Post #709508 by bamalamalu on Wed, Feb 26, 2014 9:12 PM

We visited Kauai earlier this month, so figured I'd post our Mai Tai findings.

Last time I was there, about 6 years ago, the best Mai Tai I had was actually at the Smith's luau (walk the pre-made drink over the the bar and have them put a float of dark rum on top; makes all the difference.) This time we did better.

Mahiko Lounge at Gaylord's, Kilohana Plantation, Lihue. This was the best we found for a real/Trader Vic's style. No screwing around! Pay the extra buck or two for them to use Koloa rum. They do add a little fresh-pressed sugar cane juice, which worked. We went here twice - the bartender the first time made them best, but they were easily worth drinking on the second visit, too.

Feral Pig, Lihue. These guys also make a nice from-scratch drink. They make their own orgeat and were maybe a little heavy-handed with it - the drink had kind of a thick texture. But a good drink, and kept consistent between different bartenders. Worth repeating.

Oasis on the Beach, at Waipouli Beach Resort, Kapa'a. This is fairly similar to the Feral Pig's drink, but a notch below, and missing mint. They also make their own orgeat and their drink also has that thicker texture. They also add a little bit of passion fruit. They used Whaler's for the float - wish we'd thought to ask whether they had Koloa. I thought the drink had a little bit of an odd flavor at first, but overall a better choice than you'll find most places.

Tiki Iniki, Priceville. Sadly, a huge disappointment. On paper it's a Trader Vic's recipe, but it was terribly executed. I don't know how they got that result out of those ingredients - it just tasted like Sprite. They were by far the most generous with the mint, but I couldn't smell or taste it (I posted more in the Iniki thread in Locating Tiki.)

Tahiti Nui, Hanalei. Everybody knows this isn't a 'real' Mai Tai, but had to admit it was pretty tasty.

For excellent beer, we highly recommend Kauai Beer Company on Rice Street in Lihue. Their beers were all good, and their porter (KokoBoPo) was phenomenal! Right now they're only open Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday, with food trucks available at 5 on Thursdays. They expect to have their own kitchen open in a few months, though. NOT to be confused with Kauai Island Brewing in Port Allen (they were OK, but their beers were more average.)