I was in Key West a few years back. My parents and I took a Tiki drink course and we had Vic's 1944 Mai Tai. I was SO excited to make and try this drink. Absolutely sensational
Go back and rewatching a bunch of these. I think the 44 Vic’s is my favorite Mai Tai. The controversy in her book will only keep the legend and mystery alive and that might be a good thing
Hands down the best tiki cocktail historian out there. Love how much research you do with each and every drink you feature each week. I'm a huge Trader Vic Mai Tai fan, but absolutely love the history you stir up with the conversation of mai tai conspiracy that comes into play. Quite possibly the most intriguing drink to ever be released. Great work as usual Spike!!!!
Funny I had Cointreau in my bar! Made this drink as you showed. Played some Alfred Apaka on vinyl in the background... Don loved Alfred's music. I Sarah's music. No dog though.. Lol... Totally worth it~! Thanks
Thanks you ! so much for these videos. When I first started watching them I could swear Ik you from something still can't place where. Anyhow just wanted to tell you this channel has brought back so many good memories of my Dad at his Tiki bar shooting the shit with his friend. I would always sit and just listen to them as long as I was allowed to. Keep keeping history alive. Ps. This channel is critically underrated I hope it catches some heavy wind.
Hey spike, an Idea for your videos. Make a separate video for the "Spike and the Camra" section and post it on a different day, might help with the wild youtube algorithm stuff. Ultimately though just keep making this series because it's great!
But wait! There is another Mai Tai you haven't done yet. In the mid 1950s, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel hired Trader Vic to create their restaurant and bar menu prior to their grand opening. In the process, Vic created a variation of Mai Tai to serve as their signature drink, which he appropriately named the Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai. They still serve it there to this day, though they often try to pass it off as the original Mai Tai. Fun fact: Here in Japan, most of the faux Mai Tais you find are based on the Royal Hawaiian variant.
I just had one at the Royal Hawaiian a couple days ago. It is definitely not as good as the original Oakland Mia Tai. I can’t seem to find the original anywhere on Oahu. I finally had to shop for the ingredients and make it myself.
Spike found the channel a couple of weeks ago! I’ve had a blast going back and watching it come forward. Absolutely willing to support Patreon too. Have a great day and Aloha Topher
So glad I found your channel last weekend w/ the Don Ho Mai Tai. I am on ep. 8 (The Miehana). But gonna keep current on Fridays now. Thx for the Tiki cocktail fun!
@@BreezewayCocktailHour I love em so far. Great formula: rum, tiki, & Don&Vic history, hawaiian shirts, Ventura, your Breezeway Bar, authentic bar tools, & then "Cannonball Run" style outakes. U inspire me to dig into these topics. Best regards from IA.
Had me a QB Cooler tonight: 6 Gtts Absinthe in a chilled rocks grass -- swirl and superchill. In a can I drop -- 1 oz Wray/Nephew white rum, 1 oz Lambs Navy rum, [reserve 1/2 oz 151 rum in a pony] add 1/4 oz passion fruit syrup, 1/4 oz Falernum, 1/2 oz Lime, 1 oz OJ, 1/4 oz Honey syrup, Dashes Grenadine, and Ang Bitters. Fill and w/ crushed ice and shake. Pour into chilled glass. Float 151. Bar fruit could be Orange wedge and cherry on a pick. Legend is that the QB was the basis for Vic's experimentation. He simplified it. 2 tots -- 1-1/2 oz each, one dark--- one white rum. No 151 Torpedo juice. Orgeat for the higher-costing Falernum, Only one fruit, Lime. No OJ, pineapple or ilikoi. Cointreau for triple sec. [QB was for Quiet Birdmen. A club for aviators who'd had a little too much aerial excitement, and just wanted their fluids changed before getting back upstairs for more sorties.] A Rapa Nui Birdman-themed Noggin would be the ideal vessel for the Quiet Birdman... The concoction could even have religious significance to a congregation of Cargo Cultists. Waiting for great Silver Bird to crash in the jungle with more delicious Spam for the tribe... If you add grapefruit and cinnamon syrup and more 151 you're in Zombie Country. I appreciate your forays into the uncharted jungles of the MaiTai Lost Continent.
