When you enter CJ’s you’ll notice the bar area on the right. The ceiling and couches are ocean blue and the light radiates from many windows. You have entered Tsunami Bar. Owner Jeff Powers named his bar partly in memory
When you enter CJ’s you’ll notice the bar area on the right. The ceiling and couches are ocean blue and the light radiates from many windows. You have entered Tsunami Bar.
Owner Jeff Powers named his bar partly in memory of the tsunami that hit Kaua’i in 1957 and to bring awareness of the destruction a tsunami can cause.
“My wife and her family lost their first house to the 1957 tsunami,” Powers said. “The history of it is interesting; the reality is that if people aren’t akamai about a tsunami, then they’re down by the water, they hear sirens and there’s no awareness.”
After uncle Jeff was pau explaining the history behind his bar’s name, we spoke about the drinks. When he described the Lemon Drop, one of the signature drinks, my mouth began to water.
“We sell a lot of the Lemon Drop, especially on Monday, but I want you to check out something else,” uncle Jeff said.
He suggested CJ’s Mai Tai, $8.75. For an additional 75 cents you can have your cocktail in a “Tsunami Bar” logo glass to take home.
Crushed ice
1 1/4 oz. white rum
Pineapple juice
Orgeat syrup
Simple syrup
Float the top with dark rum
“Our Mai Tai is made with the traditional ingredients,” uncle Jeff said. “When I went to college in the 60s that’s what it was — a simple Mai Tai.”
The crushed ice and orgeat syrup is what separate this Mai Tai from its contemporary, sweet successors. Orgeat syrup is a sweetened almond syrup with orange-flower water. I suggest a Mai Tai with as little alcohol as possible; the flavors of the orgeat syrup, pineapple juice and a slight hint of rum is what makes this drink a winner.
