Bartending/Cocktails/Mai Tai

The Mai Tai is perhaps the canonical Tiki cocktail and there are innumerable recipes for it. Here are a number of them:

The Original from 1944 Edit

2 oz of 17-year old J. Wray & Nephew Rum over shaved ice
Juice of one lime
1/2 oz Holland DeKuyper Orange Curaçao
1/4 oz Rock Candy Syrup
1/2 oz French Garnier Orgeat Syrup

Shake vigorously.
Add a sprig of fresh mint and spent lime shell

The "Old Way" from 1997 Edit

1 oz (3 cl) Fine Jamaican Rum (15 or 8 year old)
1 oz Martinique Rum (St. James)
juice from one lime (

3/4 ounce)

1/2 ounce Orange Curaçao

1/2 ounce Orgeat syrup

Mix and serve as in the Original Formula

"Current" Mai Tai Formula Edit

This recipe is what Trader Vic's restaurants serve today:

1/4 Lime squeeze (drop in glass as garnish)
1/2 oz lemon juice
3/4 oz Trader Vic's Mai Tai mix
2 oz Royal Amber Rum
Garnish: maraschino cherry, pineapple, mint sprig

Shake all the ingredients in a shaker with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass over crushed ice. Garnish with fruits and mint, and serve with a straw.

Don the Beachcomber Mai Tai

This version is much closer to what Don the Beachcomber served in his restaurants. It can be garnished with various fruits, as in the above recipe. Falernum is a spice and lime-based Caribbean liqueur/syrup with a very different taste from the Orgeat syrup used in the Maitai #1.

2 oz (or 1/4 cup) water
3/4 oz or 1-1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 oz or 2 tablespoons fresh grapefruit juice
1 oz or 2 tablespoons sugar syrup
1 oz or 2 tablespoons dark rum
1-1/2 oz or 3 tablespoons golden rum
1/2 oz or 1 tablespoon Cointreau or triple Sec
1/4 oz or 1/2 tablespoon Falernum liqueur/syrup
2 dashes or scant 1/2 teaspoon Angostura bitters
1 dash or scant 1/4 teaspoon Pernod or other anisette-flavored pastis

Shake all the ingredients in a shaker with ice and strain into a tall highball glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with fruits and serve with a straw.

The Warringtonian Mai Tai

2 oz orange juice
2 oz pineapple juice
1 oz Rose's lime juice
1 oz dark rum
1 oz light rum
1/2 oz triple sec
1/2 oz grenadine

(aka the attempted Mai Tai.. happens in bars that do not carry Orgeat)

Fill a collins glass with ice. Add:

Lastly, add ½ oz. of Grenadine on top, it will sink to the bottom to create a layered look.

Grenadine is almost always heavier (more dense) than whatever beverage, alcoholic or not, you're making. That being said, if you'd like a thin red layer at the bottom of your beverages add it last. It also helps if you let it slide down the glass, as opposed to just pouring it in.

O'Sheas Famous Mai Tai

3 Ounces Raspberry or Regular Vodka
3 Oz. Of Cranberry Juice
3 Oz. of Orange Juice
3 Oz. of Pineapple Juice
3 Oz. of All Natural 7-Up

Pour vodka over shaved ice
Add juices, stir with vodka in cocktail shaker
Strain or leave with ice.

2 Shots - Good Quality Spiced Rum
1 Shot - Cointreau
1 Shot - Orgeat Syrup
Splash - Agave Syrup
1/2 Lime - Juice
2-3 Sprigs Mint
Mulled Pineapple (Optional)

Glass: Low Ball Glass

Pre-cool the glass with ice. Add all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker including the mint (mint must bruise with ice). Shake vigorously and pour into the glass over ice.

Samurai Steve's Iowa Mai Tai

1 oz white rum (Paramount or better)
1 oz spiced rum (Captain Morgan or better)
1 oz orange rum (Bacardi O or better)
1 oz Malibu rum
1 oz Sour mix
1/2 oz Grenadine
4 oz Pineapple Juice
2 oz Orange Juice
1 Glass with Ice
1 Swirly straw or tiny umbrella

Mix rums into glass with ice
Add Pineapple and Orange juices
Top with Sour Mix and Grenadine
Add swirly straw or tiny umbrella

Mirage Hotel, Las Vegas Recipe

Very close to the original recipe.

1 1/4 oz Appleton Jamaican rum
1 1/4 oz Mount Gay Eclipse rum
1/2 oz orange curacao
juice of 1 1/2 fresh lime
1/2 oz orgeat syrup (almond syrup)
1/2 oz rock candy syrup (2 parts sugar, 1 part water, boil until syrup)
Splash of Grenadine to achieve appropriate color.

In an ice filled mixing glass add above ingredients minus the appleton: shake until well-blended, strain into an ice filled 16oz glass or cup and float the appleton on top. Garnish with spent lime shell, mint spring and pineapple spear.

Fuji & Jade Garden (State College, PA - 2010) Recipe

A slight tweak on the original recipe. The parenthetical ingredients hint at how this version of the Mai Tai evolved.

