Have visited several times over the past 4 years when coming back to visit family in the area. A…read morenumber of other reviewers have commented that "things have changed", and I, unfortunately, agree. Visited on a Saturday evening - the place should be packed, but it wasn't. I easily secured a same day bar seat reservation for 8PM. After checking in, was seated at a half empty downstairs bar.
No physical menus, everything was done via a QR which is fine I guess, but for a spot that positions itself as a premiere bar a bit tacky. The online menu on the public website is the only menu and where the QR takes you. I asked for a spirits list (logical for a cocktail forward bar), I got a quizzical look and a shrug of the shoulders in return. Given the menu was only 8 cocktails, picking from those I started with the Beachcomber Mai Tai for a whopping $18. This, if it's the true spec, should be a rum forward cocktail with 2 1/2 oz of rum. They batch their cocktails (not a problem) so I couldn't see their build, but there is absolutely no way this drink is made to specification - my guess is they are skimping on rum as a cost play, batching lets them get away with it. Drink was, frankly, pretty forgettable - not bad, just unremarkable.
Wanting to see how they could do off-menu, I asked the bartender to make me a Hemingway Daiquiri. Now, for a cocktail bar that has a long history of rum centric and tiki leaning cocktails, this should be an off the top of their head cocktail. It's simple - white rum, lime and grapefruit juice, and maraschino liqueur. Bartender had never heard of it before, and then spent a few minutes staring in to his phone presumably looking up the recipe. He built it using Rhum JM white rum which is absolutely the wrong rum for this drink - it needs a white Cuban rum (which we know we can't get in the U.S.), so the usual sub would be Bacardi, Planteray 3 stars, Probitas, or others. Definitely not a Martinique agricole. This may be a too detailed nit for some, but with the framing that this is supposed to be a premium cocktail bar, this is an error that should not happen, and not for $18.
Figuring the third time might be a charm, ordered the Trader Vic 1944 Mai Tai. This is the classic, the standard against which all others are measured. It's a distinct recipe, especially if you call yours the 1944 Mai Tai. This was not that. It was again light on rum with probably the wrong rums used in their blend. It was also substantially over dosed with orgeat making the almond sweetness an almost overpowering flavor versus playing a subtle supporting actor role. Again, swing and a miss. Drinkable if you like sweet, and don't mind hefty almond. But if you want to try the real Mai Tai - this is not it.
Overall, for the price, fairly indifferent bar service, lack of information available to the customer (e.g., spirits list, etc.), and fairly off the mark cocktails I think you can find far better spots right now for that same money. If you definitely want that tiki inspired cocktail vibe - your better bet will be places like Wusong Road in Cambridge or Shore Leave in Boston, and I'm sure there are others.
Sorry Baldwin Bar, you've lost your edge and it shows.