Post #712365 by Hurricane Hayward on Fri, Mar 28, 2014 9:35 AM

Mahalo again for the kind words. Bear with me as I ramp up these updates. I'd love to portray myself a carefree "bum" ala my mentor, but unfortunately it's actually a dreaded day job and other tedious tasks (not to mention other blog articles to write) that slow me down. But no worries, nothing can keep me from coming back to The Mai-Kai's cocktails.

So without further adieu, here's what I have planned for The Mai-Kai Cocktail Guide in the coming weeks, months and - let's just say "near future" ...

NEW AND UPDATED ANCESTOR AND TRIBUTE RECIPES

• Sooner rather than later, expect to see three brand new tribute recipes for some of the top-rated current drinks that have yet to receive the tribute treatment. Plus one slight update to a highly regarded recipe. Interestingly, one key ingredient ties them all together.

• And thanks to Beachbum Berry's "Potions of the Caribbean," I'll be posting two new Don the Beachcomber ancestor recipes for two lost cocktails from The Mai-Kai's original 1956 menu, plus a new ancestor and updated tribute recipe for a current cocktail.

Where were you in 1968? Many people were at The Mai-Kai drinking a Martinique Cocktail or Last Rites before they disappeared from the menu.

LOST COCKTAILS AND MENU ARCHAEOLOGY

I've been collecting menus, both print and digital versions, for a while in an effort to trace the history and figure out when certain drinks appeared (and disappeared) from The Mai-Kai. Even without this obsession, they're pretty cool to collect. Armed with menus from 1956-57, 1959, 1966, 1968, 1970, 1979, 1980s, and most versions from the 2000s, I plan to map out a timeline and do some drink archaeology. If anyone has any other menus that I don't have and would be willing to share digital files, it would be much appreciated.

I'll trace the history all the way up to the new 2014 menu and begin incorporating all the new photos into the reviews. I'll do this over time as I update each review with additional links and info. The first to receive the new photo was The Mai Tai:

http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2011/08/24/mai-kai-cocktail-review-trade-in-vics-mai-tai-for-this-classic/

But don't worry, as you can see I plan to also keep the vintage artwork from the previous menu. Some of these classic images date back 50 years and were created by the same artist who did Don the Beachcomber's menus.

• There will also be a new "lost cocktails" page that pulls together all the old drinks and research in one place for easy reference.

REFRESHED DRINK REVIEWS, NEW RESOURCES

As mentioned above, I plan to add new photos to all the current drinks and freshen up the pages with new links, info and trivia that I've been gathering. For instance, we all know that the Black Magic is touted on the menu as "the owner's choice," but according to a 1977 article in The Miami Herald, original owner Bob Thornton's favorite was the Mutiny. The article added that the Black Magic was the favorite of manager Kern Mattei Sr., father of current manager Kern Mattei Jr.

As the reviews are being refreshed, I also have some cool new features planned:

• Swanky has graciously asked if I'd like to add the tribute recipes to The Grogalizer, so I'll be working with him hopefully in time for The Hukilau to add dozens of new recipes to the database at Grogalizer.com. Since nearly every ingredient should already be included in the site's listings, these cocktails should fit in nicely with the existing archive of recipes taken mainly from Beachbum Berry's books.

You don't really need this many rums ... but it can't hurt.

• Stocking your bar: Ingredient list and tips. Similar to the glossaries in the Bum's books, this will be a handy resource that will include detailed instructions on what to stock in your bar in order to make all 80+ recipes in the guide. While it won't be a database like The Grogalizer, I hope to include links to drinks that include each ingredient.

• Breaking down the drinks: A list of lists. This is something I've wanted to do for a long time but will take some more brainstorming. Think of this as an expanded guide that breaks down drinks by category (top sour drinks, top sweet drinks) as well as many more creative categories (best drinks for newbies, top 5 drinks to impress a first date). I'm sure I'll ask for input when I'm ready to put it together.

Other ideas for special features include a primer for newbies, video and photo galleries, interviews and more history features. Of course, there likely will be some more tribute recipes along the way. Feel free to let me know what you think would be cool. This is the place to do that.

THEN WHAT?

When most of the above is completed, I'll start working on a fancy new landing page for the guide. At that point, it will be time to declare the launch of The Mai-Kai Cocktail Guide, v.2. My target date for this re-launch is June 2015. The significance of this date will become apparent soon.

In the meantime, I'll use this thread to alert everyone to any noteworthy updates, large and small. So stay tuned, and as always: Okole Maluna!

The official blog of The Hukilau

Featuring The Mai-Kai Cocktail Guide

[ Edited by: Hurricane Hayward 2014-03-29 10:39 ]

[ Edited by: Hurricane Hayward 2014-04-21 11:25 ]