Tiki Central / Tiki Drinks and Food / Updates to The Mai-Kai Cocktail Guide on The Atomic Grog
Post #762839 by Hurricane Hayward on Fri, Apr 22, 2016 11:18 PM
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To everyone who enjoys all of The Mai-Kai cocktail recipes on The Atomic Grog: A huge mahalo for all the support and patronage. I thought I'd give thanks and also mark the blog's fifth anniversary with some exclusive info for everyone here on Tiki Central. As promised, here's everything I know about ... FRESH JUICES AT THE MAI-KAI BARS As discussed on this thread and in many of the recipes and reviews on the blog, one of the keys to the rich and vibrant taste of the classic cocktails at The Mai-Kai is the distinctive juices. They're also extremely fresh, obviously squeezed daily like at any good Tiki bar. It was just assumed that the bar or kitchen staff squeezed their own lemons, limes and oranges (and perhaps other fruits) in the huge kitchen that serves hundreds, sometimes thousands, of guests on a nightly basis. We also heard stories from Tiki cocktail historian Jeff "Beachbum" Berry about the early days of Tiki mixology, when pioneers such as Don the Beachcomber employed a small army of bartenders who juiced fresh fruit and created the elaborate "rum rhapsodies" on an assembly line, hidden from view in back bars. The Mai-Kai's acclaimed mixologist, Mariano Licudine, came from this tradition. Like many of the original 1956 staff, he worked at the Don the Beachcomber restaurant in Chicago after starting his career for Donn Beach in 1939 in Hollywood. According to owner Dave Levy (stepson of original owner Bob Thornton), Mariano and Bob worked on the original menu to set it apart from Donn's by adjusting all the recipes as well as the names. Undoubtedly, they took advantage of one of Florida's most distinctive and acclaimed natural resources: Fresh citrus. In addition to new takes on Don the Beachcomber classics, Mariano came up with some of his own creations. His most famous, perhaps, was the Derby Daiquiri: Created in 1958 and featured as the official drink of the 1959 Florida Derby, this frozen daiquiri featuring fresh Florida orange juice was an instant smash success. It won a Rums of Puerto Rico cocktail contest and also appeared in Esquire as the magazine's drink of the month. The Derby Daiquiri could have been made elsewhere, but the pure Florida orange juice gives it a unique taste. How so? I recently ran across an interview with acclaimed chef Elizabeth Falkner when she was in town for the South Beach Food & Wine Festival. According to the chef, California citrus is more acidic than the citrus from Florida. Therefore, she said, Californians (and those who mainly drink California citrus) "have more of a palate for acidity from citrus." Taking this one step further, someone accustomed to Tiki cocktails made with California citrus will likely have the same palate. Californians should keep this in mind when they visit. Cocktails at The Mai-Kai, made with Florida citrus, will taste sweeter than those from the West Coast made with California citrus. So it's natural that Mariano and Bob would adapt their recipes to take advantage of Florida's bounty of sweet citrus, available fresh from groves not far from their doorstep. This supports my over-arching theory that the Don the Beachcomber recipes were tweaked specifically to be more accessible to a larger audience. In its early years, The Mai-Kai served more rum than any other restaurant in the country. Tourists made up a large portion of The Mai-Kai's clientele, a trend that continues to this day.
