Professional baseball experience: Beatrice, Nebraska State League, 1934-35; Houston, Texas League, 1936-37-38; Sacramento, Pacific Coast League, 1939; Athletics, American League, 1940; Detroit, American League; 1941-42-43-44; Oakland P.C.L., 1945; Armed Service, U.S., and Oakland, 1946.
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Trader Vic put mai tai on the lips of millions
- Richard Carleton Hacker, Special to The Chronicle
Thursday, November 11, 2004
Sixty years ago, cocktail history was made in Oakland, with the creation of the Mai Tai -- a fruity and powerful concoction that has been associated with breezy relaxation ever since.
The Mai Tai soon became the signature drink of Trader Vic's, a South Seas- styled bar and restaurant that expanded beyond its roots in Oakland to become an international chain. And the drink itself -- with its thick, rich texture and citrus and cherry undertones softening the meaty punch of two different rums -- has gone forth into the world beyond Trader Vic's, becoming a standard at tiki and lounge bars and even appearing on airlines flights.
Perhaps it's no surprise that the Mai Tai has grown and prospered, because it was created from the very beginning with a lofty goal in mind: to be a world-class drink to fit Trader Vic's world-class reputation, according to Trader Vic's founder, San Francisco native Victor Jules Bergeron Jr.
"We talked about creating a drink that would be the finest drink we could make, using the finest ingredients we could find," Bergeron writes in his book, "Frankly Speaking: Trader Vic's Own Story" (Doubleday, 1973).
Bergeron was always a man with big ideas, and he never let the childhood loss of his left leg to tuberculosis hold him back. In fact, he eventually used it to enhance his legend.
In 1934, he opened a rustic saloon at the corner of 65th Street and San Pablo Avenue called Hinky Dink's, a name inspired by the popular World War I ditty, "Hinky Dinky, Parlez-Vous."
In 1937, Bergeron took a trip to the Caribbean, where he discovered rum drinks. Soon, cocktails such as the daiquiri, mojito and planters punch began appearing at Hinky Dink's. But the exotic drinks didn't fit the deer-antler decor. After a visit to the South Seas-style restaurant Don the Beachcomber in Hollywood, and a meeting with owner Donn Beach -- who also later claimed to have invented the Mai Tai -- Bergeron transformed his bar, and himself, into Trader Vic's.
Trader Vic's was a success from the day it opened, due in part to a drink menu featuring 35 different rums, combined with Bergeron's ability to entertain customers. Some patrons assumed the "Trader" nickname came from adventurous dealings in the South Seas, even though at the time Bergeron had never ventured west of San Francisco. His wooden leg added to his mystique -- popular rumor had it that the leg was lost to a shark attack.
The marketing of exotic adventure drew hordes of customers, many of whom crossed the new Bay Bridge, which opened in 1936. Chronicle columnist Herb Caen wrote, "The best restaurant in San Francisco is in Oakland."
According to Bergeron, he sat down with his bartender one evening in 1944 to create the world-class drink he envisioned. What they came up with was this: 2 ounces 17-year-old J. Wray & Nephew Jamaican rum, 1/2 ounce French Garnier Orgeat, 1/2 ounce Holland DeKuyper Orange Curacao, 1/4 ounce rock candy syrup and the juice of one fresh lime.
"We poured the ingredients over shaved ice in a double old-fashioned glass," Bergeron writes, "shook it well, added one spent lime shell and garnished it with a sprig of fresh mint."
'Out of this world'
Just as he was about to taste it, a waiter told Bergeron that his friends Eastham and Carrie Guild from Tahiti were at the restaurant. Ever the congenial host, Bergeron went to greet them.
"I told them I had just made a new drink that I hadn't even tasted yet," he wrote. "Carrie and Ham tasted theirs and Carrie asked Ham, 'What do you think of it?' "
" 'It's Mai Tai,' he said, 'It's Mai Tai roa ae.' "
"I asked what in the hell that meant and Ham said, 'In Tahitian it means 'out of this world,' 'the best.' "
"That's the name of this drink, then," Bergeron wrote. "It's Mai Tai. It's out of this world."