3/4 oz Cruzan Estate Light rum
3/4 oz Cruan Guava rum
1/2 oz Trader Vic's Macadamia liqueur (or 3/4 oz Amaretto)
1/2 oz DeKuyper triple sec (or Cointreau)
1/2 oz Nellie & Joe's lime juice (or fresh)
1/2 oz Velvet Falernum
3/4 oz Zaya 12-yr Trinidad rum [floater]

Glass: 12-oz Rocks Glass (aka Double Old-fashioned glass)

In an ice-filled mixing glass add the first six of the above ingredients. Shake until well-blended, then pour into a 12oz rocks glass. Top with Zaya 12-yr rum as a floater. Garnish with fresh mint, orange slice and/or a pineapple spear.

Making the Original 1944 Mai Tai

Of all the drinks in the Tiki canon, the Mai Tai is the most classic—and the most abused. First of all, there is no pineapple juice in a Mai Tai! Nor is it Day-Glo orange with a lake of overproof rum floating on top. Too many resort bartenders have hatched abominations of this cocktail, often resulting in a syrupy, undrinkable mess. Yet when made properly, the Mai Tai is a well-balanced masterpiece from the heart of the golden age of Tiki. In fact, it’s widely considered by many aficionados to be the consummate Tiki recipe – relatively simple (by Tiki recipe standards) yet truly timeless.

In honor of National Mai Tai Day, let’s talk about what a Mai Tai is and, almost as importantly, what it ISN’T.

MAITA’I ROA AE!

The Mai Tai sprung to life in 1944, not in Polynesia, but in Oakland, California – the masterpiece of Victor Bergeron, better known as Trader Vic. As the story goes, a guest took a first sip and exclaimed “Maita’i roa ae!”, which is Tahitian for “The very best!” or “Out of this world!” In the drink’s original incarnation, Trader Vic used Wray & Nephew 17-year aged rum from Jamaica. The Mai Tai became so popular in those postwar years that, in short order, almost all of the world’s supply of Wray & Nephew 17 had been consumed happily through a million cocktail straws. So powerful is the lure of an “original” Mai Tai that the world’s few remaining bottles of Wray & Nephew 17 have been sold at auction in the $50,000 range for one bottle – it remains the Holy Grail for rum enthusiasts.

With all the Wray & Nephew gone, Vic switched to a more pragmatic rum formulation – a blend of aged dark Jamaican rum and aged Martinique rhum. Recently, Tiki enthusiasts have tossed around the question of whether the Martinique rhum used by Trader Vic was an agricole (made from fresh sugarcane juice) or a molasses-derived spirit. Nonetheless, Tiki experts agree that a mix of aged Jamaican and Martinique agricole make for a delicious cocktail.

A Mai Tai made following the Original 1944 Recipe / Photo Credit: Matt Pietrek

HOW TO MAKE THE ORIGINAL 1944 MAI TAI

Ask your local Tikiphile to craft a classic 1944 Mai Tai, and the recipe will look something like this:

– 1 oz lime juice

– 1/2 oz orange Curaçao

– 1/4 oz orgeat syrup

– 1/4 oz 1:1 simple syrup

– 1 oz aged Jamaican rum

– 1 oz aged Martinique agricole rhum

Shake all ingredients over ice, pour into a double old-fashioned glass. Fill to rim with crushed ice. Garnish with a spent lime shell (peel side up) and a sprig of mint.

The exact amount of orgeat and simple syrup can be adjusted to individual taste. You can also experiment with different rums depending on how you feel about Jamaican “funk”. Coruba Dark Rum makes a fine budget Mai Tai. Going upscale, the Appleton Estate Rare Blend 12 Year is quite popular with bartenders. And if you really want to bring the funk, go for the Mezan Jamaica XO. For your Martinique agricole, try something like Rhum Clement VSOP.

Recapturing the Magic

Recently, Denizen Rum introduced their Merchant’s Reserve, a blend of rums from Jamaica and Martinique. It was specifically created in consultation with Tiki expert Martin Cate to be faithful to the flavor profile Trader Vic used when he transitioned to a two-rum blend. When using Merchant’s Reserve, a two-ounce pour is all you need.

While you may find Mai Tai variations such as the Royal Mai Tai–which does include pineapple juice and who knows what else– out there in the wild, among the hard core Tiki crowd, the original 1944 Mai Tai is the only game in town.

Did our Original Mai Tai recipe get you thirsty?

With Distiller, you’ll always know what’s in the bottle before you spend a cent. Rate, Review, and Discover spirits! Head on over to Distiller, or download the app for iOS and Android today!

Post Prohibition

Handcrafted Libations by Josh Sullivan

Recipes

Trader Vic’s Mai Tai

It’s getting hot out, so I’m shaking up a Trader Vic’s Mai Tai. Before I get into the recipe there are a few things we should probably discuss first. The Mai Tai comes with its fair share of drama.

First, this classic cocktail has been slaughtered so many times that most patrons wouldn’t recognize the classic version if you put it down in front of them. You know what I’m talking about. That neon pink concoction dominated by bottled pre-mixes, canned pineapple juice and an umbrella. Yeah, nothing like the classic.