Among my favorite examples of drinks that show off the sweet and savory Florida orange juice are the Sidewinder's Fang, Mystery Drink, and S.O.S. In addition to oranges, tangelos and tangerines, Florida groves also grow white and red grapefruit. Unfortunately, the groves have been devastated over the past decade by a disease called "greening" that has left production 70 percent lower than the average crop in the early 2000s, before greening. It's a dire situation that doesn't get enough attention. We can only hope a cure is found soon. In the meantime, let's enjoy what we have and support pure Florida citrus. Check the label and buy from Florida growers. As mentioned in the Sidewinder's Fang review, I prefer the Indian River Select brand ... http://indianriverselect.com/
It's available throughout the state, and I've heard you can get it as far north as Ohio. It's very similar to what you'll find at The Mai-Kai, particularly the orange-Honeybell blend, which is bolder and sweeter than the 100% Valencia juice. However, Indian River citrus is unfortunately suffering the same fate as the rest of the state. And it's not only the greening. The aftermath of hurricanes and the recession has left business in bad shape, about half of what it was in the mid-1990s: http://www.veronews.com/blogs/my_vero/my-vero-what-s-happening-to-our-indian-river-citrus/article_cb256582-6aa4-11e4-904a-8b40db11fdf7.html Another excellent 100% Florida juice is Natalie's from Orchid Island Juice Co. ... http://www.orchidislandjuice.com/juices/orange/
But where exactly does The Mai-Kai's OJ and grapefruit juice come from? And what about the other juices essential to Tiki cocktails? There was a time when lime groves covered thousands of acres of south Dade County (south of Miami). According The Miami Herald, these groves supplied as much as half of the limes consumed in the United States: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/homestead/article4206833.html It's highly likely that The Mai-Kai used Dade County limes up until 1992, but what about now? Perhaps there was an assembly line of juice-squeezers in the kitchen at some point in the restaurant's history, but not anymore. Historian Tim "Swanky" Glazner - author of the upcoming book "Mai-Kai: History and Mystery of The Iconic Tiki Restaurant" http://www.maikaihistory.com - once told me that "in the old days they had a full-time team of Cuban juicers out back of The Mai-Kai squeezing fresh all night." Today, however, The Mai-Kai does not squeeze its own juices in-house. On one of my tours of the back service bar, manager Kern Mattei told me that fresh-squeezed juices are delivered daily by a local company. Indeed, if you take a close look at this photo from my 2011 tour, you'll see bartenders pouring juices from labeled gallon jugs: Here's a photo from my last tour in January of the same bar, Mariano's old stomping grounds: Based on the freshness of the OJ and grapefruit, I assumed it came from a local grove. On my most recent bar tour in January, Kern revealed the source of The Mai-Kai's orange juice, grapefruit juice and lemon juice: Kennesaw. The family-owned company has been in business since 1923, providing 100% all natural, fresh-squeezed juices. They contain no preservatives, no pasteurization, no fillers, no additives, and no sterilized pulp mixed in after extraction. The juices are blended in small batches and hand-sorted using the best fruit available. All that info comes from the official website: This explains why it's impossible to duplicate The Mai-Kai's orange and grapefruit juices. Anything you buy in the store, even Natalie's from Whole Foods, is pasteurized to extend the shelf life. There's nothing as fresh as what The Mai-Kai gets, except fresh-squeezed from actual fruit. But you'd be hard-pressed to find a Tiki bar squeezing oranges and grapefruit. And while you can duplicate the freshness by hand squeezing your own OJ and grapefruit, it's unlikely you'll be able to achieve the consistency of Kennesaw's juices, which come straight from the extractor and likely face strict quality-control standards. I got a taste of the fresh OJ behind the bar, and it indeed tasted like it was just squeezed. Same for the grapefruit. However, here's the next bombshell: The grapefruit juice was red/pink, not white. If you watch this video of Kern making a Grapefruit Daiquiri as part of a special Fwaygo Rum promotion, you'll see him use pink grapefruit juice ...
My tour was just a couple weeks after this video, so I quizzed Kern about the grapefruit juice. As it turns out, Kennesaw juices are seasonal (as he mentions), and the company provides whatever is freshest and in season. Sometimes the grapefruit juice is white, sometimes it's red, he said. If you scroll to the bottom of the product page link above, you'll see a calendar of the seasons. They seem to all overlap, but I guess Kennesaw has the discretion to provide what it thinks is best at that particular time. In January, it was red/pink. When I was there recently, it tasted more like white. The OJ is also a seasonal blend, and Kern told me that it's usually very similar to the Indian River orange juices. The red/pink grapefruit juice I tasted that night was rich and sweet, not at all bitter like commercially bottled or canned juices tend to be. I subsequently picked up a bottle of Indian River's Ruby Red 100% grapefruit juice and put it to the test (along with the Indian River OJ) in a Barrel O' Rum. I would highly recommend giving this a try as it makes for arguably a better Barrel. I don't have access to fresh white grapefruit, so I usually use the Ocean Spray brand of 100% juice, no sugar added. It tends to be a little bitter, making for an uneven drink. Unfortunately, Indian River doesn't bottle white grapefruit juice, but I'm going to keep a bottle of the Ruby Red on hand to make alternate versions of The Mai-Kai's cocktails. The more I think about this, the more I think I've noticed this seasonal difference from time to time. I probably just shrugged it off as an inconsistent bartender, but it now makes a lot more sense. This creates a whole new challenge for Tiki cocktail nerds while imbibing at The Mai-Kai: Guess which kind of grapefruit juice is in season. Here's a list of the cocktails that I've confirmed contain grapefruit juice:
I was also told that most of the other juices, such as mango and Pineapple, are commercially bottled or canned juices. They use the same Dole pineapple juice that probably all of us use, though I'll bet it's some sort of special hospitality industry bottling. This all makes sense considering the trouble it would be to juice enough pineapples to accommodate the high volume of drinks, not to mention all the dishes that require the juice or fruit. On my 2011 tour, I got a peek at the freezer containing the pineapple stash. That's likely the juice bottles in the back: So that leaves lime juice, a crucial ingredient in most Tiki cocktails and my final big reveal. It's the only fresh juice not provided to The Mai-Kai by Kennesaw, so we don't know exactly where it comes from. All Kern would tell me is that it's "another company." He did make reference in the Fwaygo video above to it being "Key lime juice," which I've heard several times before but dismissed. I've tried squeezing the Key limes that I've found in my local groceries, but they always yield a juice that's too tart and bitter. I juiced some fresh key limes and compared them to Persian limes in three lime-forward Mai-Kai cocktails (Floridita Daiquiri, Special Reserve Daiquiri, Mara-Amu). In all three cases, the Key lime juice was much too overpowering, and it altered the taste of the drinks for the worse. I was certain that The Mai-Kai did not use fresh-squeezed Key lime juice.