Having just watched all three parts, I now see Mai Tai flights in the near future. However, I think you need to do at least one more part to the saga, the Royal Hawaiian version (similar to Don Ho’s). Maybe the 1961 Kon-Tiki version for part 5? 🍹😆
Hey Spike- Great episode! I was really into the Halekulani famous "Mai Tai" recipe for awhile. You should try it. It is a bit on the boozy side, but different and good. I now much prefer Trader Vic's, though.
It's a good video, good on ya to bring us to tiki paradise. I always whack my mint on the glass before pouring to wake it up instead of on my hand after it's poured but it probably doesn't make the difference my mind says it does
Really dig the videos! Definitely making one of these tonight. Thanks man, this is some super enjoyable stuff. Pandemic has sucked but at least my cocktail skills have hugely improved.
Enjoyed this series. I still prefer the Vic version. That’s the one that say Mai Tai to me. Also, your Shun knife will prefer to be used on a Shun wood cutting board - I ruined the edge on one using a regular cutting board.
If you do happen to mess up the edge of the Shun, they will resharpen/repair it for free for life! You have to pay a little bit in S&H, though. PS If you don't want to pony up for a Shun cutting board, an END grain bamboo cutting board is what they recommend at Williams Sonoma. I've had one for almost 10 years with no problems to the edge.
Since Don the Beachcomber said Trader Vic copied the taste of a drink called the Q.B. Cooler, you need to make Don the Beachcomber's Q.B. Cooler and compare it to Trader Vic's Mai Tai to see if they really do taste alike.
Hey Spike!!! What's up? I thought Trader Vic stole the recipe for Don the Beachcomber's "QB Cooler" and named it the Mai Tai??? At least that's what I keep hearing from all the Tiki community. Can you do a video comparing the Vic's 44 and Don's QB Cooler?
I have to defer to Beachbum Berry with regards to the Mai Tai. He all but said what Spike said on the Trader Vic's Mai Tai episode: Trader Vic's recipe is THE Mai Tai. While I don't doubt that the Beachcomber Mai Tai (or Mai Tai Swizzle) is great, the Mai Tai that everyone emulates (and sometimes utterly destroys) is Vic's.
So on that Mai Tai video i commented on the use of rhum agricole and i have done some further research and found out that the Denizen 8 "Merchant's reserve" also does not use rhum agricole. Instead it uses a rhum grand arome from Martinique. Furthermore it uses jamaican pot still rum and although Appleton estate uses pot still rum in its blend one could argue tha a pure pot still rum should be used in a Mai Tai. Denizen merchant reserve page with its description: denizenrum.com/denizen-merchants-reserve/
ok i just found this comment on cocktailwonk.com/ from martin cate here he goes into all the details Martin Cate July 6, 2014 at 7:25 am Hi Matt, Great article- I just wanted to pop over here to clarify a few things. Several years ago, I started to really look into the evolution of the rums that Vic chose for the Mai Tai when the W&N 17 ran out. Reading his writings, and looking at was commercially available at the time has led me to believe that there's a very strong possibility that Vic did not use rhum agricole in the Mai Tai. I have a long detailed presentation on this subject and quite a bit of material to back it up, but I've never really presented this anywhere nor discussed it much publicly partly because there's never been a good time or place. But it's also out of deference and respect to both the Bum, who believes it was agricole, and also to the producers and US importers of rhum agricole. Because - and let me be clear and echo your statement - a Mai Tai with 50/50 Jamaican and Agricole is also exceedingly delicious. So, I just wanted to add a little bit of context to my assertions before people jump on here and say that I’m crazy. I may be able to expound more at the panel I will be on at Tales of the Cocktail this year, but that depends somewhat on the format that the moderator ultimately goes with. I did discuss my ideas with Nick at Denizen, which in turn led him to make some of the decisions that ultimately formed Merchant’s Reserve. I applaud Nick for being really transparent in discussing the sourcing, content, and philosophy behind his