Mai Tai cocktail recipe | 2 foodtrippers

The Mai Tai cocktail is not only the preferred tiki drink. It is also a traditional rum cocktail that is simple to make at residence and even simpler to sip.

Mai Tai cocktail with a black background on top

Saying the phrases Mai Tai makes us smile It evokes ideas of sandy seashores and swaying palm bushes. However higher than phrases can say, we love sipping Mai Tai cocktails whether or not we’re on trip, at a bar, or at residence.

and since then Extra items loosely interprets to One of the best In Tahiti, we’re clearly not the one ones who’ve elevated this drink to a excessive rank.

What’s a Mai Tai cocktail?

Mai Tai cocktail with a black background in the middle
You aren’t alone if you’re a Mai Tai fan.

The Mai Tai cocktail, made with two totally different drinks, orange liqueur, orgeat syrup and recent lime juice will not be solely a traditional cocktail and tiki tipple. It is also a file summer time sip It’s labeled as some of the in style drinks on this planet.

When it comes to style, the Mai Tai is nice and bitter on the similar time with a noticeable rum kick. The robust ingesting will get the nutty sweetness from the orgeat syrup whereas the recent lime juice brings the crunch to the occasion.

Lastly, it’s a drink with a controversial previous…

The historical past of the Mai Tai cocktail

Mai Tai cocktail with black background
The historical past of Mai Tai accommodates a component of thriller.

The Mai Tai was invented by Victor Bergeron on the unique Dealer Vic’s in Oakland, California in 1944. Or was he? Donn Seashore allegedly made an analogous cocktail on the unique Don the Beachcomber in Hollywood a decade earlier.

Each tiki pioneers have claimed credit score for the Mai Tai and nobody actually is aware of who created the cocktail idea.

What we do know is that the traditional tiki cocktail has advanced because the unique Bergeron au Peach Mai Tai was made. Over time, it has develop into related to Hawaii, each within the state and on the island Elvis film. His recipe has additionally modified.

Some mixologists have added pineapple and orange juice to the Mai Tai recipe whereas others have modified its garnish to incorporate pineapple wedges and maraschino cherries. In the long term, no copy is fallacious besides the one made out of Mai Tai combine.

Mai Tai components

Mai Tai cocktail ingredients
Our Mai Tai recipe consists of two rums, orange liqueur, orgeat syrup, and recent lime juice. We beautify the drink with a slice of pineapple and a few maraschino cherries. Not pictured – ice cubes and crushed ice.

The components for a Mai Tai differ relying on the recipe you are following. After a variety of experiments, we are actually making Mai Tai cocktails with the next components:

  • Mussan or white rum
  • Darkish wine
  • orange juice
  • Almond flavored syrup
  • Contemporary lemon juice
  • crushed ice
  • ice cubes (for shaking)
  • Pineapple slices (garnish)
  • Maraschino cherry (appetizer)

Regardless of Mai Tai’s tropical flavors, none of those components are thought-about significantly unique. You must have the ability to get all of them at your native market or liquor retailer.

Mai Tai cocktail liquor bottles
Regardless of its cool tiki vibe, the Mai Tai is a severe cocktail made with two rums and orange liquors.

Channeling the unique Mai Tai, we use two rums in our recipe. Particularly, we use Havana Membership Ańejo (any age) Especial Rum and Appleton Property’s Reserve Mix Jamaican Rum. We additionally use Cointreau, our favourite triple liqueur.

Uncover extra cocktails made with Cointreau And Rum.

Mai Tai cocktail with a bottle of rum
Utilizing your favourite rum is a recipe for fulfillment in a Mai Tai recipe.

Monin produces our go-to orgeat syrup. It is a superb product that is stuffed with almonds and sugar. Candy, nutty, and opaque white syrup accommodates no synthetic sweeteners.

shopping for Bottle of Monin Orjette syrup From Amazon if you cannot discover this higher model in your native retailer.

Learn how to make a Mai Tai cocktail

Mai Tai Miss In Place cocktail
Making a Mai Tai cocktail is simple when you collect the required components and barware.

You do not want fancy instruments to make a Mai Tai recipe. You solely want the next fundamental tape instruments:

discover 10 important bar instruments For a house mixologist.

Mai Tai cocktail with a white background
It solely takes a couple of minutes to make a Mai Tai cocktail at residence.

As soon as you have gathered the required components and barware, step one is to measure out aged or white rum, orange liqueur, orgeat syrup, and recent lemon juice. We use a Japanese jigger for this step to make sure correct measurements.

shopping for Japanese geiger From Amazon if you do not have a Geiger or need a reasonable improve.

Cointreau measure for a Mai Tai cocktail
You should use the identical jigger to measure out all the liquids in your Mai Tai recipe.