Of course, Persian limes are the common tart fruit used in cocktails at bars and restaurants around the world. They're actually most likely a cross between the Key lime and either lemon or citron (according to Wikipedia). But we all know the taste, and it can be wildly inconsistent. One bad lime in a batch of juice can throw everything off. My epiphany came during 'The Great Lime Crisis of 2014,' when supply dwindled and prices skyrocketed: There were lots of creative ideas floating around about how to deal with the problem. Some suggested a bottled juice, which many of us rejected on its face as cocktail blasphemy. Santa Cruz organic pure lime juice was recommended, so I gave it a try. Unfortunately, it was too sour and artificial tasting, oddly enough. It just didn't taste right in those lime-forward cocktails, nearly the same as all those bottled lime juices we're told to avoid in lieu of squeezing fresh limes. Totally desperate and remembering the old rumor that The Mai-Kai used Key limes, I reached for the bottled Key lime juice, most commonly used in Key Lime Pie ... The ingredients all seemed to be the same (water, Key lime concentrate, and a small amount of preservatives), so I just grabbed the cheapest (Mrs. Biddle's Key West brand Key Lime Juice from concentrate). One quick swig and I immediately pucker. Wow, this stuff is extremely tart. But then it hit me. I know that taste. It was reminiscent of the Derby Daiquiri, the Floridita Daiquiri and a host of Mai-Kai cocktails. But when I mixed it up in the same proportions as Persian lime juice, it was just too overpowering. And reducing the amount of lime juice didn't really work either, throwing off the entire recipe. I knew the exact amount of lime juice in the Derby and the Mara-Amu since those were published recipes, and I wanted to stick to it. I set it aside and continued to buy overpriced Persian limes, substituting lemons when I could and growing ever more frustrated. Late one night, I had only an ounce or two of juice left and needed to make a few more drinks, so I got creative. Why not combine the fresh-squeezed Persian lime juice with the bottled Key lime juice? I wonder if a simple 50-50 mix would work? That's actually not bad, I thought after a small taste. A few cocktails later, I was sure I was onto something.
The price of Persian limes unexpectedly dropped, so I grabbed as many as I could and made a batch of blended lime juice. I ran through a half dozen or so Mai-Kai cocktails, comparing my new lime juice blend against straight Persian lime juice. The difference was shocking. This was it! The Mai-Kai uses a blend of lime juices, I was certain. The blend is more tart and has more bite, but it's perfectly balanced by the fresh juice. It's more bold and flavorful, just like at The Mai-Kai. And the bottled Key lime juice also solves the inconsistency problem, making for an even blend that almost always tastes the same. When I'm ready to make cocktails, I'll squeeze a half-dozen or so limes, measure out the juice and combine in a squeeze bottle with an equal amount of good old Mrs. Biddle's. As an added bonus, it makes your limes go a lot farther, even when prices aren't through the roof.