The Mai Tai's popularity soon resulted in a shortage of the limited- production 17-year-old rum, so Bergeron switched to J. Wray & Nephew's 15-year- old version. When that dwindled, he stretched his remaining stock by changing the formula to 1 ounce of 15-year-old J. Wray & Nephew and 1 ounce of Red Heart or Coruba Jamaican rum. Today, one of the secrets to making a great Mai Tai is to use two rums.
Know what to order
If you know what to ask for, the best Mai Tais are still made by Trader Vic's bartenders. Beware that if you just ask for a Mai Tai, they'll make it using a pre-bottled mix, and the drink will be lighter and sweeter, with less cherry flavor and a thinner texture. You want what they call the Original Mai Tai, which is: 3/4 ounce fresh lime juice (2 to 3 halved limes), 3/4 ounce Leroux Orange Curacao, 3/4 ounce Trader Vic Formula Orgeat syrup, 1 ounce Coruba Dark Jamaican rum, 1 ounce dark Lemon Hart & Son Demerara Rum from Guyana, and pineapple chunk, maraschino cherry and mint for garnish.
Fill a wide-mouthed glass with crushed ice. Squeeze the juice from the lime halves. Reserve one squeezed lime half. Pour in the lime juice, Leroux Orange Curacao and the orgeat syrup. Pour in the Jamaican rum, followed by the Guyana rum. Dump the contents of the glass into a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Pour everything back into the glass, and garnish with a chunk of pineapple and a maraschino cherry skewered on a swizzle stick. Drop in the squeezed lime half and add a sprig of mint.
The hand-squeezed lime is crucial to the flavor. The mint doesn't affect the flavor as much as the bouquet, which is part of the Mai Tai experience.
Another Bay Area bar with some claim to the Mai Tai's creation is the Tonga Room at the Fairmont Hotel. According to Jeff Doane, the hotel's director of sales and marketing, bartender Frank Lui helped Bergeron concoct the original Mai Tai before jumping ship to the Tonga Room, where he kept making Mai Tais for customers until the mid-1980s. Here's the recipe the Tonga Room uses today: 1 ounce Myers Dark rum, 1 ounce Bacardi 151 proof rum, 5 1/2 ounces pineapple juice, a splash of orgeat syrup, a splash of fresh lime juice and a slice of pineapple.
Fill a ceramic coconut cup with mini ice cubes. Pour in the Myers Dark rum, Bacardi 151 proof rum, pineapple juice, orgeat syrup and lime juice. Stir with a swizzle stick, garnish with the pineapple and a mini umbrella, and serve.
Preserving tradition
Until his death in 1984 at age 82, Bergeron held the line against alternate versions of the Mai Tai, at least in his own restaurants.
"He wanted everyone who worked for him to know every drink by heart," says Chai Rojana, who began working with Bergeron in 1978 at Trader Vic's in San Francisco and is now general manager of the Beverly Hills Trader Vic's. "He put me behind the bar and I had to drink every drink, over a period of time, of course, so that I would know them all."
Hans Richter, president and chief executive officer of Trader Vic's Inc., says Bergeron always insisted that liquors and fruit juices be exactly measured so the drinks would be consistent.
"There is no free pour; that's one thing Vic Bergeron always insisted on, " Richter says.
Trader Vic's recently returned to San Francisco at 555 Golden Gate Ave. (near Van Ness Avenue) in the premises formerly occupied by Stars restaurant. And Bergeron is officially remembered in San Francisco by Trader Vic Alley -- formerly Cosmo Alley -- near the spot of the former Trader Vic's restaurant at 20 Cosmo Place.
But mostly, Trader Vic's is remembered worldwide by the drink that Bergeron made a legend, just like himself.
Richard Carleton Hacker is a wine and spirits writer for numerous magazines, including the Robb Report and Playboy. E-mail him at
[email protected].
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