Pirate Festival Tiki Drinks??

Don't really want to be too negative on here but I went to the Northern California Pirate Festival yesterday. I didn't expect anything really tiki but I was pleasantly surprised to see a "Rum Bar". I naturally went inside the tent and when I saw a drink menu that included Mai Tais and Dark and Stormies I really got excited.

I stood in a long line and was again pleasantly surprised when I saw that the Mai Tais people had bought were approximately the right color and didn't have any red, purple or orange stuff. They also didn't have any lime or mint garnish but that's another story. When I finally got to the bar I ordered a Mai Tai and tried to sneak a peek at how they were making them. I soon realized that they were coming straight out of large cooler. All pre-mixed including the rum. Poured over regular ice and unceremoniously dumped into a clear plastic cup.

Still I wasn't prejudging the taste (yet). I paid my $8 (talk about piracy) and stepped over to the tables to give it a try. It was the worst concoction I have ever tasted. Think Country Time Lemonade with a slight hint of rubbing alcohol. I couldn't get past the second sip.

I asked someone how their Dark and Stormy was and they said they were going to throw it away.

Why am I telling you all this? To save you the $$ and frustration. From now on I won't order a drink just because it has a tiki drink name. I'll pay attention to "where" I'm ordering it. I wish I could have ripped up their menu sign and said "In the name of Tiki Drink lovers everywhere, I am here to shut you down!" ha ha

On 2015-06-22 14:29, Tiki Phil wrote:
I paid my $8 (talk about piracy)

Line of the day, haha! I can't say I'm entirely surprised with your breakdown, especially with a festival, to offer such marquee drinks and churn out complete junk. Honestly what you probably had was along the lines of this:

+

Yeah that was probably it. I can't even be sure it was actual rum that they used. Oh well, live and learn.

I used to make it a rule that if a place had a Mai Tai on the menu I would have to order it. After thousands of bad Mai Tai's, I no longer follow that rule.

You really never know what you are going to get. If something seems off, trust your gut and geta beer or something that they can't screw up. Sometimes even reputable establishments will serve bad drinks...

Luna, you're not alone, bad drinks are everywhere. When I'm in a typical bar, and am uncertain what to order, I've been asking for gin & tonic. That's rarely messed up, although surprisingly, many bartenders don't know whether to drop a spent lime wedge or not, and they rarely ask me.

I laugh when I think of what bartender school must be like nowadays with the craft cocktail revolution. More learning than in the past is probably needed, except for those poor schmoes who aspire to work the lowest-of-the-low bars.

On 2015-06-24 11:35, AceExplorer wrote:
I laugh when I think of what bartender school must be like nowadays with the craft cocktail revolution.

Depends on what school you go to - this makes me angry (the comments below are great): https://youtu.be/DgI700aERNc

I stick with beer at festivals. Sam Adams is usually the "craft brew" offered at festivals.

Depends on what school you go to - this makes me angry (the comments below are great): https://youtu.be/DgI700aERNc

Man, he didn't even get the glass right...

If they be serving anything but straight rum, then it aint really pirate, me hearties...