Annual contest offers whimsical takes on mai tai

Now in its eighth year, the Don the Beachcomber Mai Tai Festival at the Royal Kona Resort on Hawaii island has evolved into a showcase of what talented mixologists can create when given time to elevate a classic cocktail recipe.

It didn’t used to be this way. In 2010 most of the entries were basic riffs off the original, and the idea of incorporating showmanship into drink entries meant competitors dressed up in funky outfits and performed silly skits. In contrast, last year’s winning bartender, Justin Park of Bar Leather Apron in Honolulu, took home a $10,000 check after presenting his mai tai in a custom tiki-style display box that included a puff of kiawe wood smoke as it was opened.

“From the first year I competed to last year, the competition was much more stiff,” said Park. “The first time in 2012, there were maybe 30 people there, and only three or four were not from Hawaii. Last year there were a lot more national and international bartenders there.”

The original mai tai recipe calls for a mix of light and dark rum, orgeat, orange curacao, rock candy syrup and fresh lime juice. Pineapple and orange juice were added in the 1940s when the cocktail was introduced to Hawaii and the recipe was tweaked for tourists. Park’s winning recipe in 2015 utilized most of those ingredients while still giving him room to showcase his own creativity.

“I think balance is the key,” said Park. “Citrus, sweet and booze are the key components. The base rum is superimportant for the mai tai.”

Park’s winning recipe in 2015 called for a mix of Sammy’s Beach Bar rum infused with raisins and El Dorado 12-year, plus house-made orgeat syrup with allspice and orange flower water. Instead of sugar, he used ohia lehua honey from Hawaii island, plus a mix of coconut water, coconut oil and vanilla. An absinthe wash of the ice used in the drink, a few dashes of Angostura bitters and an infusion of kiawe smoke provide additional aromatics.

“I took elements of Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic for my version,” Park said, in reference to the two bartenders credited with originally developing the cocktail some 75 years ago. “This contest brings a better understanding of what the mai tai can be. It’s not just pineapple juice and high-fructose corn syrup.”

The 2016 Mai Tai Festival kicks off at 11 a.m. Aug. 13 with a Battle of the BBQ, featuring a number of Hawaii island chefs competing for top honors as well as a People’s Choice award. At 2 p.m. Henry Kapono returns to the festival for a free poolside concert before the mai tai competition kicks off at 4:30 p.m. Admission to the festival is free; the Royal Kona Resort is at 75-5852 Alii Drive. Call 329-3111 or visit donsmaitaifest.com for more information.

Can’t make it to Kona next weekend? You don’t have to leave Oahu to try some of the best mai tais Hawaii has to offer — including two versions that won the right to be called the World’s Best Mai Tai. Check out the list below for my top five picks; visit my blog for an expanded top-10 list.

Bar Leather Apron

745 Fort St. No. 127-A, 524-0808

Owner Justin Park’s E Hoo Pau Mai Tai ($18) is a multidimensional adventure for your palate. Adding raisins to the lighter Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum adds a depth of flavor you wouldn’t expect. Between the raisin-infused rum and house-made orgeat syrup, you’ll spend the first half of the drink happily trying to decipher all the different tastes dancing across your tongue. Be sure to email info@barleatherapron.com for a reservation at least a day in advance, which should ensure you a seat at the bar and an opportunity to watch Park create your drink using the same presentation boxes he took to Kona in 2015.

Bevy

661 Auahi St., 594-7445

It’s a testament to how good Bevy owner Christian Self’s recipe is when a cocktail he created six years ago is still one of the most requested by customers. The drink named World’s Best Mai Tai in 2010 is served the same way today, with a mix of Bacardi rum, orange curacao, falernum, lemongrass syrup and fresh lime juice topped with a candied-ginger foam. A quick stir and a few sips provide the necessary kick of booze expected from the cocktail, but the addition of lemongrass and ginger adds sweet and spicy elements that keep you reaching for your glass.

Mai Tai Bar

The Royal Hawaiian, 2259 Kalakaua Ave., 923-7311

The best place for a history lesson to go with your cocktails is the hotel where Victor “Trader Vic” Bergeron was commissioned to create a mai tai especially for its guests. The Royal Scratch Mai Tai ($12) is still served the same way it was originally conceived nearly 65 years ago, with fresh pineapple and orange juice added to the original recipe’s rum, orange curacao and orgeat. But I’m also a fan of the Vic’s 44 ($12), which adds fresh lime and mint to cut some of the sweetness from the juice and give it more tartness. And if you’ve got the money, splurge on an Alii Mai Tai ($35), made with top-shelf Appleton and El Dorado rums.

House Without a Key

Halekulani, 2199 Kalia Road, 923-2311

I love that the House Without a Key serves its Mai Tai ($14) over crushed ice, because the bartenders here showcase the mix of light and dark Bacardi rums and lime to the point where you’re not entirely sure there’s pineapple juice in your glass. The ice helps dilute things a bit as you work your way through the drink; chewing the accompanying sugar cane stick adds bursts of sweetness between sips. And you can’t discount the million-dollar oceanfront views House Without a Key provides to go with your cocktail.

Haleiwa Beach House

62-540 Kamehameha Highway, 637-3435

Head to Oahu’s fabled North Shore for the newcomer on this list — the Ku‘ula-Kai Mai Tai ($13) made its debut at Haleiwa Beach House just a few months ago when the restaurant opened, and I can’t wait to head back and order another after visiting in May. Utilizing light and dark Old Lahaina Rum as its base along with fresh pineapple and orange juice, this version of the classic cocktail brilliantly substitutes dry curacao for the traditional orange curacao and gains a lot of almond influence from the Taylor’s Velvet Falernum Orgeat used in the drink. A candied ginger and Luxardo cherry garnish provides an extra kick of sweetness, as well.

Jason Genegabus tracks the local bar and drink scenes in “Barfly” every Friday in TGIF; read his blog at inthemix.staradvertiserblogs.com.