of mai tai is the most famous tiki-era cocktail and the only one that has truly made its way into mainstream bar culture. In a history that stretches back nearly 80 years, it’s also the recipe for the tropical cocktail most tainted by bartenders trying to guess a set of ingredients that remained secret until the 1970s. But thanks to the skill and sophistication of today’s bartenders who have revived and perfected the Mai Tai in the spirit of the original, there’s never been a better time to add Mai Tai to your home bartending repertoire. With a few tips from the pros, you’ll be in for some vintage tropical bliss.
The Mai Tai was invented by a Californian bartender Victor “Trader Vic” Bergeron A Tahitian friend of his tasted it and pronounced it “mai tai” in Tahitian, meaning “very good,” and the name stuck.
“One of the reasons it was so successful was the name,” he says. Jeff “Beach Bum” Berry, “Exotic, short, easy-to-pronounce names are sometimes more important than the contents of the glass.”
Berry is a cocktail historian and author of: shipping safari, He also owns a bar in New Orleans. Latitude 29. Mai Tai was a fairly unknown drink until Matson’s cruise line hired Bergeron to create cocktail menus for its services to Hawaii and for the cruise company’s Waikiki hotel, Royal Hawaiian, he said. explains. The idea was that Vic would “tropicalize” the drink menu and people would drink the same thing on board and in the hotel.
“There the virus spread and mutated.” of It’s a Hawaiian drink,” Berry says. “It was more than just a cocktail, it became the symbol of Hawaii for Americans and the drink served at the Luaus.” Rival hotels didn’t know how to make it and the recipe was a trade secret, so each hotel created its own version. resulting in widespread corruption of the original recipe.
The original Mai Tai recipe is simple: rum, Curacao, an orange liqueur, Orgette, an almond-flavored syrup, and lime juice. A refreshing cocktail where rum takes center stage and flavors of orange, lime and almond provide the necessary harmony. The fruit comes to the fore, but it’s sour and refreshing but a little dry. It is a delicious drink, especially in summer. And there are many ways to tweak the simple proportions of a traditional Mai Tai recipe to perfect it. We spoke to his bartender for his best tropical cocktails in the country and gathered some pro tips on how to make a really good mai tai worthy of being called a ‘holiday in a glass’.
1. Use multiple good rums
“If you don’t drink it by itself, it shouldn’t be in a Mai Tai,” says Kevin Beary, beverage director at Chicago-based Tropical Bar. three dots and a dash and The Bamboo Room from Three Dots and a Dash. Beary likes to mix funky aged Jamaican rum with grassy rum agricols for depth of flavor, and also uses Brazilian cachaça in the recipe below to add another dimension. .
“You can experiment and use whatever you like,” says Jeff Berry, noting that when Mai Tai was invented, rum was bottled at a higher proof than it is today. So to keep the drink balanced as intended, you’ll need to use a higher proof rum or add more rum to your recipe. “It shouldn’t be that sweet,” he says. “Vic created the drink with the aim of producing a very rich, aged and delicious rum. All other ingredients are meant to enhance the rum, not mask it. .”
“Use 2 1/4 ounces of rum, as the original spec called for 2 ounces of higher proof.” Garrett Richardco-author of tropical standard and Chief Cocktail Officer Sunken Harbor Club in Brooklyn. “This dries out the drink and reduces the sweetness.” Richard uses a rum blend in his Mai Tai for similar complexity and preserving power to Vic’s original 17-year-old Jamaican Rum. . Denizen Merchants Reserve, a blend of Jamaican and Martinique molasses rums.This gave him a 1/2 ounce Colva Using Jamaican rum “provides a heavier tone, body and depth, and more of an old gunpowder flavor profile.” La Favorite VSOP Added flavors from Martinique.
2. Add a little salt
“Because the bartender’s hands are wet, we do this with saline behind the bar,” says Richard. “Salt does two things,” he said. You can enjoy the combination of sweet and sour taste more clearly.”
3. Use Great Olget
Jeff Berry explains that Olgetto is the key to transforming Mai Tai from essentially a rum margarita to something else entirely.He takes this ingredient so seriously that I bottle it myself. Official Olgito for Latitude 29.
“Make your own orgette,” suggests culinary ambitious home bartender Kevin Beary. Made with blanched almonds, sugar, orange blossom water, and brandy, it’s relatively easy to make at home. Alternatively, a high-quality off-the-shelf option is: Giffard, small hand foodor Sonoma Syrup Co. No.13. Whether you make it from scratch or buy a superior version like this one, don’t skimp on the olgeto, which is integral to Mai Tai’s unique flavor.
4. Consider Curacao
The second sweetener is usually orange curacao, but Richard uses a blend of orange liqueurs in his Mai Tais. “I like the weight of it” Grand Marnier create a base note, clement creole shrub so that you can hear the high notes,” he says.
