Mai Tai Cocktail

The Mai Tai cocktail is a drink built with white/dark rum, orange curacao, lime juice, and orgeat syrup!

Mai Tai Cocktail Info!

The Mai Tai is one of the most well-known Tiki drinks. Cocktail lovers and Tiki enthusiasts have loved the drink for decades. It was even featured in "Blue Hawaii," an Elvis movie.

Victor Bergeron is often credited as the drink's inventor at his Trader Vic's bar in the 1940s. However, another story is that Donn Beach created the recipe in the 1930s at his Don the Beachcomber Bar. Original Trader Vic's recipe used Jamaica's J. Wray & Nephew rum.

The Mai Tai cocktail was created to highlight the flavor of good-quality Rum. However, bartenders began using bottled juices as mixers. These bad juices created neon-colored and overly sweet cocktails; this gave the cocktail a somewhat lousy name.

Since bad juices, Tiki cocktails have been rediscovered and are now a popular choice for a refreshing, balanced, and rum-forward cocktail.

Bartenders today continue to mix rums to achieve the best flavor, depth, and complexity. Some barkeeps even use high-ester Jamaican rums. While there is no one correct answer, it's helpful to keep in mind four characteristics when making your rum blend: ABV (alcohol by volume), age, production methods, and the raw materials used to make the liquor. You might be the next great Mai Tai maker if you find harmony in the details.

After the drink has been shaken, it is time to garnish. If you feel adventurous, go crazy. You can add pineapple wedges, cherries, or actually, whatever you want to your Mai Tais. A mint spring and lime wheel are great options to keep the presentation classic and cool.

The name is a matter of legend. According to Tahitian, the first person who tried the cocktail was heard to yell "Mai Tai!" meaning "the best--out-of-this-world."