products, as that is an area where the rum category needs much improvement. But he also mentions our discussion and without some background, it can seem a little strange. A few other notes: -Rhum Industriel is the term used by the French producers to denote rum made from molasses. It’s most often applied to rums made on other islands. When French producers do it, they are more likely to call it rhum traditionnel. Sounds better, yes? -Also an important note is that the Martinique component of Merchants Reserve is not just rhum traditionnel, but a sub-category called rhum grande arôme. This is a style that uses both an extra long fermentation period and some spent wash to create a more estery rum. A little extra funk to compliment the Jamaican in the mix. -I think you’re clear on this, but just to reinforce- Merchant’s Reserve is not trying to be Wray & Nephew 17yr. It is more accurately trying to duplicate the blend that would be in Mai Tai Mark III, or the “Second Adjusted Mai Tai Recipe” as Vic’s calls it. Having drank the Mai Tai Rum that Vic’s commercialized in the 1960s which was a Jamaica/Martinique/USVI blend, it’s not far off, and Merchant’s Reserve is even a bit more rich than that. (Also, the Mai Tai rum sold today by Vic’s is a travesty and should be avoided.) -It’s Worthy Park with a y, and they are a terrific producer of pot still Jamaican rum. They do have retail products in Jamaica including Rum Bar rum, and they provide the distillate for Ed Hamilton’s tasty Jamaican Black and Gold rums. Cheers all. I think I will have some rum now. Martin
Our take is that competition breeds business and any “controversy” keeps both businesses top of mind 😉. For the record, we use Martin Cate’s “Smuggler’s Cove” recipe for our mai tai. Kāmau!
I don't care who made the Mai Tai first, I prefer Don the Beachcombers. I do like that he was whatever about it on his menu. And I miss Don's in Huntington Beach. Had some good times there.
Here is an interesting riff that I'm having today, Tai du Mai (Roquette, Seattle WA) 1 oz lime juice 1/4 oz orgeat 1/2 oz pineapple syrup 1/4 oz dry curacao 1 oz Pierre Ferrand 1840 cognac 1 oz House Blend #7* *House Blend #7 1 part Appleton 12 1 part Smith and Cross 1 part Plantation Xaymaca 1 part Plantation O.F.T.D.
I always thought there was 2 schools of thought for tiki. San Francisco = Orgeat as it’s in most Trader Vics drinks and Las Angeles= Falernum Don the Beach Combers.
What do I think? Bought Trader Vic’s book from Trader Vic’s back when it came out. We had one here in Kansas City and I was a regular for happy hour most week days. I believe what The Trader wrote. The rest is hearsay.
Trader Vic stole the "Tiki" theme from Don. Vic ran a honky tonk bar until he visited Don's in Hollywood, then went back to San Fran and changed his bar totally. He even bought decor from Don. My gut says Vic stole the drink from Don.
Does anyone else feel like the 1944 Trader Vic’s Mai Tai tastes nothing like the QB Cooler by Don, despite the latter supposedly being the inspiration for the former?
ripping off or 'appropriating' cocktail names is as old as history itself. (chocolates, apple, vodka) martini, Negroni (using Aperol instead of Campari), etc. Trade Vic addresses this on page 32 of Trader Vic's Book of Food and Drink (first edition). my personal opinion, Trader Vic riffed of Donn Beach's, original, and 'nicked' the name as well. that said, I believe Trader Vic's is the one true Mai Tai. that is until the IBA or some other governing body establishes "Mai Tai" as a drink classification, like Old Fashioned, Sling, Sour, Fizz, and of course SWIZZLE. What I've also found interesting is the Donn Beach recipe is more "Caribbean" than "Polynesian? in terms of ingredients. oh, and although Trader Vic claims to have creates the Mai Tai in 1944, there is no Mai Tai recipe in his 1946 tome.
![3 Christmas Tiki Cocktails [Plus A Sad Garnish]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/CCCi176S0DU/mqdefault.jpg)
![Everyone makes this cocktail incorrectly [I'm looking at you, Marriott]](/img/n.gif)
I was in Key West a few years back. My parents and I took a Tiki drink course and we had Vic's 1944 Mai Tai. I was SO excited to make and try this drink. Absolutely sensational
Don't stop@!!!! The content is gold. The reward will come in time.
