Mai Tai Recipes

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Autumn in Jersey for me tonight due to lack of limes. However I have not been idle. There follows a list of several Mai Tai recipes tried or mentioned in this thread, in order of increasing orgeat content. Comments welcome.

Beachbum Berry (6.25% orgeat)

2 oz rum
1/2 oz orange Curacao
1 oz fresh lime juice
1/4 oz orgeat
1/4 oz syrup

Wayne Curtis (6.67% orgeat)

2 oz rum
3/4 oz orange Curacao
3/4 oz lime juice
1/4 oz orgeat

feste (15.38% orgeat)

1 1/2 oz rum
1/2 oz Cointreau
3/4 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 oz orgeat

Dale Degroff (16.67% orgeat)

1 1/2 oz rum
1/2 oz orange Curacao
1/2 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice
1/2 oz orgeat
(optional: overproof Lemon Hart for float)

Andrew Willett (23.08% orgeat)

1 3/4 oz Wray & Nephew White Overproof
1/4 oz Curacao or triple-sec
1/2 oz key lime juice (freshly-pressed)
3/4 oz orgeat

[FrogPrincesse]

I would also look at the balance between the sour (lime juice) and the sweet (curacao + orgeat + simple). Several of these recipes seem to be on the sweet side.

[Hassouni]

Yep, exactly what Princesse said. I find USUALLY 1:1 sweet:lime has a bit of remaining tartness, without losing balance, which I like. A Mai Tai should be rich and balanced, neither too sour nor too sweet.

Edited November 4, 2013 by Hassouni (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Yep, exactly what Princesse said. I find USUALLY 1:1 sweet:lime has a bit of remaining tartness, without losing balance, which I like. A Mai Tai should be rich and balanced, neither too sour nor too sweet.

Looks like only Beachbum Berry has a 1:1 ratio.

[Hassouni]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Berry is the one who unearthed Vic's original recipe, no?

At the end of the day, it's what you prefer. If you like 1:1, do it. If you prefer sweeter, do it, etc.

Edited November 4, 2013 by Hassouni (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

As another data point, I found this recipe from Scott S, the long gone OP of this thread:

(23.53% orgeat, topping even Andrew Willett!)

2 oz rum (Appleton and St. James)

1/2 oz Marie Brizard Orange Curacao

3/4 oz fresh lime juice

1 oz orgeat

[Adam George]

I use a Monin Orgeat and reckon its fine. I still cut it with Monin Vanilla to temper the almond flavour. I don't want it dominating.

And I can tell by your preferred specs that you have a sweet tooth.

Actually I don't. See all my posts in the ice cream thread. I use trehalose in place of sucrose to cut the sweetness. What I want are more almond and more orange notes in the Mai Tai, not more sugar. Hence why I would leave the syrup out. Small Hand orgeat is not the same as sweetened almond flavoring.

Your favourite Pina Colada holds 3 oz of Coco Lopez and you claim not to have a sweet tooth?

Best yet to my taste:

pineapple juice 2 1/2 oz

Coco Lopez 3 oz

coconut oil 1 oz

lime juice 5 ml

Barbancourt 4 oz

ice

Did I mention this was good?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Your favourite Pina Colada holds 3 oz of Coco Lopez and you claim not to have a sweet tooth?

The purpose of all that coconut oil is to try get the sweetness down since Coco Lopez is made with so much sugar. I had trouble keeping the emulsion from breaking and eventually gave up. I still have most of a can of Coco Lopez in the refrigerator that I don't know what to do with. I last used Coco Lopez in some Modernist Cuisine carrot soup.

Did you read my thoughts on sweetness in the ice cream thread?

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/144208-home-made-ice-cream-2013/

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Now that I have W&N Overproof, I tried Andrew Willett's formula:

1 3/4 oz Wray & Nephew White Overproof
1/4 oz Curacao or triple-sec
1/2 oz key lime juice (freshly-pressed)
3/4 oz orgeat

I used Cointreau for the Curacao/triple-sec, and I had to substitute ordinary Persian lime juice for the key lime juice. I did go searching for key limes but I rarely see them here.

Willett's instructions are to shake the drink with method ice, not crushed ice, then double strain into a glass with service ice. Forgive me that I am not familiar with barperson's terms. For the method ice I used little tiny cubes from my Japanese Kotobuki ice trays, and for the service ice I used regular cubes from Rubbermaid. I hope this was the general idea.

What was unexpected is the level filled only about a third of the glass. I think I need trays for bigger ice cubes. Willet calls for only two cubes, and two was not enough. One nice thing is that most of my attempts have ended up too diluted by the end, and this technique holds up better.

Willett asserts this recipe is "at least as original as anyone can prove". And I agree, it works. I'm going to try reducing the orgeat to 1/2 oz and see what happens. Wish me luck.

[Rafa]

Willett's instructions are to shake the drink with method ice, not crushed ice, then double strain into a glass with service ice. Forgive me that I am not familiar with barperson's terms.

