In this episode, we kick things off with a quick discussion of some rums from KōHana Distillers in Hawaii before jumping into our interview (18:44) with Kevin Crossman, the creator of UltimateMaiTai.com. Kevin has spent the last couple of decades drinking his way toward the ultimate mai tai, both in bars and at home, and documenting the process on his website. We pick Kevin’s brain on a little bit of mai tai history, the cocktail’s evolution over the years, an ingredient-by-ingredient breakdown (with recommendations for each component), finding the right combination of rums, the bars that’ll make you a great one, and much more.

Links to learn more:

Kevin’s website, Ultimate Mai Tai

Kevin’s history of the Mai Tai

Follow Ultimate Mai Tai on Instagram

KōHana Distillers (mentioned during the intro)

Thanks to Holmes Cay for sponsoring this episode. Explore their current releases at HolmesCay.com and keep an eye for new ones coming this year.