It's also great in a standard daiquiri, and I generally now use it in all cocktails that call for fresh lime juice. You can see the difference in this comparison of daiquiris above (the blend is on the left). Kern has since confirmed that The Mai-Kai does indeed use a Key lime juice blend. Though I haven't had the opportunity to taste the lime juice from the bar on its own, I'm confident its similar to the blend I came up with in 2014. Give it a try and let me know what you think. It should bring you even closer to re-creating the Mai-Kai cocktail experience in the privacy of your home Tiki bar. Okole maluna! SEPTEMBER 2016 UPDATE In the interest of keeping all my info on The Mai-Kai's juices in one spot, I'll continue to post updates here. First up, the latest update from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on the state's citrus crop, including some bits of good news. The final forecast for the 2015-2016 growing season, released in July, showed an increase of 1.5 million boxes from an October 2015 forecast, but down nearly 16 percent from the prior season's near five-decade-low of 96.8 million boxes. "Production is nearly 70 percent lower than it was 20 years ago, and the long-term future of Florida citrus depends on a breakthrough in the search for a long-term solution to greening," Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam said in a statement. Growers have been allowed to temporarily use three antibiotics that remain under review for a "special use exemption" by the EPA but have shown signs of controlling greening. Florida Department of Citrus Executive Director Shannon Shepp also promised programs in the fall and winter to boost the state's signature crops. See the full story here:
Meanwhile, I finally secured a bottle of Kennesaw's 100% fresh-squeezed orange juice, which we've confirmed is the juice used by The Mai-Kai. All I can say is wow! It blows away my previous go-to OJ, Indian River Select, and is probably even better than anything I could squeeze myself. It's very pulpy, totally unprocessed and tastes like the best oranges in the crop were just squeezed into the bottle this morning.
I proceeded to make an S.O.S. using Kennesaw OJ and a revamped lime blend (see below), resulting in the best S.O.S. I've had outside of The Mai-Kai. The freshness of the juice blended perfectly with the lime and honey, creating a savory backbone for the rums and falernum. Of course, Kennesaw is not easy to come by. It's available at Restaurant Depot in South Florida, along with citrus shops at select groves. I haven't tasted it yet, but Kennesaw's seasonal pink grapefruit juice was also available. I'm hoping the white juice comes back into season soon.
Another option, as suggested below by Quince_at_Dannys, are the unpasteurized orange and grapefruit juices at Trader Joe's. He says to look for the plastic jugs in the refrigerator section. "The OJ is always good and fresh-squeezed tasting, and the grapefruit is usually great. It's pink grapefruit juice, and it seems to change seasonally depending on the fruit that goes in it. I've had batches that are a lighter pink color, and pulpier, that work very well in certain Mai Kai drinks (see Yeoman's Grog)." At some point we'll have to compare the Kennesaw juices head-to-head vs. the Trader Joe's juices in a taste test. Also be on the lookout for Natalie's Orchid Island (non-pasteurized, 100% fresh-squeezed Florida juice), which has won much acclaim from online tasters: THE FINAL WORD ON OJ AND GRAPEFRUIT: My recommendation is 100% fresh Florida citrus, either by squeezing the fruit yourself or finding the rare brands that produce 100% pure, fresh-squeezed, non-pasteurized juices containing pulp. These include Kennesaw (used at The Mai-Kai), and Natalie's / Trader Joe's. The key when sourcing bottles is to look for non-pasteurized from Florida. Speaking of taste tests, I had the privilege on Sept. 16 of mixing up a special cocktail for guests of Tim "Swanky" Glazner at the release party for "Mai-Kai: History and Mystery of the Iconic Tiki Restaurant," the amazing new book that everyone should buy ... http://www.maikaihistory.com
The cocktail was the Big Bamboo, which I chose for several reasons. It was a rare confirmed Mariano Licudine recipe (from Beachbum Berry's Sippin' Safari), and it fit the theme of the "lost cocktails" of The Mai-Kai perfectly. It was also relatively easy to make quickly in large batches, so I could serve the thirsty hordes at Swanky's hotel and also partake in the festivities. That's me and Max Vrahimis, who helped me source ingredients and was essential in helping out in the kitchen ...
