Mai Tai Recipe

Mai Tai recipe — The drink that convinced your parents to book that cruise to nowhere in the '80s. Made with rum. Originally from United States.

I'm the friend who shows up to your backyard BBQ wearing a full Hawaiian shirt and flip-flops in October. Sure, I might be a little extra, but I guarantee you'll have more fun than planned. I've been making people feel like they're on vacation since before your dad discovered cargo shorts.

The Mai Tai sparked the 'Tiki Wars' of the 1970s, with Trader Vic and Don the Beachcomber literally taking out newspaper ads to argue about who invented it first. Trader Vic won the PR battle by claiming a Tahitian friend tasted it and said 'Maita'i roa ae' meaning 'out of this world—the best.'

Trader Vic Bergeron created the Mai Tai in 1944 at his Oakland restaurant for visiting Tahitian friends. He mixed his best 17-year-old rum with orange curaçao, orgeat, and lime, creating what would become the poster child of tiki culture and suburban luau dreams.

Ingredients

• 1 oz dark rum (preferably aged)
• 1 oz light rum
• 0.5 oz orange curaçao
• 0.25 oz orgeat syrup (almond syrup)
• 1 oz fresh lime juice
• 0.5 oz simple syrup

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients to a shaker filled with ice.
2. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds.
3. Strain into an old fashioned glass filled with crushed ice.
4. Garnish with mint sprig, pineapple wedge, and cocktail umbrella.

Category: cocktail | Difficulty: medium | Base spirit: rum | ABV: 20.0-25.0%

Origin: United States