The Mai Tai is a sweet-and-sour cocktail with fruit flavors balancing aged rum. All agree that “Trader Vic” Bergeron mixed the first Mai Tai in 1944 at his Hinky Dink bar in Emeryville, California, just outside of San Francisco. Naysayers need only heed the words of Trader Vic’s bartenders’ guide of 1947: “Anybody who says I didn’t create this drink is a dirty stinker.” Trader Vic had visited the South Seas, returning with all of the venerable accouterments now standard in a tiki lounge. He created the drink for two friends, Eastham and Carrie Guild, who were visiting from Tahiti and requested something special from the bar. After taking a sip, Carrie said, “Mai tai-ro aé,” which translates from Tahitian as “Out of this world—the best.” Like the “Polynesian” food Trader Vic served in his restaurant, the drink was completely ersatz as a South Seas libation. But it caught on, and apart from being out of this world, the Mai Tai is now one of the world’s classic drinks.
Trader Vic originally used 17-year-old rum in his recipe, but you may substitute a blend of dark and light rum, or just light rum. A Mai Tai is too busy having too much of a good time to argue.
Game Plan: Try making your own Grenadine for this recipe.
For more triple sec recipes, try our Long Island Iced Tea.
- Yield: 1 drink
Ingredients (6)
- 2 ounces aged rum
- 1 ounce Cointreau or Triple Sec
- 1/2 ounce grenadine
- 1 teaspoon orgeat
- 1 ounce fresh lime juice
- Tropical fruit, such as pineapple, kiwi, or citrus
Instructions
- Shake the rum, Cointreau, grenadine, orgeat, and lime juice well with ice; then strain into a chilled Hurricane glass filled with ice. Garnish with fresh fruit and one of those little umbrellas.
Variation:
Suffering Bastard: Substitute light and dark rum for the aged rum, omit the grenadine, and add 2 ounces fresh orange juice.
