Ingredients
- 30 mlaged Jamaican rum
- 30 mlaged Martinique rhum agricole or a rich aged Barbados rum
- 15 mlorange curacao (Pierre Ferrand dry curacao)
- 15 mlorgeat (almond syrup)
- 30 mlfresh lime juice
- 7 mlrich sugar syrup (2:1), optional, to taste
Garnish and glass
- The spent lime shell
- 1healthy sprig of fresh mint
- 1double old fashioned glass
- About 250 g crushed ice
Directions
- Squeeze the lime and keep the spent half shell; it is the traditional garnish, meant to look like an island in the glass.
- Combine the two rums, curacao, orgeat and lime juice in a shaker tin. Taste the orgeat first, since brands vary hugely in sweetness, and add the sugar syrup only if it needs it.
- Add a small scoop of crushed ice, about a handful, rather than cubes.
- Flash-shake hard for 6–8 seconds only. You are chilling and aerating, not diluting; a long shake over crushed ice turns the drink watery.
- Pour the whole contents, ice included, straight into the double old fashioned glass, unstrained.
- Top up with more crushed ice to form a low mound just above the rim, and swizzle briefly with a bar spoon to frost the glass.
- Float the spent lime shell dome-side up in the ice and tuck the mint sprig against it, so the mint sits right under the drinker’s nose.
- Serve with a straw and drink cold. It should taste of rum first, then lime, then almond, with no single element dominating.
Technique
- Trader Vic Bergeron created this in Oakland in 1944 with 17-year Wray and Nephew Jamaican rum. The blend of a funky Jamaican and a grassy or rich aged rum is an attempt to rebuild that lost bottling.
- There is no pineapple or orange juice in an original Mai Tai. The fruit-juice version is a later hotel invention.
- Orgeat is the signature. A good one is made from real almonds with orange flower water; the cheap syrups taste of marzipan and flatten the drink.
Substitutions
- Only one rum available? Use 60 ml of a good aged blended rum, but expect a simpler, less layered drink.
- No orgeat? Blend 100 g blanched almonds with 150 ml hot water, strain, dissolve 150 g sugar in the milk and add 1 tsp orange flower water and a splash of rum to keep it.
Variations
- The Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai, with pineapple and orange juice, the version most bars serve.
- The 1944 spec exactly as written, with a single 17-year Jamaican rum.
- A tiki-style float, with 15 ml overproof dark rum poured over the ice at the end.
History
Mixed by Victor Bergeron at Trader Vic’s in Oakland in 1944; a Tahitian guest reportedly cried maita’i, meaning good.
Frequently asked questions
What is Mai Tai?
Mai Tai is a cocktail from United States: aged rum with lime, orange curaçao and orgeat over crushed ice. Mixed by Victor Bergeron at Trader Vic’s in Oakland in 1944; a Tahitian guest reportedly cried maita’i, meaning good.
How long does Mai Tai take to make?
Mai Tai takes 5 min of preparation and 0 min of cooking. The recipe makes 1 drink. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Mai Tai?
Yes, within limits. Only one rum available? Use 60 ml of a good aged blended rum, but expect a simpler, less layered drink. No orgeat? Blend 100 g blanched almonds with 150 ml hot water, strain, dissolve 150 g sugar in the milk and add 1 tsp orange flower water and a splash of rum to keep it.
What is the most important thing to get right in Mai Tai?
Add a small scoop of crushed ice, about a handful, rather than cubes.