5. Use crushed ice and shake it correctly
Trader Vic used crushed ice in their original drink. Crushed ice alone isn’t enough, says Beary.
“For me, the big tip is how to shake,” says Richard, explaining that it takes a lot of practice to shake a cocktail with crushed ice without diluting it too much. “The way I’ve found to get around it is to put the ice cubes in first and shake, then add the crushed ice,” he says, referring to this “hybrid shake” method in his book. is recommended for home bartenders. tropical standard. Richard recommends this same method when using Pebble Ice. why? Shaking with a large ice cube is less likely to dilute your drink. Also, when poured over crushed or pebble ice, the dilution effect favors the balance of the drink as you continue to drink, rather than detrimentally.
6. Drink Lime Juice Properly
“Lime juice must be freshly squeezed. There is no substitute,” says Kevin Beary. For more reading, check out our dedicated article on fresh citrus. But don’t think about this cocktail containing bottled lime juice.
Richard showed me the trick of cutting off the ends of the limes so that the surface of the hand press juicer was flat to get more extract. Then strain the juice through a tea strainer to remove the pulp, giving it what he calls a “more direct acidity” because it’s milder than the pulp.
7. Don’t forget the garnish
Trader Vic’s favorite was to garnish with lime shells that look like islands. According to Richard, this was a nice presentation, but the entire drink is not infused with lime oil. Instead, Richard cut the lime into wedges before shaking the drink, squeezed out the juice, put it in the bottom of the glass, turned it “like a wine glass”, and left it there. Thing. Add lime oil essence. And he garnishes the Mai Tai with a twist of mint, orchid, and lime wrapped around a straw. “Fresh mint and short straws are the key to the garnish,” says Kevin Beary.
8. Don’t be pink
“Twenty years ago, people expected a mai tai to be red with pineapple and grenadine,” said Jeff Berry, a savvy bartender created by bartenders in a blind (or cheaper) approximation to the original. Describes a putrid version of this drink that has been stolen. “But people are very savvy about their cocktails these days,” he said, noting that if made right the drink should be a deep amber color.
Beary says even more sternly. “If someone says your Mai Tai should be pink, he or she is not qualified to choose pink.”
3 Mai Tai Recipes You Should Make
1. Original Mai Tai: Trader Vic Mai Tai from 1944
Courtesy of Bamboo Room by Three Dots and a Dash
At Three Dots and a Dash in Chicago, Beary recently made a vintage 1944 Mai Tai using 15-year-old Ray & Nephew and vintage 1940s Curacao. These rare concoctions (shown above) retail for $800 each, and he’s offered less than a dozen. For those who can’t, Beary offers another excellent interpretation of her 1944 recipe, the original, using available ingredients.
material
- 1 oz.Aged Jamaican rum
- 1 oz. 100 Proof Blanc Rum Agricole
- 1/2 ounce dry curacao
- 1 oz.fresh lime juice
- 1 oz. Almond Olugette Jamaican Overproof Float (optional)
- Bouquet of mint (for decoration)
direction
- Make cocktails in double rock glasses. Add crushed ice until the drink fills the glass. Stir the cocktail until uniform (opaque).
- Garnish with a bouquet of mint.
- Add a funky Jamaican overproof float (optional, not considered traditional but adds extra flare).
2. Modern Mai Tai: Mai Tai in 2044
Courtesy of Three Dots and a Dash
This is Three Dots and a Dash’s interpretation of the future of My Tais. Funky and unaged, he’s made with three styles of rum and has a grassy note, thanks to Mai Tai’s traditional Orange His Chartreuse rather than Orange His Curacao.
material
direction
1. Install the mixing can. Whipped shake with 16 ounces of crushed ice. Pour into a Mai Tai glass without straining.
*2044 Mai Tai Rum Blend (Composed of “Three Wise Men”)
3. The Resort Mai Tai: The Halekulani Mai Tai
Keybar-free home offer
Waikiki Beach Luxury Hotels Halekulani It’s next door to The Royal Hawaiian, where Mai Tai made its big debut in 1953. It is an oceanfront restaurant. house without key Famous for Mai Tai. At Halekulani Mai Tai, he uses three rums: Bacardi Gold Rum, Bacardi Select, and Lemon Heart 151.
material
- 1/3 ounce orgeat syrup
- 1/3 ounce orange curacao
- 1/3 oz rock candy syrup
- 1 1/4 ounces fresh lime juice
- 3/4 oz. bacardi gold rum
- 3/4 oz Bacardi Select
- 1/2 ounce Lemon Heart 151 Rum (float)
- Vanda Orchid (garnish)
Method
- Pour Orgier Syrup, Orange Curacao, Rock Candy Syrup, Lime Juice, Bacardi Gold, and Bacardi Select into glasses.
- Fill with crushed ice.
- Float 1/2 oz of Lemon Heart 151 Rum.
- Garnish with lime wheels, cane sticks, mint leaves and Vanda Orchid.