Go back and rewatching a bunch of these. I think the 44 Vic’s is my favorite Mai Tai. The controversy in her book will only keep the legend and mystery alive and that might be a good thing
I'm looking forward to part 4
😳 part 4??
Hands down the best tiki cocktail historian out there. Love how much research you do with each and every drink you feature each week. I'm a huge Trader Vic Mai Tai fan, but absolutely love the history you stir up with the conversation of mai tai conspiracy that comes into play. Quite possibly the most intriguing drink to ever be released. Great work as usual Spike!!!!
Thank you so much Rob! I put a lot of work into these things! 🙏🏼
Thanks!
Thank you 🙏
Funny I had Cointreau in my bar! Made this drink as you showed. Played some Alfred Apaka on vinyl in the background... Don loved Alfred's music. I Sarah's music. No dog though.. Lol... Totally worth it~! Thanks
😂
@@BreezewayCocktailHour it will all be over soon. Lol. Might as well drink 🍸alot of Mai Tai's!!
Thanks you ! so much for these videos. When I first started watching them I could swear Ik you from something still can't place where.
Anyhow just wanted to tell you this channel has brought back so many good memories of my Dad at his Tiki bar shooting the shit with his friend. I would always sit and just listen to them as long as I was allowed to. Keep keeping history alive.
Ps. This channel is critically underrated I hope it catches some heavy wind.
Thanks so much, Ryan
Excellent episode. I look forward to this show every Friday as a kickoff to my weekend.
Hey spike, an Idea for your videos. Make a separate video for the "Spike and the Camra" section and post it on a different day, might help with the wild youtube algorithm stuff. Ultimately though just keep making this series because it's great!
Thank you!! Good tip
If I can’t go to paradise, Spike will put it on TH-cam! Yessss
Hahahahahaa... rad
I enjoyed this- it demonstrates the complicated cocktail history that is TIKI
But wait! There is another Mai Tai you haven't done yet. In the mid 1950s, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel hired Trader Vic to create their restaurant and bar menu prior to their grand opening. In the process, Vic created a variation of Mai Tai to serve as their signature drink, which he appropriately named the Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai. They still serve it there to this day, though they often try to pass it off as the original Mai Tai. Fun fact: Here in Japan, most of the faux Mai Tais you find are based on the Royal Hawaiian variant.
I just had one at the Royal Hawaiian a couple days ago. It is definitely not as good as the original Oakland Mia Tai. I can’t seem to find the original anywhere on Oahu. I finally had to shop for the ingredients and make it myself.
@@mommyandcaycay1270 Making one yourself is sadly often the only way to get one. Especially around here.
Spike found the channel a couple of weeks ago! I’ve had a blast going back and watching it come forward. Absolutely willing to support Patreon too. Have a great day and Aloha
Topher
Thank you so much 👍👍
Great job. You’re the first video I’ve seen to feature this version
Thanks!
Great video. You're fun to watch
So glad I found your channel last weekend w/ the Don Ho Mai Tai. I am on ep. 8 (The Miehana). But gonna keep current on Fridays now. Thx for the Tiki cocktail fun!
Cool! I apologize for the questionable quality of the early shows! 😂
@@BreezewayCocktailHour I love em so far. Great formula: rum, tiki, & Don&Vic history, hawaiian shirts, Ventura, your Breezeway Bar, authentic bar tools, & then "Cannonball Run" style outakes. U inspire me to dig into these topics. Best regards from IA.
Been watching from the beginniing. Thanks for putting out these great videos! Love them
Awesome, thank you!
Had me a QB Cooler tonight:
6 Gtts Absinthe in a chilled rocks grass -- swirl and superchill.
In a can I drop -- 1 oz Wray/Nephew white rum, 1 oz Lambs Navy rum,
[reserve 1/2 oz 151 rum in a pony]
add 1/4 oz passion fruit syrup, 1/4 oz Falernum, 1/2 oz Lime, 1 oz OJ, 1/4 oz Honey syrup, Dashes Grenadine, and Ang Bitters.
