The Mai Tai was concocted by Trader Vic in 1944 and according to him, it was named as a result of the satisfaction expressed by two of his friends who first sampled his invention and then said, “Mai Tai Roa Ae”, which in Tahitian means “Out of the World . . . the Best.”
Mai Tai
To build this drink:
Fill a double Old Fashioned Glass (15 ounces) with shaved ice
1 1/2 oz lime juice
1/2 oz Orange Curacao
1/2 oz candy syrup
1/2 oz Orgeat (essential)
1 oz dark Jamaican rum
1 oz Martinique rum
Hand shake in glass shaker
Decorate with half lime shell, fresh mint, and fruit stick (usually fresh pineapple)
This drink came about thanks to Don the Beachcomber who opened on McCadden Place in Hollywood in 1934. This is my favorite tropical drink due mainly to its relative dryness compared to other exotic cocktails.
Fill a double Old Fashioned glass with shaved or cracked ice
1 1/2 oz dark Demerara rum from Guyana or dark *Rhum Barbancourt from Haiti
1 1/2 oz light rum
1/2 oz lime juice
1/2 orange juice
1/2 oz pineapple juice
1/2 oz guava nectar
1/4 oz Falernum
Decorate with mint sprigs, lime shell and a sugar swizzle stick
*Rhum Barbancourt is a superior premium dark rum distilled twice in copper pot stills. It is then barrel aged in white oak barrels. Unlike other Caribbean rums, Barbancourt is made directly from sugar cane juice, pressed from hand-cut locally grown cane then aged for 8 years.