But mixing up the Big Bamboo also turned out to be a great test of The Mai-Kai's juices. I wanted to duplicate The Mai-Kai's flavor profile as closely as possible, so I secured several half gallons of Kennsaw OJ, as detailed above. I had planned to make my own lime-juice blend that I detailed back in April, but for the hell of it I asked Kern Mattei if he could donate a half gallon of The Mai-Kai's distinctive lime juice. Kern also donated a bunch of The Mai-Kai's new swizzle sticks, and director of sales and marketing Pia Dahlquist also helped secure a donation of Appleton Reserve rum. Check out our updated Big Bamboo review, with enhanced history and mixing notes: Perhaps under the influence of too many Big Bamboos, I led a special late-night lime juice tasting. Several of us compared three different juices: The Mai-Kai's blend; my attempt to duplicate The Mai-Kai's blend (as detailed above: equal parts fresh-squeezed Persian limes and bottled key lime juice); plus some 100% Persian lime juice. As you can imagine, we weren't in the best state of mind to conduct a 100% scientific tasting since it was now nearing midnight and happy hour had started at The Mai-Kai at 4 p.m. Luckily, I do have some sketchy notes, which praise The Mai-Kai's "very sour and rich" blend as the best of the three. My blend was close, but definitely No. 2 in the judging. The Persian juice tasted sour and fresh, but not as rich as the others and placed third.
A few days later, I put the juices to the test again, this time a bit more clear-headed in the comfort of The Atomic Grog (photo above). I compared The Mai-Kai's blend to my standard 1:1 mix of fresh Persian and bottled key lime juices, plus a more intense 1:2 mix (see photo above). I did a solo tasting, with these results: The Mai-Kai blend remains No. 1 with its very rich and sour flavor, almost like straight key lime juice but not as tart. I suspect it's a premium brand of key lime juice, not the cheap supermarket brand that I use. Probably from a local grove or juice supplier. I'm savoring my remaining supply, but I know it won't last long. My 1:1 blend just didn't compare. It was both tart and acidic, resulting in the most aggressive of the three but not as smooth and mixable. I plan to ditch this mix in favor of my new recommendation ... NEW RECOMMENDED LIME JUICE: 2 parts premium key lime juice and 1 part fresh-squeezed Persian lime juice. This new, stronger blend comes close to The Mai-Kai's flavor, especially if you can find a quality key lime juice. It's less bitter than the previously suggested 1:1 blend and almost as tart as The Mai-Kai blend. I'll copy this info to the current end of the thread in case folks aren't looking here. Feel free to post replies here: http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=47293&forum=10&start=210 Oct. 13, 2016, update: More bad news on the future of Florida's citrus industry ... Florida orange crop forecast at 70 million boxes, lowest in decades Florida’s signature crop, the orange, continues to be battered by greening disease, and the federal government’s first forecast of the 2016-17 is a bleak one. It’s shaping up to be worse than last season’s when the crop reached a 52-year low. The state’s commercial orange crop will be an estimated 70 million boxes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday. That’s a drop of more than 11 million boxes from last season’s 81.6 million boxes, which was 70 percent lower than 20 years ago. Over the last decade, Florida’s commercial groves have been crippled by greening, a bacterial disease. Spread by the Asian citrus psyllid, it attacks a tree’s vascular system and can kill it within two years. May 26, 2017, update: EXCLUSIVE NEW INFO: Where to find the orange and grapefruit juices used at The Mai-Kai
Now, to the subject at hand: KENNESAW ORANGE AND GRAPEFRUIT JUICES HIT RETAIL STORES Among the many secrets of The Mai-Kai's famous cocktails are the fresh juices available only in South Florida. Our research above revealed the souce of the fresh, unpasteurized orange and grapefruit juices as Kennesaw (http://www.kennesawjuice.com), a South Florida company that has been sourcing fresh squeezed orange and grapefruit juices since the 1920s. It was assumed that these juices were available only for restaurants and non-consumer stores such as Restaurant Depot, but I've recently come across these sweet elixirs in several South Florida locations. You can now find the juices in many Whole Foods stores ...