As far as I know those are primarily, if not exclusively, Willett's terms. I think you got the general idea.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I am a failure. I tried to measure out 1/2 oz orgeat but got 3/4 oz. So instead of Willett's mai tai with reduced orgeat, I upped the other ingredients, and added an ounce of Pusser's for good measure:

2 oz Wray & Nephew White Overproof

1 oz Pusser's
1/2 oz Cointreau
1 oz lime juice

3/4 oz orgeat

A very satisfying beverage.

[Hassouni]

Holy shit, with 2 oz of WN and an oz of Pussers it would have to be satisfying!

[Adam George]

"JoNorvelleWalker: Also Available In Sober."

[Plantes Vertes]

Adam George: best served chilled

[Adam George]

"Plantes Vertes: Green Plants."

[JoNorvelleWalker]

"JoNorvelleWalker: Also Available In Sober."

I repent me of my misspent wino youth. Tonight's first attempt is similar to my most recently mentioned mai tai:

1 oz Appleton 12

1 oz Wray & Nephew White Overproof

1 oz Pusser's

1/2 oz Cointreau

1 oz lime juice

3/4 oz orgeat

Again, very satisfying beverage. Other than the rums, one other difference is I did not strain over fresh ice tonight. I shook with the little Kotobuki cubes and dumped the whole thing into the glass. Everything just fit. Nice mai tai, but a little bit too sweet. Oddly I did not think the last version was too sweet. Nor did I find Willett's straight Wray & Nephew recipe too sweet (as well as I can remember). I have to think about this. Willett's recipe is a little odd, but it is an experiment well worth repeating. Alas, though, no more Kotobuki ice.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

In post #117 I reported on my results with Beachbum Berry's recipe, for which I used Pusser's and Appleton 12 as the rums. Tonight I made the same formula but with Pusser's and W&N Overproof as the rum components:

1 oz Pusser's

1 oz Wray & Nephew Overproof

1/2 oz Cointreau

1 oz fresh lime juice

1/4 oz orgeat

1/4 oz syrup

I think I like this combination better. My working hypothesis is that Appleton 12 is best used by itself in a mai tai. Meanwhile I ordered a tray for making larger ice cubes so I can give Andrew Willett's W&N mai tai recipe a better trial. I'm still hoping to find key limes for making it as well.

Speaking of ice and ice cube trays, can anyone point me to a good eG thread on the subject (other than the threads about trying to make clear ice)? My Rubbermaid trays are cracking after just a month or two. And what does one do about getting oneself frozen to the ice cubes? It hurts.

[Fernwood]

And what does one do about getting oneself frozen to the ice cubes? It hurts.

For "dry" ice, meaning water ice that is quite cold, you need dry hands, or gloves, or tongs. Or you could turn your freezer temp up until your ice is just barely frozen, but that's probably not the preferred solution.

If you do get stuck, don't pull--put the ice-flesh complex under the faucet.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

put the ice-flesh complex under the faucet.

Yup, that's what I've been doing. Have to remember to stop touching it, but good to know the ice really works. Fortunately for me Andrew Willett's mai tai is the only one I've seen that uses any form except crushed ice. Those little Kotobuki cubes are savage.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Last night I made Berry's recipe but using all Appleton 12. That was good, of course, but unlike when using a mixture of Pusser's and W&N Overproof in Berry's recipe, I thought the lime with the Appleton 12 was a bit too much. A future experiment awaits.

However tonight -- or this morning, if you will, since it is 3:00 am -- I repeated the Andrew Willett recipe:

http://elementalmixology.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/mai-tai-fix-recipe1.jpg

Willett's recipe is a bit unconventional but the two times I have tried it now it works. I'd almost say it was a different drink from Berry's version. And since Willett calls for larger ice, I am now using Kotobuki ice balls. I'd sort of like another.

[Adam George]

Bonkers that Willet references the use of solely a 17 year old rum, and then says White Overproof Wray is a good substitute.

This is like saying, "Research shows that the Sidecar was first made with a 16 year old XO cognac. Failing that, feel free to substitute Marc."

[Rafa]

Especially bonkers given what a stickler he is for traditional recipes and obscurantist deference to first sources. He calls a Negroni a Camparinette, for example.

[FrogPrincesse]

He calls a Negroni a Camparinette, for example.

Sounds very French. Love it.

[Rafa]

Bien sûr.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

This time the rum is pure Appleton 12, with lime reduced to 3/4 oz, and no syrup:

2 oz Appleton 12

1/2 oz Cointreau

3/4 oz fresh lime juice

1/4 oz orgeat

Surprisingly not all that satisfying, though I'm being somewhat picky here. The taste is a little watery, if anything. When I made this with 1 oz lime I thought the lime was a bit too much for the Appleton, so I dialed it back (and omitted the syrup). I'm very sad this doesn't work.

Currently my favorite Mai Tai (which is Berry's recipe with different rums) is from a few nights ago:

1 oz Pusser's

1 oz Wray & Nephew Overproof

1/2 oz Cointreau

1 oz fresh lime juice

1/4 oz orgeat

1/4 oz syrup

Not sure what to try next. Maybe I should start accounting for the color of the straw.