Then there’s the age old argument regarding who was the original inventor of the Mai Tai. Some say Don the Beachcomber and some say Trader Vic. If you want to read more about the history of the Mai Tai go here. I’d rather drop all the drama and get to the part where we make this time-honored drink.

1 oz amber Martinique rum
1 oz dark Jamaican rum
1 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 oz orgeat syrup
1/2 oz of Cointreau
garnish with mint (a lime if you like)

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker, except the garnish. Shake and strain into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with fresh mint and a lime if you fancy that. You can also float some dark rum on top of the cocktail.

Recipe by Trader Vic's, circa 1944

Manly Deeds Womanly Words

Signs of Spring

The Fencer

18 Notes on “ Trader Vic’s Mai Tai ”

Hi! just want to alert you this site also stole your pic —

Truth has to be told: your recipe is the 3rd iteration of the drink by Vic Bergeron; due to the non-availability of the original rum, Wray & Nephews 17 years old.

I like to use a very precious old Jamaica rum for it and skip the Rhum. Appleton 21 years old is fantastic — less expensive and maybe even more suitable [but far less available] would be Coruba 18 years old.

The original Mai Tai is also calling for orange curaçao [Cointreau could be seen as high quality triple sec curaçao], and a little bit candy rock syrup — which is an oversaturated sugar syrup.

In the original recipe, the used lime shell was used as garnish, as well as a piece of fresh pineapple [hence the confusion with the pineapple juice], mint and a cherry [I suggest an amarena cherry].

I was born in 1944, coincidence on year Mait’ai was invented! I had my 21st Birthday at Trader Vic’s and I’m coming back for the original Mait’ai on 2/19 with friends to celebrate my 70th birthday then I fly to Hawaii next morning. How fun is that! And… (Drum roll) I think a classmate of mine from Miramonte High married Mister Bougeron but I could be wrong, my maiden name is Carol Crosby.

How Kewl is that! 1st hand experience on the original Mait’ai. I love the Trader Vic’s story and I love Mait’ai’s and I can never find a restaurant or bar that knows how to make it. My first Mait’ai was at the Elephant Bar in Sunnyvale, California. Perhaps they made it correct. Since then the ones I’ve ordered were not the same. I have the Trader Vic’s Tiki Party book and plan on making my own! Love your post!

Since you’re in the Bay Area, head to Trader Vic’s in Emeryville. I’m sure they know how to make it

I’ll give you the best tip ever…in San Francisco go to the bar Smuggler’s Cove. It is the best rum bar in the world and they make the original version there, and can tell you the history of the drink and all the ingredients. Seriously a bucket list bar.

Thank you for keeping an authentic Mai Tai alive. If you consider that one of the traditional ways to enjoy rum is with lime and cane syrup, the Mai Tai splits the sugar further into almond and orange flavors. This recipe demonstrates that the dollop of rock candy syrup used in the original can be left out by adding a half-dollop more of the other sweeties. Push that mint into your face and enjoy!

Thank you for sticking close to the purity of this blessed cocktail. In all my travels, I can say the Halekulani hotel in waikiki stills makes one of the best. They add a small stick of sugar cane with the mint garnish, a powerful floater and don’t forget that snow-cone ice! So good…

Thanks Baffa! I will keep the Halekulani Hotel in mind if I ever make it down to Waikiki. Cheers.

A great recipe; I made one close to this tonight (well, maybe it was a couple). I forgot the lime juice! I will remember next time.

Herbert RJ Tarkel, Esq.

Thanks Herbert! The lime juice is a definite must-have. Cheers.

Thanks for posting this. The first time I tried the recipe with fresh lime juice. Way too acidic for me but it could be the limes I was using. Second time around I used sweetened lime juice (bar mix type) and it came out perfect (to me anyway). I’m guessing the ‘sweetened’ part mimicked the rock candy in other recipes. I’m using Small Hand Foods orgeat syrup as it had lots of good reviews. Had to order it online as most local liquor stores were like ‘or-what?’. Also using generic orange curacao but will try with a better triple sec and rum next (using Mount Gay which doesn’t have the ‘vanilla’ I think the recipe calls for).

All great iterations of the best drink ever (at least best cocktail. )

Fresh lime. Torani Orgeat, orange Curaçao…And a solid Naval rum.… We’ve tried Triple sec, Cointreau etc. but always back to Curaçao. And you have to have mint

Side cars anyone?? Wife likes these when I have a mai tai.

Now I know what that 40’s looking bottle of Neisson Rhum is for… Makes this drink so weird, so funky, and so so good. Thanks for posting this; I end up here every other month to look up the ratios (though I like a touch more sweet) thank you!

Been sampling various recipes, this is the winner.

Hi!! We drink mai tai’s at a tiny Polynesian joint in northern IL (I know ) that has been around since the 40’s. They use a secret recipe and their version is AMAZING…served with a stick of rock candy and lime, no mint. Your recipe seems like it would be close to theirs. SUPER excited to compare :-). Thank you for posting.

