Ingredients
- 2 oz Rum
- 1.25 oz Sugar Syrup
- .75 oz Lime Juice
- .5 oz Orange Curacao Liqueur
- .25 oz Orgeat Syrup
- 1 Mint Leaves
- 1 Cherry
- 1 wedge Lime
Instructions
- Fill a shaker with ice cubes. Add all ingredients.
- Shake and strain into a chilled rocks glass filled with crushed ice.
- Garnish with mint leaf, pineapple, a cherry and lime.
Estimated Nutrition:
Where it came from
Victor Bergeron (Trader Vic) invented the Mai Tai at his Oakland bar in 1944 for two visiting friends from Tahiti. The story is well documented: 17-year-old J. Wray and Nephew Jamaican rum, fresh lime, orange curacao, French orgeat, simple syrup, shaken with shaved ice. The Tahitian friends sipped, looked at each other, said 'maita'i roa ae' meaning 'out of this world'.
The drink got picked up across the Trader Vic chain, then Hollywood, then airline lounges, where the recipe degraded into pineapple juice and grenadine and a paper umbrella. The original is a balanced rum sour. The airport version is a sugar bomb. They share a name and almost nothing else.
What it tastes like
The original tastes like serious rum with a citrus and almond top note. Funky, dry, complex. Not sweet by tiki standards. Bittersweet finish from the curacao and the orgeat's nuttiness.
The two rums work together: the Jamaican brings funk and depth, the Martinique agricole brings grassy, vegetal brightness. Drop one and the drink loses its character.
The technique
Trader Vic's spec: 60ml aged Jamaican rum (or 30ml each of Jamaican and Martinique agricole), 22ml fresh lime, 15ml orange curacao, 15ml orgeat, 7ml rich (2:1) simple syrup. Shake hard with crushed ice and pour into a double rocks glass with the spent lime shell as a garnish.
The lime shell garnish is signature. Squeeze a half-lime, tip the spent shell into the shaker, and serve it on top of the drink. It looks like a little island.
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Ingredient Spotlight
The bottles that make or break this drink.
The Jamaican rum
- Use
- Appleton 12, Smith and Cross, Plantation Xaymaca
- Skip
- Spiced rum, light Cuban-style rum, or anything under 5 years
- Why
- You need the funky banana-and-leather notes that aged Jamaican rum brings.
The Martinique agricole
- Use
- Rhum JM Gold, Rhum Clement Select Barrel, Neisson
- Skip
- Cuban or Puerto Rican white rum (different family)
- Why
- Agricole is made from fresh sugar cane juice, not molasses. It tastes grassy and vegetal.
The orgeat
- Use
- BG Reynolds, Liber, Small Hand Foods, or homemade
- Skip
- Cheap orgeat syrups (taste like marzipan in a bottle)
- Why
- Real orgeat is almonds, orange flower water, and not much else. Cheap versions taste artificial.
Variations
Other Trader Vic / Don the Beachcomber tiki drinks for serious sipping.
What if I don't have…
Quick substitutions for when the bottle shop is closed.
Use 60ml of aged Jamaican rum and add a 5ml splash of demerara syrup. Loses the grass, keeps the body.
Almond syrup plus 2 drops of orange flower water. Or amaretto plus extra simple syrup. Both are workable.
Cointreau works but is drier. Grand Marnier adds richness and a bit of cognac character.
Drop rum to 45ml total. Adjust lime down by 2ml.
Bump syrup to 15ml. Or use Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao instead of Cointreau for a richer, fruitier base.
Frequently Asked Questions
Direct answers to what people search for after Googling this drink.
What is in a Mai Tai?
The Trader Vic original: aged Jamaican rum, aged Martinique rum, fresh lime juice, orange curacao, orgeat, and a touch of rich simple syrup. No pineapple, no grenadine, no orange juice.
Where did the Mai Tai come from?
Trader Vic Bergeron invented it at his Oakland bar in 1944. He served it to two friends from Tahiti, who declared it 'maita'i roa ae' (out of this world). The drink became a Trader Vic chain signature.
Why does my Mai Tai taste different from the airport version?
Because the original has no pineapple juice, no orange juice, and no grenadine. Tiki cocktails got dumbed down through the 1960s. The original is a serious rum drink. The airport version is sugar.
What rum should I use?
Aged Jamaican rum is the foundation (Appleton 12 or Smith and Cross). Add an aged Martinique agricole for complexity. Avoid spiced rums, light Cuban rums, and anything you bought in a duty-free three-pack.
What is orgeat?
An almond-based syrup with a touch of orange flower water. Look for BG Reynolds, Liber, or Small Hand Foods. Avoid cheap orgeat that tastes artificial.
How do you make a Mai Tai?
Shake 60ml total aged rum (split between Jamaican and Martinique agricole if you have both), 22ml fresh lime, 15ml orange curacao, 15ml orgeat, and 7ml rich simple syrup with crushed ice. Pour everything into a double rocks glass. Garnish with the spent lime shell and a mint sprig.
How strong is a Mai Tai?
About 22 to 25 percent ABV in the glass. It's not a session drink. Two and you're done.
Mai Tai vs Zombie?
Both are aged-rum tiki classics. The Mai Tai is shorter, drier, citrus and almond led. The Zombie is longer, fruitier, with grenadine and falernum and three rums.
What glass should I use?
A double rocks glass with the spent lime shell as a garnish. A tiki mug or large rocks glass also works. The drink should sit on crushed ice.
Can I make a Mai Tai without curacao?
You can sub Cointreau or Grand Marnier. Without any orange element, the drink loses its citrus depth. Don't skip this one.
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