05/23/2026
The Tip Top Mai Tai talked a big game, but honestly? I’d probably only pour one if my liquor shelves were completely wiped out. You're experience may vary. I had high hopes after seeing so many glowing reviews, but this one just felt sharp and oddly unbalanced to me, even after pouring it over pebble ice and giving it the full mint garnish treatment.
The strangest part was a really familiar flavor that kept jumping out at me: Froot Loops cereal. Which actually kind of makes sense when you think about it. Orgeat and Froot Loops both lean heavily on benzaldehyde-driven almond/citrus notes, so that nostalgic cereal flavor may not be accidental. Unfortunately, paired with whatever else is happening here, it pushed the drink into “artificial” territory for me rather than classic tiki balance.
The ingredient transparency also leaves a lot to the imagination: “A rum blend of silver, Jamaican pot still, and barrel-aged Caribbean rums, 100% real lime juice, Orange Curaçao, and Orgeat.”
As tiki cocktail nerds know, not all rums, Curaçaos, and orgeats are created equal. Usually when brands stay vague, it means bulk ingredients are doing the heavy lifting.
That said, I do think there’s potential here. The framework of a real Mai Tai is present, and with some refinement and better ingredient transparency, this could be something genuinely solid instead of just “acceptable for a can.” 🍹