It's Tiki TIme: Mix Up a Mai Tai Cocktail

3 mins
Prep: 3 mins,
Cook: 0 mins
Yield: 1 cocktail (1 serving)

The Mai Tai is one of the iconic rum drinks to come out of the tiki scene. This classic rum cocktail is too much fun to pass up, especially on those hot days of summer.

This is a drink with a great story and it all began in 1944 at Trader Vic's original location in Oakland, California.

Victor Bergeron, one of the founders of the tiki cocktail culture, was very well known for his amazing rum cocktails.

One day he mixed up a new drink using ". 17-year old Jamaican J. Wray Nephew rum, added fresh lime, some Orange Curacao from Holland, a dash of Rock Candy syrup, and a dollop of French Orgeat. " with lime and mint and served it to a friend visiting from Tahiti. After that first drink, the Tahitian phrase "Mai Tai - Roa Ae" ("Out of this world - The best!") was exclaimed and Bergeron had a name for his drink.

Over the years, the Mai Tai recipe has changed greatly. The first recipe below is a close adaptation of Bergeron's 'original' recipe sourced from Beachbum Berry, a great resource for tiki cocktail history.

Bergeron and other tiki bartenders were notorious for guarding their recipes against competitors. Over the years, their secrets slowly came out. However, just like every other story in the bar, there's a good possibility that even the so-called original recipes have been tweaked a few times.

What You'll Need

1 ounce light rum
1 ounce dark rum
1 ounce lime juice (fresh)
1/2 ounce orange curacao
1/2 ounce orgeat syrup
1/4 ounce simple syrup
Garnish: lime shell
Garnish: mint sprig

How to Make It

Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with about 2 cups of crushed ice.
Shake well.
Pour everything (do not strain) into an old-fashioned glass.
Garnish with a lime shell sunk into the ice and a sprig of fresh mint.

A Few Tips on Making this Mai Tai Recipe

The '17-year old Jamaican J. Wray Nephew rum' that Bergeron used is no longer produced. Beachbum Berry has two fantastic recommendations for both the light and dark rums: Rhum Clément VSOP Martinique Rum and Appleton Estate Extra Dark Jamaican Rum.

If you cannot find those specifically, there are many suitable alternatives.

The lime shell is a unique citrus garnish that can be found in a number of tiki cocktails. It is, quite simply a half of a lime that has been partially hollowed out with a reamer to create a bowl that rests in the drink.

Some tiki drinks will fill the shell with overproof rum and light it on fire as well. It is a fun trick and should be executed with care.

A Slight Variation to the Original Mai Tai

This Mai Tai recipe is very similar to Bergeron's original recipe and is one that I have personally used for years.

To make this drink, shake 1 ounce light rums with 1/2 ounce each fresh lime juice, orange curaçao, and orange syrup with ice. Strain into an old-fashioned glass with fresh ice and float 1 ounce dark rum on top. Garnish with a cherry.

A Very Fruity Mai Tai Cocktail Recipe

Over the years, the Mai Tai took on too many different variations to count. Many of these piled layers of tropical fruit on top of rum and ranged in color from a brilliant red to bright blue. It seems that, at one time, every bar in the tropics created their own rum cocktail and simply gave it the Mai Tai name.

This is not to say that any of these new 'Mai Tai's' are bad. In fact, many are quite delicious and just as appealing as the Bahama Mama and Blue Hawaiian. However, they are not the Mai Tai as it was originally intended and this is a point that is important to realize. Many bar arguments have been started by questioning the real Mai Tai.

This last recipe is one of those, shall we say, imposters. It is filled with pineapple and orange juice, adds a bit of grenadine for sweetness, and tops everything off with a dark rum float. It is a great drink.

To make the drink, pour 1 ounce light rum, 1/2 ounce triple sec, 1/4 ounce lime juice, 1 1/2 ounces each pineapple juice and orange juice, and a dash of grenadine into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well, strain into an old-fashioned glass half-filled with ice, the float 1/2 ounce dark rum on top. Garnish with a cherry.

The Original Mai Tai

Ingredients

1 1/2 ounces Myers's Plantation Rum
1 ounce Cuban Rum
3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
1 ounce fresh grapefruit juice
1/4 Falernum*
1/2 ounce Cointreau
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 dash Pernod
1 cup cracked ice
Slice squeezed lime, for garnish
Pineapple spear, for garnish
Mint sprig, for garnish
*Falernum is a lime/ginger based syrup and can be found in some large liquor stores.

Directions

Pour all the liquids into a cocktail shaker. Fill it with ice and shake for about 30 seconds. Pour it all into a 16-ounce double old-fashioned glass. Garnish with lime slice, pineapple, and mint sprig.

This recipe was provided by a chef, restaurant or culinary professional. It has not been tested for home use.

Recipe courtesy "Hawaii Tropical Rum Drinks & Cuisine by Don the Beachcomber" by Arnold Bitner & Phoebe Beach published by Mutual Publishing

Thanksgiving Newsletter

The Mai Tai hits the Big Five-0

Celebrating The (nearly) Perfect Mai Tai

Bright as a tropical moon, smooth as summer surf, rich as old Lurline passengers, cool and fresh as green limes, the Mai Tai is Hawaii's favorite drink. One sip and it's paradise. Or, should be.

