My Mai Tai Recipe - It’s A Good Time
Posted on October 17, 2007 by Derrick Schommer
Filed Under Cointreau, Light Rum, Mixed Drinks, Triple Sec |
If you’re looking for a sweet drink and you’re in the mood for a little Polynesian style beverage, a Mai Tai is a great start. It is rumored to have been invented in Oakland California back in 1944 at a Polynesian restaurant and another inventory believes they claimed it in 1933, but who cares right? It tastes good.
So, you want to know how I make it? There are probably a half-dozen ways to do it, I’ve noticed some are lighter yellowish orange while others are dark red. This probably has to do with the amount of Grenadine used or substituting ingredients for orange juice.
2 oz. Light Rum
1 oz. Triple Sec or Cointreau (any orange liquor basically)
1/2 oz. Grenadine
1 oz. Lime Juice
1 Table Spoon of Orgeat (almond) Syrup
Pour it all into a shaker, do some dancing, dump it over some crushed ice and sip. The Orgeat Syrup is pretty much sugar water, adds great sweetness to the drink. The Grenadine and Lime juice help to dull any chance you’ll notice you’re drinking 2 shots of rum and the Triple Sec just adds a bit of flare to the mix.
Two of these and you’ll feel like your at a Chinese Karaoke Bar within a half hours time.
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2 Responses to “My Mai Tai Recipe - It’s A Good Time”
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Thank you for a great shortcut recipe. Yes, the Trader Vic version is more complex, and the Don the Beachcomber version is WAY more complex and not even the same kind of drink. But your version would be the one most likely to be made, at least by people who have more respect than simply dumping rum into a glass of fruit juice. My only suggestions are about presentation…
(1) Cointreau is a lot more flavorful than ordinary triple sec, but expensive. Orange curacao has that stronger flavor AND adds a nice richness to the drink’s color. It also leaves a bit more of that nice green color in your wallet.
(2) I’d lose the grenadine and swap it for amaretto (same 1/2 oz).
(3) Float just a little very dark rum on top to make it look really exotic. That’s what they did in the closer glass in the photo. If you can get dark 151-proof rum (Gosling’s Black Seal comes in a 151 version, for example) that’s even better. The idea is that, drinking through a straw, you don’t really get to the floating high-proof until last, by which time the melting ice has diluted it. So the last sip doesn’t taste watered down.
(4) A big sprig of fresh mint is a whole lot faster and easier to do than all that fruit’n'parasol stuff, and looks every bit as impressive and “tropical”. That way, your mai-tai can work for both Polynesian Tiki and Caribbean Jimmy Buffet, too.
Anyway, thanks again for a great — and respectful — shortcut to making this wonderful cocktail.
If you’re looking for a cheaper alternative to Cointreau but will have a slightly different taste, you may try Gran Gala, it’s like a cheap Grand Marnier and is very tasty on other drinks (like Margaritas).
As for Amaretto, that’s not a bad idea. I tend to like the sweeter cherry flavor over Amaretto, but Amaretto will also help add a bit more “kick” to it.