It's unclear how many South Florida locations carry Kennesaw juices, or how widespread the distribution is outside of this region, but it's definitely worth seeking out and inquiring. It's tagged as "local," so I'm afraid it may be limited. If Kennesaw juices are unavailable in your local Whole Foods, the next best option may be Trader Joe's, which carries its own brand of unpasteurized juices ... My order of preference for OJ and grapefruit juice would be:
Note that white grapefruit juice was not available, only red. I'm told by manager Kern Mattei at The Mai-Kai that Kennesaw's juices are seasonal, and that white grapefruit appears only when it's fresh. But I've yet to see it in the stores. Armed with these juices, you'll come much closer to the unique flavor profile of the cocktails at The Mai-Kai. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE LIME JUICE? The big missing link was still lime juice, which is reported to be a fresh key lime blend. It's much more tart then fresh-squeezed Persian limes, as detailed in the research above. I was somewhat happy with my blend of 1 part fresh Persian limes mixed with 1 part of Mrs. Biddle's Key West brand key lime juice from concentrate (or similar). However, I knew this wasn't quite right, as detailed in our taste tests at Swanky's book release party in September. Then, I received a tip: I was urged to check out an old-school juice market in Davie, not far from The Mai-Kai. Stores run by citrus groves are great remnants of Florida's past and are scattered all over the Sunshine State. I feel guilty that I too often forget about them and pass them by on my way to Publix. I know they often carry the freshest juices, but I wasn't sure about the state of the local juice market and have not frequented them lately. My tipster about this particular location urged me to look for the Kennesaw juices, plus a unique key lime juice not seen before. So off I went. Here's a photo tour from my initial visits to Bob Roth's New River Groves in Davie, est. 1964. You can't miss New River Groves when driving by on Griffin Road ... A sign promises exactly what we're looking for ... A peek around back reveals the fresh daily crop ... New River Groves is famous for its key lime pies ... The sprawling building contains several areas, including a juice bar, a cafe and a retail store ... I now use this delicious pure, raw honey in my honey mix for Mai-Kai cocktails ...
As promised, I was able to find Kennsaw's orange and grapefruit juices ... Here's a closer look at the grapefruit juice ...
Scroll back up to see my earlier review of the orange juice. The grapefruit is just as fresh and pulpy, perfect in Mai-Kai cocktails. After repeated visits, I still haven't seen white grapefruit juice. If when it's in season, I wonder if it isn't sent to retail outlets since it's not considered as popular as the red juice. I was momentarily distracted by this classic jukebox, with a song selection that seemingly hasn't changed since the 1970s ... Then I spotted the holy grail ... The special ingredient in Terry's Homemade Key Lime Pie is also sold by the gallon jug ... I rushed home to try it, and it didn't disappoint ...
It's not from concentrate, unlike the common supermarket brands ... Here's my tasty booty from that first visit to New River Groves, including the requisite key lime pie sample ... Bob Roth's New River Groves is open every day from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. RATING THE KEY LIME JUICES
Postscript: I've been curious about the use of key lime juice in cocktails and wondered if there was a historical precedent. My questions were answered by a story I found online from Punch, published in January 2014, and titled "Why Your Daiquiri Isn't the Same as Hemingway's". I'm not sure exactly how this may have influenced Mariano Licudine or The Mai-Kai. Persian limes would have been prevalent across the country by the 1950s. The use of key lime juice in the restaurant's bars could even be a more recent development. Whatever the origin, it's just one more distinctive twist that gives The Mai-Kai's cocktails a deliciously unique flavor profile. Once again, I'll copy this new info to the current end of the thread (page 20) for easier access and commenting. Okole maluna! News in the wake of Hurricane Irma in September 2017 ... Irma may speed the end of orange juice (The Washington Post) Why Your Orange Juice Might Be From Brazil: Florida’s Trees Are Dying (The Wall Street Journal) Citrus groves regroup after getting ‘kicked in the teeth’ by Irma (The Palm Beach Post) The third story does offer a glimmer of hope: November 2017 update https://punchdrink.com/articles/how-to-use-key-lime-cocktail-recipe/ Fort Lauderdale’s Mai Kai, one of the country’s oldest and most iconic tiki bars, has relied exclusively on Key lime juice in their cocktails since opening in 1956.
"The original owners… wanted to take it up a notch, create something that was totally different," explains Kern Mattei, the current general manager. "Key lime has a higher acidity and a stronger flavor, which actually changes the flavor of the drinks." A central component to the Mai Kai’s original menu items, many of which are kept secret and copyrighted, Key lime juice also features in the bar’s house versions of classic formulas like the Daiquiri. But using Key lime juice, as opposed to that of Persian lime, means tweaking traditional ratios. "The acidity [of Key lime juice] reacts more with the syrups, so you have to actually use less Key lime because it’s stronger," explains Mattei.
Just stumbled across fresh-squeezed white grapefruit juice today at The Fresh Market. I've never seen this before, though I admit this is not a store I frequent regularly. Zero preservatives, 100% juice, very similar to what you'll taste at The Mai-Kai. I put it to the test in the Rum Barrel, and it passed with flying colors.
Meanwhile, the latest citrus crop forecast for Florida from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows the problems caused by Hurricane Irma continue to affect the state’s citrus industry. Here's the latest news ... Events, music, art, cocktails, culture [ Edited by: Hurricane Hayward 2018-05-18 21:21 ] |
