Do you love a mai tai? Is your love language “gifts”?
March 5, 2022 12:25 PM Subscribe
A dear friend loves mai tais—both consuming and creating—and they’re doing something nice for me. Would love to show my gratitude with a cool gift for their home bar that could really take the mai tai game up a notch.
A nice rum is the obvious choice—and if you have any recommendations there that’s helpful too—but I am picturing something more like an interesting ingredient that may be a little harder to find. Thanks in advance.
A nice rum is the obvious choice—and if you have any recommendations there that’s helpful too—but I am picturing something more like an interesting ingredient that may be a little harder to find. Thanks in advance.
Mai tai mugs! Tiki glasses! (Are they appropriative? I have no idea but if someone wants to say yes, I'll believe them?)
posted by DarlingBri at 12:46 PM on March 5, 2022
posted by DarlingBri at 12:46 PM on March 5, 2022
Kahana Royale (if you can find it in stock somewhere...)
Looks like Total Wine has it.
posted by snuffleupagus at 12:54 PM on March 5, 2022
Looks like Total Wine has it.
posted by snuffleupagus at 12:54 PM on March 5, 2022
Best answer: Seconding the orgeat -- it's a pain to make from scratch. The best brand I've found is Liber and Co. (they sell direct as well as in liquor stores, and I haven't had a bad syrup from them).
Bitterman's Elemakule Tiki bitters are spectacular and a perfect capper to a mai tai (or any tropical drink).
One way to step up their game is to up their garnish game with luxury cherries. Toschi Amarena Black Cherries, Luxardo Maraschino, or other fancy is lovely.
If you don't think they have a good zester, the Oxo one is beautiful.
I love to give people themed swizzles and picks -- whether disposable (I have a bunch of wooden cactus and skull picks I just grabbed from a barware store) or nice reuseable metal swizzles.
Mai Tais tend to go in glass vs. tiki mugs. I have loved everything from Black Lagoon.
If you go mugs, Tiki Farm is generally loved by all and won't break the bank. Tikiland Trading is also loved, but is like, FANCY priced. Unless your friend is fairly new to the scene, I'd avoid generic "tiki" mugs or Geeki Tiki unless they're also really into a fandom, as the quality between the entry mugs and a Tiki Farm is VAST.
There's also just a lot of stuff around Mai Tai merch, because tiki is a nerdy, lovely place.
I'd also recommend a GOOD table top cocktail ice maker, but I'm assuming $500-$800 is a bit much. (That's the tiki drink accessory I just can't justify.)
If you want them to get really, really fancy with tiki drinks (vs. just functional/tasty/easy), I think Shannon Mustipher's book "Tiki" is extremely fussy with its ingredients, but next level in its bartending and wonderfulness (and it's actually a tiki guide that's by not another white guy if that's a consideration for you).
Last but not least, if they're still experimenting with their perfect mai tai recipe and are adventurous and you want to blow some minds, this recipe is a TON of work, but it's SO GOOD. If someone got me all the ingredients for this and a whipcream dispenser to actually make it, I'd be thrilled. (Please note, friends, I already have a whip cream maker.) It's not at all a purist's mai tai, but as a dessert drink, it's stunningly good.
Hope that helps!
posted by Gucky at 1:35 PM on March 5, 2022 [12 favorites]
Bitterman's Elemakule Tiki bitters are spectacular and a perfect capper to a mai tai (or any tropical drink).
One way to step up their game is to up their garnish game with luxury cherries. Toschi Amarena Black Cherries, Luxardo Maraschino, or other fancy is lovely.
If you don't think they have a good zester, the Oxo one is beautiful.
I love to give people themed swizzles and picks -- whether disposable (I have a bunch of wooden cactus and skull picks I just grabbed from a barware store) or nice reuseable metal swizzles.
Mai Tais tend to go in glass vs. tiki mugs. I have loved everything from Black Lagoon.
If you go mugs, Tiki Farm is generally loved by all and won't break the bank. Tikiland Trading is also loved, but is like, FANCY priced. Unless your friend is fairly new to the scene, I'd avoid generic "tiki" mugs or Geeki Tiki unless they're also really into a fandom, as the quality between the entry mugs and a Tiki Farm is VAST.
There's also just a lot of stuff around Mai Tai merch, because tiki is a nerdy, lovely place.
I'd also recommend a GOOD table top cocktail ice maker, but I'm assuming $500-$800 is a bit much. (That's the tiki drink accessory I just can't justify.)
If you want them to get really, really fancy with tiki drinks (vs. just functional/tasty/easy), I think Shannon Mustipher's book "Tiki" is extremely fussy with its ingredients, but next level in its bartending and wonderfulness (and it's actually a tiki guide that's by not another white guy if that's a consideration for you).
Last but not least, if they're still experimenting with their perfect mai tai recipe and are adventurous and you want to blow some minds, this recipe is a TON of work, but it's SO GOOD. If someone got me all the ingredients for this and a whipcream dispenser to actually make it, I'd be thrilled. (Please note, friends, I already have a whip cream maker.) It's not at all a purist's mai tai, but as a dessert drink, it's stunningly good.
Hope that helps!
posted by Gucky at 1:35 PM on March 5, 2022 [12 favorites]
Crushed ice is important:
https://www.cocktailkingdom.com/the-schmallet-ice-mallet
A drink mixer is important:
https://hamiltonbeach.com/drinkmaster-chrome-classic-730c
Rum is important: I like to use Smith & Cross in everything, in my favorite Mai Tai I use half that and half Matusalem silver.
This is a great book if you want to up your tiki game in general:
https://www.amazon.com/Smugglers-Cove-Exotic-Cocktails-Cult
posted by counterfeitfake at 1:46 PM on March 5, 2022
https://www.cocktailkingdom.com/the-schmallet-ice-mallet
A drink mixer is important:
https://hamiltonbeach.com/drinkmaster-chrome-classic-730c
Rum is important: I like to use Smith & Cross in everything, in my favorite Mai Tai I use half that and half Matusalem silver.
This is a great book if you want to up your tiki game in general:
https://www.amazon.com/Smugglers-Cove-Exotic-Cocktails-Cult
posted by counterfeitfake at 1:46 PM on March 5, 2022
Oh, and here's Shannon Mustipher's very specific rums as called for in their Mai Tai recipe in case you want to go the rum route.
posted by Gucky at 1:47 PM on March 5, 2022
posted by Gucky at 1:47 PM on March 5, 2022
Homemade orgeat beats the pants off (almost) any commercial brand, in my experience. If you feel up to making some yourself (and I don't think it's all that hard), the recipe we've settled on after many years of trying many approaches can be found in the back of Death & Company's first recipe book.
The one commercial orgeat I'd feel comfortable recommending is Orgeat Works, created by "Tiki Adam" Kolesar, who supplies many of the top bars in NYC with orgeat.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 1:55 PM on March 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
The one commercial orgeat I'd feel comfortable recommending is Orgeat Works, created by "Tiki Adam" Kolesar, who supplies many of the top bars in NYC with orgeat.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 1:55 PM on March 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
As far as rum goes, a high-end sampler would be fun! If you can't find one, several pint bottles of different recommendations. If you live in a city that has a tiki bar you could take them for a rum tasting.
posted by irisclara at 5:10 PM on March 5, 2022
posted by irisclara at 5:10 PM on March 5, 2022
Response by poster: I marked as best the most thorough answer but these are all helpful—thanks again!
posted by lovableiago at 8:42 PM on March 10, 2022
posted by lovableiago at 8:42 PM on March 10, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by mskyle at 12:42 PM on March 5, 2022 [7 favorites]