Fill and w/ crushed ice and shake. Pour into chilled glass. Float 151. Bar fruit could be Orange wedge and cherry on a pick.
Legend is that the QB was the basis for Vic's experimentation. He simplified it. 2 tots -- 1-1/2 oz each, one dark--- one white rum. No 151 Torpedo juice. Orgeat for the higher-costing Falernum, Only one fruit, Lime. No OJ, pineapple or ilikoi. Cointreau for triple sec.
[QB was for Quiet Birdmen. A club for aviators who'd had a little too much aerial excitement, and just wanted their fluids changed before getting back upstairs for more sorties.]
A Rapa Nui Birdman-themed Noggin would be the ideal vessel for the Quiet Birdman... The concoction could even have religious significance to a congregation of Cargo Cultists. Waiting for great Silver Bird to crash in the jungle with more delicious Spam for the tribe...
If you add grapefruit and cinnamon syrup and more 151 you're in Zombie Country.
I appreciate your forays into the uncharted jungles of the MaiTai Lost Continent.
That was some of the most elegant prose I've read in quite a while 😳👌✨
Another great video. Really loved thid Mai Tai trilogy.
The pin promo montage ending was RAD!! 😉👍
Thanks, nick!
Having just watched all three parts, I now see Mai Tai flights in the near future.
However, I think you need to do at least one more part to the saga, the Royal Hawaiian version (similar to Don Ho’s). Maybe the 1961 Kon-Tiki version for part 5? 🍹😆
Absolutely can't wait for this one!!
Hey Spike- Great episode! I was really into the Halekulani famous "Mai Tai" recipe for awhile. You should try it. It is a bit on the boozy side, but different and good. I now much prefer Trader Vic's, though.
Once again , where do you get shirts?
I'm going to have to try all 3. Great video!
It's a good video, good on ya to bring us to tiki paradise. I always whack my mint on the glass before pouring to wake it up instead of on my hand after it's poured but it probably doesn't make the difference my mind says it does
Really dig the videos! Definitely making one of these tonight. Thanks man, this is some super enjoyable stuff. Pandemic has sucked but at least my cocktail skills have hugely improved.
What’s better to use Senior and Company curaçao or Pierre Ferrand?
Nice hat! Where’d you get that?
Enjoyed this series. I still prefer the Vic version. That’s the one that say Mai Tai to me. Also, your Shun knife will prefer to be used on a Shun wood cutting board - I ruined the edge on one using a regular cutting board.
Oh! Thanks for the tip about the knife!!
If you do happen to mess up the edge of the Shun, they will resharpen/repair it for free for life! You have to pay a little bit in S&H, though. PS If you don't want to pony up for a Shun cutting board, an END grain bamboo cutting board is what they recommend at Williams Sonoma. I've had one for almost 10 years with no problems to the edge.
@@jmgarcia61 amazing. Thanks for the tip!
man that is a great hat. where did you get it?
The Bum credits Vic. That’s good enough for me. 💯🗿
Yup
Thank you for another great video!
Good one tonight Spike!
Thanks!!
Do the tiki ti Jim's special next! One of my favorite mai tais
Hahaha... isn't there Tequila in that?
@@BreezewayCocktailHour yes!
Since Don the Beachcomber said Trader Vic copied the taste of a drink called the Q.B. Cooler, you need to make Don the Beachcomber's Q.B. Cooler and compare it to Trader Vic's Mai Tai to see if they really do taste alike.
Maybe that will have to be an episode soon... 🤔
Hey Spike!!! What's up? I thought Trader Vic stole the recipe for Don the Beachcomber's "QB Cooler" and named it the Mai Tai??? At least that's what I keep hearing from all the Tiki community. Can you do a video comparing the Vic's 44 and Don's QB Cooler?
That's a cool idea for a video. I think he was trying to 'replicate' the QB Cooler by memory
Back to the Mai-Tai III 🍹⏰🔥🔥🔥
You built a Mai Tai....? Using pineapple juice??
