to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in 1953 did not contain any pineapple juice. It is easy to see how this myth developed, as there weren’t a lot … Continue reading "The 1953 Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai Didn’t have Pineapple Juice"
The Hawaiian Sunset was a cocktail from the Aku-Aku restaurant at the Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas, circa 1960s. Famously used by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry in his books, the cocktail features vodka as a base spirit and grenadine for color and flavor. As described by Beachbum Berry, the recipe is as follows. Hawaiian Sunset – … Continue reading "Modified Hawaiian Sunset"
We’re halfway through 2026 and it has been a great Mai Tai year so far, including a variety of on/off-menu Mai Tais at Trader Vic’s locations. There’s an obvious emphasis on various places serving Ultimate Mai Tais, my own favorite recipe. Hey, it’s my list! The criteria is any commercial or home bar I’ve visited … Continue reading "Top 10 Mai Tais of 2026 So Far"
Pele Utu is a newish traditional tiki bar located near downtown Reno just north of I-80, sandwiched between the Gateway Inn and Taste of India restaurant. The venue previously served as the bar for the restaurant and had two entrances when the hotel had a medieval theme, but today has a single entrance that includes … Continue reading "Pele Utu: Reno’s Amazing Traditional Tiki Bar"
Mrs. Mai Tai hadn’t been to Jungle Bird in a while so we made sure to visit during our night in Sacramento, arriving for a reservation at 9 pm. The tiki bar was busy at a time when we’re usually not in attendance but everyone was understanding the mellow mood vibes, so this was a … Continue reading "Later Night Excursion to Jungle Bird"
Our evening in Sacramento continued with a visit to downtown to check out the mermaid show at Dive Bar. We had a little bit of time to kill and so had some turnovers and Dubai cheesecake at nearby Sana’a Cafe followed by a stroll over to check out the Capitol. Dive Bar has a nighclub … Continue reading "Mermaid Shows at Dive Bar Sacramento"
Daytripper is a new Richmond Grove Sacramento craft cocktail bar that focuses on agave and cane spirits in a Latin America themed setting. We’d heard great things and despite being open only a few weeks it seems like they’re already in prime form. The menu includes an array of classics from the Caipirinha, Pisco Sour, … Continue reading "Daytripper: Tropical Cocktail bar in Sacramento"
This new Demerara rum expression from El Dorado follows a previous “high ester” release a couple years ago that paired Diamond Distillery’s intense Diamond High Ester (DHE) marque with a rare LBI marque. This time they’re pairing DHE with what is probably Diamond’s most famous still, the legendary Port Mourant wooden pot still initially put … Continue reading "El Dorado High Ester PM/DHE Rum"
Shipwrecked Paradise Island Tiki Bar is the Sacramento location and sister property of the original Shipwrecked in nearby Davis. Located in Midtown near Capitol Park, the bar is basically an adult version of Rainforest Cafe thanks to elaborate set pieces, animatronic snakes, and a jungle theme. They call themselves a tiki bar and while there … Continue reading "Legit Great Drinks at Shipwrecked…
Probitas is a blended rum collaboration between Barbados’ Foursquare distillery and Hampden Estate from Jamaica, known as Veritas outside the United States. The expression launched a few years ago as a 47% “white” rum with bolder flavors than your typical light rum. The blend of Coffey still rum from Barbados and a bit of Hampden’s … Continue reading "Probitas Green Label Rum"
I had the day off and decided to check out the World Cup madness in San Pedro Square, arriving late in the USA vs. Australia match. The street has been pedestrian only for several years but during the World Cup drinks can be brought out onto the street as well so that you could watch … Continue reading "World Cup Mai Tai in San Pedro Square"
We previously wrote about loving Crafthouse Cocktails‘ excellent canned Mai Tai, and the kind folks at Crafthouse sent us some others from their lineup to try out. As with any product ranges there are some that work better than others, so here are our thoughts. Moonlighter Vodka Spritz includes some blanco vermouth and very light … Continue reading "Crafthouse Cocktails Offers a Range of Quality…
Mrs. Mai Tai wanted to go to Livermore for a night out and we eventually found ourselves at Tikeasy at Rosetta Roasting. Julie expressed interest in trying the Yuzu Fuzz, Rosetta’s award winning original cocktail that features Japanese Gin, yuzu reduction, and lemon – garnished with a buzz button blossom. It’s really great and very … Continue reading "Yuzu Fuzz and Improved Mai Tai at the Tikeasy…
If we’re making a list of the most important tiki bars of the 21st century, Alameda’s Forbidden Island is a sure bet for the top 5. Opening in 2006, the bar set a new standard for the genre by combining the friendly confines of a neighborhood bar along with deep and traditional decor and a … Continue reading "Happy 20th Anniversary to Forbidden Island"
Our San Francisco weekend finished with Sunday brunch at Hula Hoops in South San Francisco. We didn’t partake in any cocktails but enjoyed the Ube Waffles and Avacado Toast, both a good value given the portion size and quality. We also ordered the cornbread – Julie liked this more than I did but warm cornbread … Continue reading "Tiki Brunch at Hula Hoops"
One of the new offerings we tried during our recently visits to Smuggler’s Cove is a new cocktail and mug pairing featuring one of the Cove’s signature crate mugs paired with a new cocktail from Dane Barca (of Dr. Barca’s Fluffy Banana fame). The Flotsam Fizz and mug combo is only $25 and you can … Continue reading "Amazing New Flotsam Fizz Cocktail is a Cocktail / Mug Bargain"
