Beaver’s frozen mai tai is like a mini vacation
On the advice of a wise old saloonkeeper in Tombstone, Ariz., I generally steer clear of cocktails. “Blue drinks are for tourists,” he sniffed. Twenty years later, his words still guide me.
But this past week, I accidentally ordered something blue, and I must say it was one great drink.
Beaver’s Ice House is known for well-crafted cocktails, but there’s always something swirling in its frozen-drink machine. And that’s a good thing on a sweltering summer afternoon.
My icy choices, the bartender offered, were a mai tai or a Moscow mule.
Looking at the swirling colors — pale gold and blue — I decided the blue had to be some lime-nuked version of the Moscow mule. I went with the mai tai and — surprise — got a short tumbler full of blue slush.
Reading the menu would have clued me in. Beaver’s makes its frozen mai tai with rum, lime and blue curacao. The latter is a citrus-flavored liquor that in its natural state is clear. Distillers peacock it up in colors ranging from blue to orange.
The mai tai is the invention of Victor Bergeron, who introduced the tropical concoction in 1944 at his Trader Vic’s. It was pitched as paradise in a glass but it was orange, not blue.
The Beaver’s mai tai was more sea-foam-green and after a few sweet sips, I felt much better about my day and my choice.
Beaver’s frozen mai tai is $9 or $5 at happy hour, which is 4-7 p.m.
Frozen drinks are the only way to go during Houston’s grueling summers, and there is so much more out there than the ubiquitous margarita.
They’re a given at a tiki bar such as Lei Low in the Heights, where you can try the coconut and banana-fueled Shipwrecked on Tiki Island or Barefoot in the Sand.
At Under the Volcano near Rice Village, try the frozen Cuba Libre. Slushy screwdrivers also are popular.
Like any good Cajun spot, Rouxpour in Sugar Land makes a potent frozen hurricane.
Lowbrow in Montrose offers, among other things, frozen rum punch, monkeys and mojitos.
El Pueblito Place cranks up the fun by serving its pineapple fusion margaritas in a cored pineapple and a coconut version in the coconut shell. Sipping on one of those fun frozen drinks while sitting under a cabana on the patio is like a mini vacation.