The beachbum says the inspiration for the Trader Vic Mai Tai - is the Don Beach Q.B. Cooler.
Yup. Keep an eye out for the new video on Friday night!!
I have to defer to Beachbum Berry with regards to the Mai Tai. He all but said what Spike said on the Trader Vic's Mai Tai episode: Trader Vic's recipe is THE Mai Tai. While I don't doubt that the Beachcomber Mai Tai (or Mai Tai Swizzle) is great, the Mai Tai that everyone emulates (and sometimes utterly destroys) is Vic's.
Yesssss
So on that Mai Tai video i commented on the use of rhum agricole and i have done some further research and found out that the Denizen 8 "Merchant's reserve" also does not use rhum agricole. Instead it uses a rhum grand arome from Martinique.
Furthermore it uses jamaican pot still rum and although Appleton estate uses pot still rum in its blend one could argue tha a pure pot still rum should be used in a Mai Tai.
Denizen merchant reserve page with its description:
denizenrum.com/denizen-merchants-reserve/
I also jut looked it up in my copy of smuggler's cove and on the pages 263 and 264 Martin Cate is writing about exaclty this topic.
ok i just found this comment on cocktailwonk.com/ from martin cate here he goes into all the details
Martin Cate
July 6, 2014 at 7:25 am
Hi Matt,
Great article- I just wanted to pop over here to clarify a few things.
Several years ago, I started to really look into the evolution of the rums that Vic chose for the Mai Tai when the W&N 17 ran out. Reading his writings, and looking at was commercially available at the time has led me to believe that there's a very strong possibility that Vic did not use rhum agricole in the Mai Tai. I have a long detailed presentation on this subject and quite a bit of material to back it up, but I've never really presented this anywhere nor discussed it much publicly partly because there's never been a good time or place. But it's also out of deference and respect to both the Bum, who believes it was agricole, and also to the producers and US importers of rhum agricole. Because - and let me be clear and echo your statement - a Mai Tai with 50/50 Jamaican and Agricole is also exceedingly delicious.
So, I just wanted to add a little bit of context to my assertions before people jump on here and say that I’m crazy. I may be able to expound more at the panel I will be on at Tales of the Cocktail this year, but that depends somewhat on the format that the moderator ultimately goes with. I did discuss my ideas with Nick at Denizen, which in turn led him to make some of the decisions that ultimately formed Merchant’s Reserve. I applaud Nick for being really transparent in discussing the sourcing, content, and philosophy behind his products, as that is an area where the rum category needs much improvement. But he also mentions our discussion and without some background, it can seem a little strange.
A few other notes:
-Rhum Industriel is the term used by the French producers to denote rum made from molasses. It’s most often applied to rums made on other islands. When French producers do it, they are more likely to call it rhum traditionnel. Sounds better, yes?
-Also an important note is that the Martinique component of Merchants Reserve is not just rhum traditionnel, but a sub-category called rhum grande arôme. This is a style that uses both an extra long fermentation period and some spent wash to create a more estery rum. A little extra funk to compliment the Jamaican in the mix.
-I think you’re clear on this, but just to reinforce- Merchant’s Reserve is not trying to be Wray & Nephew 17yr. It is more accurately trying to duplicate the blend that would be in Mai Tai Mark III, or the “Second Adjusted Mai Tai Recipe” as Vic’s calls it. Having drank the Mai Tai Rum that Vic’s commercialized in the 1960s which was a Jamaica/Martinique/USVI blend, it’s not far off, and Merchant’s Reserve is even a bit more rich than that. (Also, the Mai Tai rum sold today by Vic’s is a travesty and should be avoided.)
-It’s Worthy Park with a y, and they are a terrific producer of pot still Jamaican rum. They do have retail products in Jamaica including Rum Bar rum, and they provide the distillate for Ed Hamilton’s tasty Jamaican Black and Gold rums.
Cheers all. I think I will have some rum now.
Martin
Love the bell!
It's LOUD 😂
beachcomber drinks all sorta taste like there is a cigar meant to go with the drink.