On the 50th anniversary of the birth of the Mai Tai, the state of the most popular tropical cocktail in the Pacific is shaky. Most Mai Tais served in Hawaii today are too strong, too sweet and, at $7 and up, too expensive. They are pale imitations of the original.

Some taste like gasoline, others like cough syrup. They burn the throat, produce terrible headaches and generally give Hawaii a bad name. They should be served with a Surgeon General's warning.

The worst Mai Tais are served in Waikiki. They contain cheap rum, bottled pre-mixes, canned pineapple juice and orange juice concentrate. Weak and syrupy, they look murky in a plastic glass brightened only by a red maraschino cherry and pineapple wedge skewered on a plastic sword. These tacky concoctions have little in common with a real Mai Tai and should be avoided at all costs.

Some variations on the original theme are excellent because they don't alter the basic ingredients.

The classic Mai Tai is an unforgettable cocktail, an icy Jamaican rum and fresh lime juice drink with a subtle hint of oranges and almonds and a sprig of fresh mint for garnish.

Now, that's a Mai Tai.

The Mai Tai may be Polynesian in name, but it's American in origin, created not on a tropical lagoon but on the mudflats of San Franciso's East Bay in 1944, by a legendary California restaurateur, the late Vic Bergeron of Trader Vic's fame.

"There's been a lot of conversation over the beginning of the Mai Tai. And I want to get the record straight," Bergeron said before he died. "I originated the Mai Tai. Many others have claimed credit. All this aggravates my ulcer completely. Anyone who says I didn't create this drink is a dirty stinker."

Don the Beachcomber claimed he created the drink but circumstantial evidence favors the Trader, who, in a 1947 book, "The Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide (Revised)," told how he originated the Mai Tai in his Oakland restaurant:

"In 1944 after success with several exotic rum drinks, I felt a new drink was needed. I thought about all the really successful drinks- martinis, manhattans, daiquiris, all basically simple drinks. "I took down a bottle of 17-year old rum. It was J. Wray & Nephew from Jamaica-surprisingly golden in color, medium bodied, but with the rich pungent flavor particular to the Jamaican blends.

"The flavor of this great rum wasn't meant to be overpowered with heavy addition of fruit juices and flavorings.

"I took a fresh lime, added some orange curacao from Holland, a dash of rock candy syrup, and a dollop of French orgeat for its subtle almond flavor.

"I added a generous amount of shaved ice and shook it vigorously by hand to produce the marriage I was after. Half the lime shell went into each drink for color and I stuck in a branch of fresh mint.

"I gave the first two to Eastham and Carrie Guild, friends from Tahiti who were there that night. Carrie took one sip and said, 'Mai tai roa ae.'

"In Tahitian this means,'out of this world, the best.' Well, that was that. I named the drink 'Mai Tai.'"

The Mai Tai became popular at Trader Vic's restaurants in Oakland, San Francisco and Seattle. In 1953, Bergeron introduced the Mai Tai to Hawaii at the Royal Hawaiian and Moana Hotels whose well-heeled guests arrived by Matson Line steamships.

It was the right drink at the right place at the right time.

To celebrate the Mai Tai's 50th birthday, I went in search of the perfect Mai Tai, no small task since there are more than 6,000 drinking establishments in the islands today. Most serve a Mai Tai, not all of them are mai tai, if you know what I mean.

The decline of the classic Mai Tai began shortly after 1959, when Hawaii became a state and jets cut the flight time from the West Coastto 4.5 hours. Bartenders now had to hustle to serve the big new wave of tourists eager for a taste of the tropics.

"Everybody wanted a Mai Tai," said Harry K. Yee, former head barman at Hilton Hawaiian Village. "We served them as fast as we could make them." Made by the gallon, sold by the glass, a Mai Tai cost $1.25 back then. "They are sweeter, bigger, milder and more expensive now," Yee said. "They are not the same drink."

Seeking greater profit, Waikiki hoteliers diluted Mai Tais, used cheaper rum and substituted Hawaii's own pineapple juice for fresh lime juice.

While everyone was snorkeling, the Mai Tai slowly evolved into a sickly sweet, two-rum float with pineapple juice under a pink paper parasol. It began to fade in popularity as a new generation turned to Frozen Margaritas. To punch up the Mai Tai, bartenders added a 151 rum float which made it taste like boat varnish.

By the 1980s, the original version of the Mai Tai could be found in Waikiki only at the Halekulani, which takes great pride in serving classic cocktails by original recipes. New York bartender Danny DePamphillis reintroduced the original Mai Tai at the Moana Hotel in 1986. It was perfect-Trader Vic would have been proud- but at $5.50 its revival was short-lived.

Today, contemporary versions of the original Mai Tai may be found in Hawaii's finer drinking establishments. If you're a purist, like me, you will follow the original recipe and make your own. I guarantee it will be-out of this world, the best. Mai tai roa ae.

