Mai Tai Recipes

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Interesting, thanks!

[ChrisTaylor]

A new one for me:

 

1 oz Smith & Cross

.5 oz Havana Club aged

.5 oz Dictador 12

.5 oz Cointreau

.25 oz orgeat

.25 oz simple

 

I thought it was okay. The Dictador added something.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Oui

 

OK:

 

1 oz S&C

1 oz Pusser's

1 oz arrack

1/2 Grand Marnier

1 oz fresh lime juice (exact)

1/2 oz orgeat

 

 

Rich, earthy/smoky.  Not in your face funky.  Doesn't taste very alcoholic.  Sweetness and citrus is just right.  In fact except for lime in place of lemon, this is more like Mississippi punch than a mai tai.  (Given that I use S&C and arrack in my Mississippi punch this is not all that surprising.)

 

If I think of this as a mai tai it is rather strange.  If I think of this as a variant of Mississippi punch it is pretty good, if not quite up to the 1850's recipe that calls for lemon juice.

 

Conclusion:  blue straw or no, this is not a tiki drink.

 

 

Now I'm wondering what Mississippi punch would be like if I added a dash or three of orgeat?  Sort of like a fusion Japanese.

[FrogPrincesse]

A Mai Tai with Lost Spirits Polynesian-inspired rum, homemade coconut orgeat, Clement creole shrubb. This was pretty wild, as anticipated. Not my favorite Mai Tai of all times, but a great way to enjoy this rum. Even before tasting it, it filled the room with incredible aromas.

The taste at first was very tobacco-forward, tannic. The cocktail was very strong, so I took my time to enjoy it. At the end, the banana notes were a nice little surprise.

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

What about this mai tai made it very strong?

 

Not that I had any rum tonight as I spent the day recovering from about a bottle more of sake than I should have had.

[Hassouni]

I suspect because that rum is cask strength.

[FrogPrincesse]

Exactly. The Polynesian-style rum is 66%.

My usual rum mix is 41.5%, so that's about 60% more alcohol.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

This is not very scientific...

 

 

I had exactly 20 ml Grand Marnier left in the bottle.  So I compounded:

 

1 oz S&C

1 oz Pusser's

1 oz Neisson Reserve Speciale

1 oz La Favorite Blanc

20 ml Grand Marnier

1 oz fresh lime juice (generous)

20 ml orgeat

 

 

I generally like things on the less sweet side, but this mai tai was a bit too dry.  I found another bottle of Grand Marnier and poured in a bit more of that and some more orgeat.  I might have over done it, so I added a float of La Favorate.

 

Not the worst mai tai I have had.

 

Every time I think I might have something new I see I have done it before, or at least something similar.  I noticed in their mai tai Death&Co use La Favorite as a modifier (cowards) so tonight I went with:

 

3/4 oz S&C

3/4 oz Pusser's

3/4 oz Neisson Reserve Speciale

3/4 oz La Favorite Blanc

1/2 oz Grand Marnier

1 oz fresh lime juice (exact)

1/2 oz orgeat

 

 

It is intellectually unsatisfying to require four rums in a mai tai, but I must say this is pretty good and certainly not over dry.

[pto]

Inspired me to make a MaiTai tonight. No access to a lot of the "standard" MT rums, but make due with what I have...

 

 

.75 Doorlys

.75 La Mauny Agricole

.75 Sagatiba Cachaca

.5 Myers's

.5 Cointreau

.5 orgeat

1 oz fresh lime

 

This was tasty and on the dry side, could've drunk several

Edited October 20, 2014 by pto (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Tonight, since my Appleton was getting lonely:

 

1 1/2 oz Appleton 12

3/4 oz Neisson Reserve Speciale

3/4 oz La Favorite Blanc

1/2 oz Grand Marnier

1/2 oz orgeat

juice of one half lime

 

 

The lime was a large one, and the lime juice was overpowering.  I added a solid pour of Pusser's and the drink now is much better balanced.

 

Maybe I have to face the fact that Appleton just doesn't do it in mai tais anymore.

 

 

Edit:  went with a little more La Favorite too.

Edited October 28, 2014 by JoNorvelleWalker (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

More and more I am drawn to the white mai tai.  Leslie can stop reading now. Tonight I used a full two ounces of lime juice...juice of one lime, as called out by Vic.  This is so perfect I am contemplating another (why waste mint?):

 

1 1/2 oz La Favorite Blanc

1 1/2 oz W&N

1/2 oz Cointreau

1/2 oz orgeat

2 oz fresh squeezed lime juice (juice of one lime)

[Craig E]

What big limes you have!

