Have A Mai Tai…It’s Waikiki Beach in A Glass

Sure. I promised myself I wouldn’t work while on my Hawaiian vacation but…

I’m not a tropical drink fan. I don’t order sugary cocktails or liqueurs at bars, but I was in Hawaii. How can you sit on the beaches and resort pools of Waikiki without an umbrella-ed drink by your side? Enter my hunt for the perfect Mai Tai.

After reading where last year’s award winning Mai Tai was being served, the first stop was an obvious one, the Wai’olu Ocean View Lounge. Wai’olu is right above the Trump International Waikiki Tower. The open air lounge and tropical surroundings is the perfect backdrop for their unique spin on a Mai Tai. Ginger liqueur, kafir lime and caramelized pineapple Bacardi rum sorbet addition is I’m sure what made this Mai Tai a Hawaiian winner.

I inadvertently saved the best for last as I found my favorite Mai Tai my last day on Oahu. I won’t let you wait until later, I’ll tell you now, it was at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. The appropriately named, Mai Tai Bar serves a Royal Mai Tai [including fresh fruit juices and cherry vanilla purée] that is the epitome of tropical cocktail porn.

I gave you the best, are you itching for the worst? Arnold’s Beach Bar & Grill. Full disclosure: It is a dive bar. However, in Hawaii, on Oahu, in Waikiki, on Waikiki Beach, I’d expect dive bars to have the Mai Tai mastered. With it’s sugary sweet syrups and unknown mix from a tap, Arnold’s did not.

Last but absolutely not least, not quite a Mai Tai but close, delicious and notable enough to add to my little Mai Tai piece here, the Hale Tai. Served at the beautiful and iconic Halekulani Hotel’s House Without A Key. Coconut rum and lilkoi juice makes this simple cocktail taste like Waikiki Beach in a glass.

DID YOU KNOW?
Never stir your Mai Tai. Always use a straw. Drink in layers from bottom to top, sweet to bitter.

Wai’olu Ocean View Lounge
Trump International Hotel
223 Saratoga Rd
Honolulu, HI
Waikiki
808-683-7456

Ilikea’s Mai Tai: Barcardi 8, Ameretto, Canton Ginger Liqueur, kaffir lime sour and caramelized pineapple rum sorbet

Mai Tai Bar
The Royal Hawaiian
2259 Kalakaua Ave
Honolulu, HI
Waikiki
808-931-4600

Royal Mai Tai: Fresh squeezed pineapple and OJ, cherry vanilla purée, rum, Cointreau, Amaretto & dark rum float

Arnold’s Beach Bar & Grill
339 Saratoga Rd
Honolulu, HI
Waikiki
808-924-6887

A “Mai Tai”

House Without A Key
2199 Kalia Rd
Honolulu, HI
Waikiki
808-923-2311

Hale Tai: Spiced rum, coconut rum, lilkoi juice and lime

About countessrose

SIP.WATCH.TWEET™ Born and bred New Yorker I now reside in the Los Angeles area. I was a debutante at age 18, Countess at 30, and despite having a bachelors degree in law, I ditched that profession and became a certified wine sommelier. Certified by both WSET Level 4 and the Court of Masters. I am a self-proclaimed connoisseur of California Zinfandel and all Primitivo. Although an actual Italian wine specialist I have an ongoing love affair with Sauternes and insist it’s an aphrodisiac. I’m serious about wine but don’t take wine seriously. I started a wine tasting company, Vino CaPisco [loosely translated in Italian means, I understand wine] in 2004 and began private in-home wine tastings for those who wanted a fun way to learn about wine. We made Sopranos Sangiovese Lovers, Sex and the Bubbly, etc themed tastings. I did that successfully and happily, until I found an urge to cover more than wine. To learn, experience and discover spirits and cocktails around town...and beyond. An occasional wine blogger for Wine Portfolio and Wine Library, I happened upon pairing wine and spirits with television shows and film in 2009 but I've recently began taking it on the road. Drinking and tweeting (and instagramming) from hotels, bars, speakeasys... I'm not a mixologist or bartender, I don't purport to have an education in cocktails or been to bar tending school. But I've been a certified sommelier since 2002 and a cocktail enthusiast and self-taught cocktail connoisseur seriously since 2012. I check out hotel bars, speciality bars, and local favorites. I talk to the mixologists/bartenders, get them to make me an original "off menu" cocktail and then give that recipe to you. If it fits, I'll also pair if with a T.V. show and tweet about it...Sometimes with a drinking game to match. Follow me on Instagram: sipwatchtweet #SipWatchTweet with me on Twitter: @VinoCapisco

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