Yessss
Our take is that competition breeds business and any “controversy” keeps both businesses top of mind 😉. For the record, we use Martin Cate’s “Smuggler’s Cove” recipe for our mai tai. Kāmau!
I agree
"Rum Cumcocktian" 😂 The excerpts are hilarious.
I don't care who made the Mai Tai first, I prefer Don the Beachcombers. I do like that he was whatever about it on his menu. And I miss Don's in Huntington Beach. Had some good times there.
Here is an interesting riff that I'm having today, Tai du Mai (Roquette, Seattle WA)
1 oz lime juice
1/4 oz orgeat
1/2 oz pineapple syrup
1/4 oz dry curacao
1 oz Pierre Ferrand 1840 cognac
1 oz House Blend #7*
*House Blend #7
1 part Appleton 12
1 part Smith and Cross
1 part Plantation Xaymaca
1 part Plantation O.F.T.D.
My interpretation of the quote was Vic admiting it all started for him by seeing what Don was doing, hardly a huge revelation.
Absolutely
Can I please not miss another glass release on the website!…LOL, and ARGHHH!
Join the VIP Club. You won't! 👍
I always thought there was 2 schools of thought for tiki. San Francisco = Orgeat as it’s in most Trader Vics drinks and Las Angeles= Falernum Don the Beach Combers.
That's a cool way to think about it.
@@BreezewayCocktailHour I guess you can also have another category for Hawaii = resort drinks Harry Yee drinks
The shaper sounds like fighting words. I like the 1944 mai tai best
Not sure what happened but it was supposed to say that sounds like
What do I think? Bought Trader Vic’s book from Trader Vic’s back when it came out. We had one here in Kansas City and I was a regular for happy hour most week days. I believe what The Trader wrote. The rest is hearsay.
My favorite Mai Tai is from Duke’s.
Maybe Vic was referring to the whole Tiki bar restaurant vibe
That's how I interpreted it too
This is delicious
Mai Tai 😍
Just realized that Don's Mai Tai is basically his Test Pilot with grapefruit juice. Gotta say I much prefer the Test Pilot.
Trader Vic stole the "Tiki" theme from Don. Vic ran a honky tonk bar until he visited Don's in Hollywood, then went back to San Fran and changed his bar totally. He even bought decor from Don.
My gut says Vic stole the drink from Don.
I prefer Don Beach Mai Tai with Falernum. I'm not a fan of almondy-Orgeat; tastes metallic to me.
Has anybody ever finished off a bottle of Pernod???
Not in the history of life. 😂
Does anyone else feel like the 1944 Trader Vic’s Mai Tai tastes nothing like the QB Cooler by Don, despite the latter supposedly being the inspiration for the former?
Wait. What? another Mai Tai?! Could this be the Surf Room Mai Tai from the Royal Hawaiian Hotel? The Dirty stinkers! 😂
😂😂😂
Spike needs some “dirty stinkers” merch
Possibly from the Monkey Bar in Pearl City 🤭🧐
ripping off or 'appropriating' cocktail names is as old as history itself. (chocolates, apple, vodka) martini, Negroni (using Aperol instead of Campari), etc. Trade Vic addresses this on page 32 of Trader Vic's Book of Food and Drink (first edition). my personal opinion, Trader Vic riffed of Donn Beach's, original, and 'nicked' the name as well. that said, I believe Trader Vic's is the one true Mai Tai. that is until the IBA or some other governing body establishes "Mai Tai" as a drink classification, like Old Fashioned, Sling, Sour, Fizz, and of course SWIZZLE. What I've also found interesting is the Donn Beach recipe is more "Caribbean" than "Polynesian? in terms of ingredients. oh, and although Trader Vic claims to have creates the Mai Tai in 1944, there is no Mai Tai recipe in his 1946 tome.
Aloha tiki lovers (she says as she sips her REAL Mai tai her hubby just made) 🌺🍹
I believe Vic professed that Donn made the Tiki movement not the Mai Tai.
I agree, I think it was taken out of context.
donn beach was a known storyteller... the mai tai belongs to the trader
idc, I'll drink them all!