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Limes are still ten for $1.99.  Well more than two ounces of juice tonight, even after I spilled some.  It was time to think outside the bottle:

 

1 1/2 oz Neisson L'esprit

1 1/2 oz W&N

1 oz La Favorite Blanc

3/4 oz Cointreau

3/4 oz orgeat

juice of one lime

 

 

I'm not used to relegating La Favorite to a mere modifier, but if it works for the likes of Death&Co I figured it was worth a shot.  (Sarcasm possibly intended.)  Besides, for some reason, I keep running out of La Favorite.

 

I was afraid that with the extra orgeat and Cointreau the drink might be too sweet, but it is nicely balanced.  Compared to my usual white mai tai the nose is more of butyl rubber -- in that wonderful Martinique rhum way.  The only down side is that the subtile W&N dunder is a little lost.

 

Now, to pull down the Bastille.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

For science I had to repeat this recipe.  Very satisfied.  Not sure what to say except this is not a wimpy drink.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Edit:  since I can't edit -- and now I have the hiccups.  This is horrible.

[Hassouni]

Nearly 5 oz of full-strength or overproof booze in one pop will do that

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Nearly 5 oz of full-strength or overproof booze in one pop will do that

 

Indeed.

 

 

Edit:  though only the Cointreau is full strength.

 

Edit 2:  feste's orgeat has very little brandy.

Edited November 20, 2014 by JoNorvelleWalker (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

A Mai Tai with a 50:50 mix of Lost Spirits Polynesian-style rum and Clement VSOP, Pierre Ferrand Dry curaçao, homemade coconut orgeat. A little more reasonable than the 100% Polynesian version.

 

 

 

Then a winter take on the Mai Tai with Highland Park 12 as the base spirit, Pierre Ferrand Dry curaçao, homemade coconut orgeat. When I make it again I will skip the simple syrup and go all orgeat on that one (the coconut orgeat is lighter than almond orgeat). There is an interesting affinity between scotch and coconut...

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Tonight I decided to take my mai tai back closer to its roots:

 

1 1/2 oz Neisson Reserve Speciale

1 1/2 oz S&C

1/2 oz Grand Marnier

1/2 oz orgeat

juice of one half lime (exactly 1 oz)

 

 

Nothing really, really wrong with this.  Though I was surprised the buttery smooth Neisson was so dominant.  If I had to find one fault I'd say the drink, as built, was too polite.  The solution was a solid pour of my new bottle of Lost Spirits.  (No, I didn't measure...and I don't have to.)

 

In my opinion a non-white mai tai demands a backbone of Guyana style rum.  It's not the same without it.  Een so, the simple white mai tai remains for me the apotheosis of the drink.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Some nights ago I killed off the last bottle of Cointreau, so another non-white mai tai:

 

1 oz Neisson Reserve Speciale

1 oz S&C

1 oz Lost Spirits Navy Style (Pusser's would have served OK)

1/2 oz Grand Marnier

1/2 oz orgeat

1 oz lime (generous)

 

 

Very well balanced combination.

[FrogPrincesse]

Mai Tai with Denizen Merchant's Reserve, Clement Select Barrel, homemade coconut orgeat, Clement Creole Shrubb, lime juice, and a float of Lost Spirits Polynesian-style rum.

 

 

That was pretty amazing. The Denizen was designed for Mai Tais and it certainly delivers. The Clement Select Barrel is just meh for me on its own (too smooth for agricole) but it works great here adding deep oak notes. And the Polynesian-style rum adds tropical notes with crazy esters.

 

3/4 oz Denizen Merchant's Reserve
3/4 oz Clement Select Barrel

1 oz lime juice
1/2 oz coconut orgeat
1/2 oz Clement creole shrubb
1/2 oz Lost Spirits Polynesian-style rum (float)

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Thanks for the Denizen information.  I have never seen Denizen for sale, but if I should find a bottle I would like to try it.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

My case of orgeat came today, and it's a white mai tai for me tonight.  Just in time ordering as I killed the last of the last bottle.  In my enthusiasm I subsequently over poured the orgeat and then had to compensate.  The result is somewhat stronger than I am used to but perfectly balanced with a blue straw and a beautiful stem of mint.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I have been going back and forth tonight.  What I want to know is do most folks strain their lime juice or not?  I have always taken the trouble to strain my lime juice for a mai tai.  But, you know, I can't say it makes a difference.

 

And I can pretend lime pulp is good for one.

 

Unfortunately there are only so many experiments I can make in a short space of time.

[Hassouni]

I have been going back and forth tonight.  What I want to know is do most folks strain their lime juice or not?  I have always taken the trouble to strain my lime juice for a mai tai.  But, you know, I can't say it makes a difference.

 

And I can pretend lime pulp is good for one.

 

Unfortunately there are only so many experiments I can make in a short space of time.

 

At home I never strain my citrus juices. At the bar, always. I think my big Hamilton Beach juicer for the bar presses more pulp out than my hand-squeezer, in any case.