Instantly pour all liquid right into a shaker. We use a boston shaker to keep away from spillage. As a bonus, the Boston shaker can be simple to scrub.

shopping for Boston Shaker From Amazon if you do not have a shaker or if you wish to enhance your at-home mixing expertise.

Pour rum into a Mai Tai cocktail
Pouring measured liquids immediately right into a shaker is the way in which to go in a Mai Tai recipe.

Add ice cubes to blender and shake till components are cool and mixed — about 20 seconds.

Add ice cube to Mai Tai cocktail
You needn’t put fancy ice cubes in a shaker.

After you have partially stuffed a lowball glass with crushed ice, pressure the shaken cocktail into the glass.

Mai Tai sour cocktail
Utilizing crushed ice is the way in which to go in these and different Mai Tai recipes.

utilizing the again of spoon barDarkish rum floats atop the cocktail.

A rum cocktail floating on top of a Mai Tai
Floating a topping of darkish rum is knowledgeable step that requires no skilled abilities.

Garnish with a slice of pineapple and a maraschino cherry or two.

Mai Tai cocktail from above
We love garnishing our Mai Tai cocktails with a pineapple wedge and a few maraschino cherries. The way you beautify your Mai Tai cocktails is as much as you.

Be happy to get inventive with the decorations. You would possibly wish to beautify the glass with pineapple leaves or you could possibly go old skool with lemon rind and a sprig of mint.

Mai Tai options

Mai Tai cocktail
One of the best a part of making a Mai Tai at house is ingesting the fruits of your labor.

Will our favourite Mai Tai be your favourite Mai Tai too? The easiest way to search out out is to craft a couple of appears to be like and take a look at all of them out. We suggest staring with the next shapes:

  • Add easy syrup to create the sweetest Mai Tai cocktail.
  • Cut back the lemon juice to make a much less tart Mai Tai cocktail.
  • Add orange juice and/or pineapple juice to take advantage of fruity Mai Tai cocktail.
  • Strive totally different ROMs. For instance, utilizing a darker rum for commoners will create a extra outlined high layer.

Incessantly requested questions on Mai Tai

What’s a Mai Tai cocktail?

The Mai Tai cocktail is the traditional tiki rum cocktail that has California roots and Hawaiian vibes.

What does “Mai Tai” imply?

The phrases “Mai Tai” loosely translate to “one of the best” in Tahitian.

The place was the Mai Tai cocktail invented?

The Mai Tai cocktail was invented in California both at Dealer Vic’s in Oakland or Don the Beachcomber in Hollywood. Each bars are actually completely closed.

What are the components of the Mai Tai cocktail?

Previous or white rum, darkish rum, orange liqueur, orgeat syrup, recent lime juice, crushed ice, ice cubes (for shaking), pineapple slices (for garnish) and maraschino cherry (for garnish)

Is the Mai Tai cocktail shaken or stirred?

The Mai Tai cocktail is shaken, not stirred.

Mai Tai recipe

components

  • 1 1/2 ounces quaint syrup

  • 1/2 ounce darkish rum

  • 3/4 ounce orange liqueur

  • 1/2 ounce orgeat syrup

  • 3/4 ounce lemon juice

  • ice cubes (for shaking)

  • crushed ice

  • Pineapple wedge (garnish)

  • Maraschino cherry (appetizer)

instructions

  1. Pour the aged rum, orange liqueur, orgeat syrup and lemon juice right into a shaker.
  2. Add ice cubes and shake till the liquids are mixed and cooled.
  3. Pour right into a lowball glass 3/4 stuffed with crushed ice.
  4. Darkish rum floats on high.
  5. Garnish with a slice of pineapple and a maraschino cherry or two.

notes

  • You possibly can exchange the previous rum with white rum.
  • You should use Cointreau, Grand Marnier, or Orange Curacao for the orange liqueur.
  • You possibly can exchange crushed ice with ice cubes.
  • You possibly can garnish the cocktail with a wedge of lemon and recent mint as an alternative or along with pineapple slices and maraschino cherry garnish.

really useful merchandise

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About the authors

In regards to the authors

Darrell and Mindy Hirsch

Saveur Journal’s Greatest Journey Weblog Winners, Daryl and Mindy Hirsch, share their experiences and journey recipes on the 2foodtrippers web site and YouTube. The married meals and journey creator lives in Lisbon, Portugal.

Disclosures

Article updates
We replace our articles recurrently. A few of the updates are main whereas others are minor hyperlink adjustments and spelling corrections. Tell us if you happen to see something that wants updating on this article.

financing
We bought the components and instruments used to make this cocktail.

Initially revealed: July 2, 2023

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