During our staycation weekend we had two late visits to Smuggler’s Cove, finding it full but not overly packed to enjoy the myriad cocktails the venue is famous for. We tried some old favorites including the Hibiscus Punch and a Mai Tai of course. I don’t exactly take precise attendance but we do take mental … Continue reading "Fluffy Banana More Popular Than Mai Tai"
Every once in a while we find ourselves in North Beach with maybe some time to kill or looking for a cocktail escape. Such was the case on Saturday after an amazing dumpling and noodle focused dinner at nearby China Live but where I was underwhelmed by the cocktails. So we walked over to Bamboo … Continue reading "Checking in at Bamboo Hut"
Mrs. Mai Tai and I had a couple weekend events in San Francisco so made it a staycation weekend. We started with dinner at The Tonga Room on Friday, arriving for our reservation right at opening and seated along the water with our friends Kristi and Jessie. There are still a lot of things going … Continue reading "Tweaks at The Tonga Room"
We had another wonderful visit to Walnut Creek to have a family dinner and drinks at Tiki Tom’s. They don’t do reservations on the weekends but we only had to wait around 10-15 mins for a table. We did very well with the food including a fantastic smash burger with kalua pork. Even better were … Continue reading "Tiki Tom’s Ultimate Mai Tai is Still Great"
Mai Tai Day is the day each year where we celebrate the birth of the world’s greatest cocktail and the man who invented it, Trader Vic Bergeron. The date is based on Oakland’s 2009 Mai Tai Day proclamation, the city where the Mai Tai was invented. Trader Vic’s Emeryville has been hosting ticketed Mai Tai … Continue reading "New Format for Mai Tai Day 2026 at Trader Vic’s Emeryville"
We were so impressed with Crafthouse Cocktails Mai Tai we naturally had to compare it to our previous favorite Tip Top Proper Cocktails Mai Tai. Seeing that we still had some cans of Straightway we threw that into the mix as sort of a control group, and we blind tasted all three of these with … Continue reading "Canned Mai Tai Blind Shootout: Crafthouse vs. Tip Top Proper vs. Straightaway"
This canned Mai Tai has been on my radar for a little while, with seemingly universally great reaction from the few posts I’ve seen about it. I was considering wasting a Saturday trying to find one in the Bay Area when Crafthouse Cocktails co-founder Charles Joly reached out and asked if I wanted a sample. … Continue reading "Crafthouse Cocktails Mai Tai is Fantastic"
This brand of ready to drink Mai Tai was recommended and the 25% ABV on the label was a good sign, but unfortunately I found this RTD cocktail to be quite lacking. After pouring the drink you can likely see immediately what the problem is, since it is a clear color and doesn’t appear to … Continue reading "Straightway Canned Mai Tai"
Livermore’s Fat Pigeon has launched their latest themed popup experience, the pirate, tropical, and tiki inspired Lost on Pigeon Island. As with their previous popups, you can expect thematic decor and cocktails inspired by the theme. When initially announced, this seemed to lean heavily on pirates, but in practice it is much more of a … Continue reading "Livermore’s Latest Popup: Lost on Pigeon…
Issued as part of Denizen’s new Wanderer Series, this is a Single Origin Jamaican Rum aged for eight years and finished in Port Casks for three months. Issued at 54% ABV, this new premium rum is a limited edition of four different pot/column still rums and does come with a higher cost than Denizen’s standard … Continue reading "Denizen 8 Year Jamaican Rum Wanderer Series"
Livermore’s Rosetta Roasting coffee roastery is going full tiki for their evening cocktail persona this summer and adopting Tikeasy as the venue branding. We’ve been big fans of the Nightcaps at Rosetta cocktail program, but have certainly noticed a gradual shift to more tiki decor taking over the space including a magnificent A-frame to serve … Continue reading "Tikeasy at Rosetta is the Bay…
Derek has come up with an all-new design for his Make and Drink YouTube channel’s Mai Tai glass. This one is much more elaborate than the previous incarnation, still sporting the Make and Drink logo but also including Hawaiian elements and even a Mai Tai recipe. The Mai Tai glass is available now and will … Continue reading "New Make and Drink Mai Tai Glass"
What a better way to celebrate a new Star Wars movie than to have a fantastic Mai Tai with a premium Jamaican rum, Worthy Park Single Estate. And it’s a perfect size for the Grogu mug that sets the mood for The Mandalorian and Grogu. This is the way.
I had business near Sacramento again, so it was a perfect opportunity to check out Time Travel Tuesday at The Jungle Bird, the city’s leading tiki bar. The crew put together a cocktail special each week on Tuesdays and this week’s was one of Hawaiian bartender Harry Yee’s greatest creations, the Tropical Itch. This version … Continue reading "Jungle Bird’s Amazing Tropical Itch"
San Pedro Square was awash in the aloha spirit on Sunday for the inaugural luau at Dr. Funk Rum House. The San Jose tiki bar’s ticketed event included Hawaiian food including barbecued pig, Polynesian music and dancing, and even a mechanical shark ride. VIP ticket holders were let in early to claim their spots on … Continue reading "San Jose Goes Hawaiian at Dr. Funk’s Luau"
We thank Derek at Make and Drink for doing the heavy lifting to recover this recipe for the Scorpion cocktail that inspired Trader Vic to make his own version. In fact, Vic was quite transparent about the origin of this cocktail, as he often was, stating plainly that he had this during a visit to … Continue reading "Hawaiian Scorpion: The Polynesian Drink that Inspired Trader Vic"