My Trip To The Mai Kai & Wreck Bar - General Tiki

HH Hurricane Hayward Grand Member (1 year) 16 miles from The Mai-Kai Joined: Jun 07, 2008 Posts: 1867	HH Hurricane Hayward Posted posted on Thu, Oct 7, 2010 1:17 AM On 2010-10-06 12:26, CincyTikiCraig wrote: I noticed something about the Mai Kai's drinks, they all tend to have a wonderful viscosity. That is, they have a particularly thick and silky mouth feel, an unctuousness if you will. It's a texture that's missing in the Tiki Cocktails that I make at home. I wonder how they get this texture in their drinks? There's definitely honey involved, but there's something else as well. I use honey syrup generously in many of my drinks (Navy Grog for instance), but I don't get quite this level of silky texture in my drinks, so there's something else going on here. Could the Mai Tai be using the legendary Don The Beachcomber honey butter mix in their drinks? That milk fat would explain the distinctive texture. Any Mai Kai veterans out there wanna give their two cents? Ah yes, the distinctive Mai-Kai taste and texture. This phenomenon has for years amazed and perplexed everyone from humble regulars like myself to experts like Beachbum Berry. None of us can truly figure it out, and that's part of the allure. The best explanation I can give is that all the syrups and mixes are made fresh in-house from proprietary recipes that date back some 50 years. I wouldn't be surprised to find honey butter or any number of Donn Beach secrets still in play. I see you didn't waste time making a dent in the vast menu. Very impressive. On your next visit, I'd suggest: Cobra Kiss and Zula if you're looking for some intense, unique flavors; 151 Swizzle, Special Planters Punch and Barrel O' Rum if you're looking for high-octane classics; and the Shark Bite and Rum Julep if you're looking for well-balanced medium drinks with that elusive, mysterious texture. As far as making a Mai-Kai drink at home, I usually turn to page 157 of Sippin' Safari for the late, great Big Bamboo and page 82 of Taboo Table for the Barrel O' Rum. These are pretty straightforward, no secret syrups revealed. But they never fail to remind me of the Mai-Kai. Almost all attempts I've seen at reverse engineering other drinks do not come close. Try to make it back for The Hukilau next June. We'll be celebrating not only the festival's 10th anniversary but the 55th anniversary of the Mai-Kai. Included in the festivities will be a special exhibit at the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art of Mai-Kai artifacts that were donated decades ago and have never been seen by the public. Mahalo!

On 2010-10-06 12:26, CincyTikiCraig wrote:
I noticed something about the Mai Kai's drinks, they all tend to have a wonderful viscosity. That is, they have a particularly thick and silky mouth feel, an unctuousness if you will. It's a texture that's missing in the Tiki Cocktails that I make at home. I wonder how they get this texture in their drinks? There's definitely honey involved, but there's something else as well. I use honey syrup generously in many of my drinks (Navy Grog for instance), but I don't get quite this level of silky texture in my drinks, so there's something else going on here. Could the Mai Tai be using the legendary Don The Beachcomber honey butter mix in their drinks? That milk fat would explain the distinctive texture. Any Mai Kai veterans out there wanna give their two cents?

Ah yes, the distinctive Mai-Kai taste and texture. This phenomenon has for years amazed and perplexed everyone from humble regulars like myself to experts like Beachbum Berry. None of us can truly figure it out, and that's part of the allure. The best explanation I can give is that all the syrups and mixes are made fresh in-house from proprietary recipes that date back some 50 years. I wouldn't be surprised to find honey butter or any number of Donn Beach secrets still in play.

I see you didn't waste time making a dent in the vast menu. Very impressive. On your next visit, I'd suggest: Cobra Kiss and Zula if you're looking for some intense, unique flavors; 151 Swizzle, Special Planters Punch and Barrel O' Rum if you're looking for high-octane classics; and the Shark Bite and Rum Julep if you're looking for well-balanced medium drinks with that elusive, mysterious texture.

As far as making a Mai-Kai drink at home, I usually turn to page 157 of Sippin' Safari for the late, great Big Bamboo and page 82 of Taboo Table for the Barrel O' Rum. These are pretty straightforward, no secret syrups revealed. But they never fail to remind me of the Mai-Kai. Almost all attempts I've seen at reverse engineering other drinks do not come close.

Try to make it back for The Hukilau next June. We'll be celebrating not only the festival's 10th anniversary but the 55th anniversary of the Mai-Kai. Included in the festivities will be a special exhibit at the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art of Mai-Kai artifacts that were donated decades ago and have never been seen by the public. Mahalo!

Post #558253 by Hurricane Hayward on Thu, Oct 7, 2010 1:17 AM