Trader Vic's Original Mai Tai

Pour only 80 proof J. Wray & Nephew Rum over shaved ice.
Add juice from half a fresh lime.
Some orange curacao.
A dash of rock candy syrup.
A dollop of French orgeat.
Shake vigorously.
Add a sprig of fresh mint.

Where To Find the Perfect Mai Tai

Where you sip a Mai Tai is almost as important as the ingredients.

This tropical drink always tastes better in a thatch hut on a lagoon with coco palms lining the shore. A great Mai Tai in the Tonga Room of San Francisco's Fairmont Hotel is not the same as a great Mai Tai on Waikiki Beach. Here's my short list of where to find and enjoy the best Mai Tais in Hawaii today:

Jameson's By The Sea, Haleiwa

Up on Oahu's north shore, big waves draw surfers from around the world but Mai Tai connoisseurs pack the lanai at Jameson's at sundown to catch the wave of Mai Tais prepared by head barman Jim Bragaw; the best in Surf City. $5.00

New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel

Go on Aloha Friday when the exotic sounds of Arthur Lyman waft across the golden sand. Ask veteran bartender Clara Nakachi for a classic Mai Tai. Sit under the tree where Robert Louis Stevenson wrote poems to Princess Kaiulani. Take a sip, stare out to sea and wonder, is this not be paradise? $5.75

The Bay Club, Kapalua Bay Hotel & Villas

Maui may be the Chardonnay capital of the Hawaii (all those California wine-bibbers) but you can find a great Mai Tai at the newly renovated Bay Club overlooking Kapalua Bay where head barman James "Kimo" Tagupa knows how to make a good one. $7.25

Ohia Lounge, Kulakoi Hotel & Golf Club

At the end of a hot dusty trail ride on the Molokai Ranch, nothing tastes finer than a Mai Tai in the Ohia Lounge, an airy seaside bar on Hawaii's biggest white sand beach. Mai Tais taste original here because hardly anything ever changes on Molokai, thank goodness. $5.50

Tahiti Nui got smashed by Hurricane Iniki but its world famous Mai Tai lives on. It's Auntie Louise Marston's secret 30-year-old family recipe imported from Tahiti. Only change over the years-no more vanilla beans. The new Nui reopened New Year's Eve-same place, same Mai Tais, the best on Kauai. $5.00

Shipwreck Bar, Kona Village

Johnno Jacko wrecked his 42-foot schooner on the reef at Kaupulehu in 1959 and stayed on in the islands to build Kona Village. The hull today serves as the Shipwreck Bar where host Fred Duerr still serves the traditional Mai Tai, according to Trader Vic's recipe. $7.00

Rick Carroll is the author of numerous Hawaii books from The Bess Press including Great Outdoor Adventures of Hawaii and the best-selling anthology, Chicken Skin: True Spooky Stories of Hawaii. He is now editing Travelers' Tales Hawaii, due in the Spring of 1999 from O'Reilly & Associates, San Francisco. A former San Francisco newspaperman, Carroll lives at Lanikai Beach, Hawaii, and still drinks dry martinis, up, with a twist.

This article originally appeared in the San Jose Mercury News on November 9, 1994. Reprinted here with permission of Rick Carroll

All images and text appearing on these pages are copyright 2003 by Kevin Crossman, all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted. Reproduction or retransmission of this material in any form is prohibited without expressed written permission.

Making the Original 1944 Mai Tai

In honor of National Mai Tai Day, let’s talk about what a Mai Tai is and, almost as importantly, what it ISN’T.

MAITA’I ROA AE!

A Mai Tai made following the Original 1944 Recipe / Photo Credit: Matt Pietrek

HOW TO MAKE THE ORIGINAL 1944 MAI TAI

Ask your local Tikiphile to craft a classic 1944 Mai Tai, and the recipe will look something like this:

– 1 oz lime juice

– 1/2 oz orange Curaçao

– 1/4 oz orgeat syrup

– 1/4 oz 1:1 simple syrup

– 1 oz aged Jamaican rum

– 1 oz aged Martinique agricole rhum

Shake all ingredients over ice, pour into a double old-fashioned glass. Fill to rim with crushed ice. Garnish with a spent lime shell (peel side up) and a sprig of mint.

Recapturing the Magic

Did our Original Mai Tai recipe get you thirsty?

With Distiller, you’ll always know what’s in the bottle before you spend a cent. Rate, Review, and Discover spirits! Head on over to Distiller, or download the app for iOS and Android today!

Captain Morgan Original Rum Mai Tai

The ultimate Tiki drink, a tangy, refreshing blend of dark rum and tropical fruit, the Mai Tai is Hawaii in a glass. Ideally, of course, in a Tiki glass.

About this recipe

Ingredients

Captain Morgan® Original Rum

Derived from Caribbean sugar cane, Captain Morgan Original Rum is blended according to an age-old recipe to give an intense dark colour and mellow, the rounded caramel and vanilla notes that make it recognised around the world.

