Tiki's

After spending the day in the car driving around the coast of Oahu we decided to walk to one of the restaurants we most enjoyed on our last trip: Tiki's. As I recall, it was a toss up between Tiki's and Brennecke's (on Kauai) for the best Mai Tai 2015.

Without hesitation, I ordered the first item in the "Tiki Top 3": the 1944 Mai Tai. The menu image revitalized my fond memory of the strength and complexity and of my enjoyment of the Mai Tai. The image had the drink in a pint glass which, to me, did not do it justice so I instead chose to upgrade to a souvenir tiki cup (I also wanted the cup in honor of the Expedition :D).

The drink that was delivered to the table was wonderfully presented, many thanks to the tiki cup upgrade. The tiki aside, however, the drink was very appealing with a sprig of mint and a delightful passion fruit foam. I was able to look past the lack of fruit due to its exceptional, albeit non-stock aesthetic. The ice was the cylindrical type with a hollow center; acceptable but not ideal.

As I took my first sip, my eyes literally closed in a moment of culinary bliss. This Mai Tai was great. It had notably sweeter notes than previous 'Tai's, but still had a small punch of tartness. I could feel the rum in the back of my mouth and throat but it was a pleasant sensation rather than a powerful burn. The flavor profile was similar to that of Mai Tai Bar's but not as robust. Everything was a little more subtle, but in a good way. I noticed the strength of the rums but somehow was not overpowered by it. While this is likely related to the quality of rums used, I think the orange Curacao is partially to thank for this as well; by introducing more liquors, I believe the drink has a long island iced tea booze cancelling effect.

Tiki's Mai Tai was, however, less crisp and refreshing than my precious MTs. While the sweetness of the Curacao and passion fruit foam mitigated some of the drink's bite, it also left a bit if an unfortunate thickness in my mouth.

All in all, this was, without any doubt, the best Mai Tai I have had on my early expedition. It's flavor profile and presentation is in a separate league from the previous contenders. The ability to blend such complex flavors in such a way to create a strong yet surprisingly palatable cocktail without the reliance upon overpowering fruit juices puts Tiki's a step above the rest. I will be hard pressed to find a better Mai Tai on Oahu.

9.5/10

Ellie's Corner:


Forget what I said!! Being disgusting should not be a sign of a good Mai Tai. Tiki's Mai Tai tasted like a Mai Tai but wasn't gross and sour and too strong like Mai Tai Bar's. It was definitely strong but like in a good way and I think I could drink a whole one. Which I didn't do this time, because I was having a "Five-O Lava Flow," their iteration of the strawberry Pina Colada. It was so good and tasted even better because it came in the tiki cup. I chose the blue one, which technically is called "Blue Creativity" but in my mind I christened Tiki Todd. Today on the inside of the door of my toilet stall at the Polynesian Cultural Center there was a flyer extolling the virtues of Pokemon Go and advertising that they had a PokéCenter.