How to make

Using a jigger, pour 35ml Captain Morgan Original Rum, 10ml Orange Liqueur, 25ml lime juice, 10ml orgeat and 50ml pineapple juice into the shaker.

Shake the mixture vigorously until the surface of the cocktail shaker feels chilled.

Using a strainer strain the cocktail into a tall glass over ice cubes.

With a chopping board and sharp knife, cut an orange wedge and place in the drink to garnish.

Be a good host

Everyone loves a bit of finger food and designated drivers will appreciate some fancy soft drinks.

Search

Original Mai Tai

Aloha. No, wait, let me try that again. ALOHA! There, thatвЂ™s better. When I imagine myself away from the daily drudgery, I often like to go tropical — and when I go tropical, thereвЂ™s only one drink for me: a Mai Tai. IвЂ™m not talking that iridescent glowing stuff served from a machine; IвЂ™m talking classic, original, worth hunting down special ingredients to have. You know, a Mai Tai. You taste buds and your imagination will thank you.

As the story goes, when Trader Vic himself (Victor J. Bergeron) invented this drink, he gave it to some friends from Tahiti and they uttered, вЂњMai tai — roa ae!вЂќ Which, in Tahitian means вЂњOut of this world — the best!вЂќ To you and I, that means itвЂ™s worth getting the good stuff. For this classic Mai Tai, weвЂ™re only using two alcohols, so splurge. YouвЂ™re worth it.

While perusing the ingredients, you see orgeat. вЂњOrgeat?вЂќ you ask. So did I — itвЂ™s an almond syrup. You can make your own if youвЂ™re feeling really inspired. Or, if youвЂ™re feeling a little lazy (I wonвЂ™t judge you, I bought mine for this one!), IвЂ™ve found it recently at BevMo. The artisan cocktail movement certainly has its benefits.

For the rum, I went with Kirk and Sweeney 12 year and for the curaГ§ao, I went with Pierre Ferrand Orange CuraГ§ao. Both are well worth hunting down, but use whatever you like. Unless you use blue curaГ§ao. Then IвЂ™m going to come over, shake my head at you and judge you. DonвЂ™t do it. (It has its place, say the Captain America shot, just not here.)

Classic Cocktails in History: the Mai Tai

Temperatures are dropping–unless you’re in L.A, enjoying a Mai Tai at Trader Vic’s, like I was over Thanksgiving a couple of weeks ago.

It’s easy to imagine this tropical cocktail originating in Hawaii (or maybe a college dorm), but the story behind the Mai Tai actually originates in…Oakland! Who knew? Legend has it that Trader Vic’s very own Victor J. Bergeron whipped up the concoction for some friends visiting from Tahiti in 1944. Upon tasting it, one of the friends, Carrie Guild, cried out “Maita’i roa ae!”, which translates to “out of this world!”

Of course, as is the case with any legend, there are rivaling stories. Don the Beachcomber, the founding father of Tiki restaurants, has his stake on the Mai Tai as well. The DTB version of the Mai Tai varies quite a bit than the Trader Vic’s cocktail. It calls for Falernum – Caribbean liqueur flavored with cloves, almonds and limes – instead of Orgeat – an orange-almond syrup. Additionally, it’s made with bitters and grapefruit juice. It’s an all over more ingredient intensive drink. Plus, Don’s Mai Tai dates back to 1933, over a cool decade prior to the invention of the latter.

So why does Trader Vic’s get the glory? Well, the sad truth is that there are no longer any Don the Beachcomber restaurants, while Trader Vic’s thrives. Case in point: I was at the Beverly Hills branch of TV over the weekend. Gathered around a small fire, surrounded by a crisp temperature of 67 degrees, I knew I had to get the Mai Tai.

Upon ordering the drink, I was met with uproarious laughter. This, more than the Mai Tai’s potency, frightened me. I wasn’t sure if the server was saying “oh, tourist” or “yeah, like you’re old enough to drink,” but no other tropical drink orders got the same attention.

Maybe the server was just happy for me, because the drink was delicious, and it wasn’t as lethal as I’d been warned against. What was I expecting? Sticky sweet jungle juice. What I actually got was a complex, layered drink that did, in fact, tasted pretty alcoholic. This wasn’t a sugar bomb at all.

Don’t wait for the summer to roll around. Escape to the tropics anytime and make yourself a Mai Tai!

2 oz/60 ml dark rum, such as Cruzan Aged Dark
1 oz/30 ml light rum, such as Caliche
.5 oz/15 ml Orange Curaçao
.5 oz/15 ml Orgeat syrup
.25/7 ml oz Lime juice

Pineapple wedge and Maraschino cherries for garnish

Shake all the ingredients except the dark rum with ice. Strain into highball glass, and float the dark rum on top using a bar spoon to distribute. Garnish with pineapple wedge and cherries and serve with a straw. Celebratory flowers optional.

Sharing is good for you!

About The Author

aliza_kellerman

Aliza Kellerman is a booze writer, local booze advocate, & social media/digital content enthusiast. She served as the Brand Ambassador for Adirondack Distilling Company before spearheading a digital content and social media initiative for the Royal Wine Corporation. She is interested in the story behind the bottle: she believes the more you know about what you drink, the better it tastes. Follow her on Twitter @aleezabeeza

Nice little piece about an incredible drink. My recipe is, however, reversed with the dark rum as 1 part to two parts gold rum (1/4 part lime juice, 3/4 part Oregat and Orange Curaçao each. As it has been adopted by my Hawaiian home, Koloa Kauai rum is my favorite for both light and dark, but if you can’t find that try Maui brand. I had learned this was the original Trader Vic’s recipe. Who knows! Most importantly, this not a rum and fruit juice drink! But there is really nothing better to sip on a white sandy beach after a long day of surfing, errrr, umm, toiling in the office being productive at work…

Add a Comment

Visiting Professors

Amanda Schuster (224)
Kevin Gibson (112)
Keith Allison (74)
Robin Goldsmith (46)
Adam Levy (45)
Aliza Kellerman (42)
Maggie Kimberl (42)
Patrick Reed (40)
Brian Petro (37)
Phil Galewitz (22)
LeNell Camacho Santa Ana (20)
Josh Powell (19)
Jake Emen (19)
Christine Campbell (18)
Sara Havens (17)
Nora McGunnigle (15)
Chris Wertz (15)
Amy Miller (14)
Lincoln Chinnery (12)
Jens Kerger (10)
Dorothy Hernandez (9)
Marysa Mitch (8)
Becca Yeamans-Irwin (8)
Bozkurt Karasu (8)
Tim Miner (7)
Paul Senft (7)
Dy Godsey (5)
Thomas Riley (5)
Alwynne Gwilt (5)
William Schragis (5)
Marnie Ann Joyce (5)
Emma Criswell (5)
Nicole del Rosario (4)
Laren Spirer (4)
Andy Smith (4)
Francine Cohen (4)
Manny Gonzales (4)
Thea Dwelle (4)
Hannah Walhout (4)
Mary Charlotte Elia (4)
Ryan Stevens (3)
Haley Forest (3)
George Koutsakis (3)
Demian and LeNell Camacho Santa Ana (3)
Jackie Summers (3)
Karan Nagpal (3)
Danielle Macdonald (3)
Sara Gorelick (3)
Warren Bobrow (3)
Sarah Annese (2)
Colleen Newvine (2)
Tracy Weiss (2)
Amanda Montell (2)
Mark Marnell (2)
Eric Zillier (2)
John Pomeroy (2)
Jackie Armstrong (2)
Zachary Feldman (1)
Robin Robinson (1)
Philip Kampe (1)
Joshua Feldman and Peter Silver (1)
Ashtin Berry (1)
Ben Heskett (1)
Bernard Kenner (1)
Ashlie Head (1)
Anne Becerra (1)
Agathe Soubien (1)
Allan Roth (1)
G-LO (1)
Abigail Gullo (1)
Meg Roebling (1)
Mike Groener (1)
Pamela Wiznitzer (1)
Matthew Callahan (1)
Matt Archambault (1)
Kenneth Haynes (1)
Madeline Blasberg (1)
Pameladevi Govinda (1)

Like Us, Follow and Stay In Touch

Tales of the Cocktail: What Went Wrong?

Exploring 6 Popular Drinking Myths

Classic Cocktails in History: the Whiskey Sour

If You’re Making Chili, Be Sure To Use the Right Beer

понедельник, 29 января 2018 г.

mai_tai_cocktail_original

Bartending/Cocktails/Mai Tai

The Original from 1944 Edit

The "Old Way" from 1997 Edit

"Current" Mai Tai Formula Edit

Making the Original 1944 Mai Tai

MAITA’I ROA AE!

HOW TO MAKE THE ORIGINAL 1944 MAI TAI

Recapturing the Magic

Post Prohibition

Handcrafted Libations by Josh Sullivan

Recipes

Trader Vic’s Mai Tai

Manly Deeds Womanly Words

Signs of Spring

The Fencer

Post navigation

18 Notes on “ Trader Vic’s Mai Tai ”

It's Tiki TIme: Mix Up a Mai Tai Cocktail

What You'll Need

How to Make It

A Few Tips on Making this Mai Tai Recipe

A Slight Variation to the Original Mai Tai

A Very Fruity Mai Tai Cocktail Recipe

The Original Mai Tai

Ingredients

Directions

Categories:

Thanksgiving Newsletter

The Mai Tai hits the Big Five-0

Celebrating The (nearly) Perfect Mai Tai

Making the Original 1944 Mai Tai

MAITA’I ROA AE!

HOW TO MAKE THE ORIGINAL 1944 MAI TAI

Recapturing the Magic

Captain Morgan Original Rum Mai Tai

About this recipe

Ingredients

Captain Morgan® Original Rum

Captain Morgan® Original Rum

How to make

Be a good host

Search

Original Mai Tai

Classic Cocktails in History: the Mai Tai

Sharing is good for you!

About The Author

aliza_kellerman

Add a Comment

Visiting Professors

Like Us, Follow and Stay In Touch

Комментариев нет:

Отправить комментарий

понедельник, 29 января 2018 г.