Mai Tai Recipes

[Fernet-Bronco]

I don't strain on the front end (i.e., the juices separately) but I tend to double strain everything after I've mixed when pouring into a glass. I guess some tiki classic recipes call for shaking with the crushed ice and then dumping it all in a glass, but I can never get the ice:liquid ratio right and end up with too much or too little ice. Easier for me to fill the glass with the right amount of crushed ice and strain the drink over it.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I only double strain a drink served up -- eg. not a mai tai.  However I've been really enjoying mai tais with unstrained juice.  And it is fantastically less work!

 

Not to mention lime pulp on a winter-cracked raw thumb is beyond excruciating.

[Hassouni]

I'm with Jo on this. In a Tiki style drink I wouldn't bother to strain the juice unless it was from a multi-purpose batch of juice that's already strained. All that crushed ice, who cares about a shred of pulp.

[Fernet-Bronco]

I freely admit my double straining is sometimes a neurosis. I'll try your approach on my next Mai Tai.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I have been rethinking this whole issue.  The past couple days my Baron shaker has been clogged with brownish used lime gunk, and the contents don't pour out.

 

Last night was not a mai tai.  It was a zombie for which I did indeed strain the juices.  Nonetheless I still could not get the drink into the glass due to the remaining mai tai residue.  Either I have to wash the shaker after each use or go back to pre-straining limes.  Which I'd just as soon not do at least till warmer weather.  My hands can't take it.  Making the aforesaid zombie I thought I had spilled some grenadine.  I hoped I had spilled the grenadine.  But no.

 

Anyhow, tonight's white mai tai is a little different.  Instead of half La Favorite and half W&N, I used equal parts La Favorite, W&N, and l'Esprit.  Not bad, but I think I still prefer the former.

[Fernet-Bronco]

Tried my first mai tai with the gallons of rum I bought in the last week...

 

1 oz Smith & Cross

.5 oz Appleton V/X

.5 oz Pusser's

.5 oz Cointreau

1 oz lime juice

.5 oz orgeat

.5 oz simple syrup

.5 oz Lemon Hart OP float

 

Nice but too sweet. No ss next time. This belongs in a julep cup, or some south pacific, pearl-studded pimp chalice. 

 

(Edit: Oh, and I double strained. Couldn't help myself.)

Edited March 5, 2015 by Fernet-Bronco (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Rather than Lemon Hart, you should find a way to work some Martinique rum in there!  I typically use Neisson Reserve Speciale in a brown mai tai and La Favorite in a white mai tai.  (It's a good thing I can't afford the older Neisson expressions.)

 

I'm finishing up the remains of a white mai tai at the moment and wondering what's next.

 

I know it's not all that tiki-like but I prefer plain drinking vessels for my mai tai.  This one is 16 ounces.  And remember, straw color is important.

[Fernet-Bronco]

Rather than Lemon Hart, you should find a way to work some Martinique rum in there!  I typically use Neisson Reserve Speciale  . . . .

 

Not at the prices I'm seeing!

 

Been using my old fashioned glasses for mai tais. Too small. It may not be traditional, but I think until I get proper mai tai vessels, I am actually going to use our julep cups. They seem to perform well enough with crushed ice and mint garnishes in other contexts.

[Hassouni]

Not at the prices I'm seeing!

 

Been using my old fashioned glasses for mai tais. Too small. It may not be traditional, but I think until I get proper mai tai vessels, I am actually going to use our julep cups. They seem to perform well enough with crushed ice and mint garnishes in other contexts.

 

I use a 12 oz (or rather, 330ml or something) Duralex Picardie glass for mai tais and other crushed ice drinks. Not traditional but it's the right size. A julep cup would work nicely, I think.

[FrogPrincesse]

You need a double old fashioned glass for Mai Tais. Aren't julep cups too small?

[pto]

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

 

A little late, but have you tried the trick in the Joy Of Mixology book? Take a lemon or lime wedge, dash it with Angostura, put it between your teeth and suck - hiccups are gone! Worked for my GF and I thought it might be the power of suggestion, but then I did it a few weeks later and it really works.

 

 

Made a very "standard" Mai Tai tonight:

1oz Appleton V/X

1oz La Mauny Ambre

.5 oz Cointreau

.5 oz orgeat (Monin)

.75 lime juice

dash ss

 

Quite rich tastng.

[Hassouni]

Test-driving the Denizen Merchant's Reserve, Clément Creole Shrubb, and the Dave Arnold orgeat recipe:

2 oz Denizen's

1 oz lime (scant)

0.5 oz orgeat

0.5 oz Creole S.

Thoughts - the rum is nice, but the Clément strikes me as being a bit too dry for this - I pretty much always do half and half orgeat: curaçao, and this is a very dry, almost thin tasting drink. Maybe a bit less ice and a dash of Demerara syrup might make it better. Maybe it was an exceptionally tart lime. Who knows.

And no, I don't have any mint in the house.

Edited March 29, 2015 by Hassouni (log)

[Moto]

Tonight's Mai Tai

 

1 Oz LaFavorit

1 Oz Smith & Cross

1/2 oz Pecan Orgeat

1/2 oz Clement Shrub

1 Oz Lime Juice

 

even with tired looking limes this was very good

[FrogPrincesse]

Test-driving the Denizen Merchant's Reserve, Clément Creole Shrubb, and the Dave Arnold orgeat recipe:

2 oz Denizen's

1 oz lime (scant)

0.5 oz orgeat

0.5 oz Creole S.

Thoughts - the rum is nice, but the Clément strikes me as being a bit too dry for this - I pretty much always do half and half orgeat: curaçao, and this is a very dry, almost thin tasting drink. Maybe a bit less ice and a dash of Demerara syrup might make it better. Maybe it was an exceptionally tart lime. Who knows.

image.jpg

And no, I don't have any mint in the house

 

I made some orgeat last week after a few weeks sans. Like Hassouni I tried a Denizen Merchant's Reserve Mai Tai with 2 oz rum, 1 oz lime, 1/2 oz Clement Creole Shrubb, 1/4 oz homemade orgeat (Beachbum recipe), 1/4 oz simple syrup (and mint from the backyard!).

 

This is a very nice Mai Tai, but I think I've been spoiled with the versions with aged agricole. So it did not quite satisfy my craving the way I was hoping it would. Still I like this rum very much.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Tonight I tried leaving the Lost Spirits Navy Style out of my mai tai and replacing it with an extra ounce of S&C.  I found the drink was lacking body, so I stirred in a pour of Lost Spirits with no regrets.

 

 

For reference my working recipe is:

 

1 oz Neisson Reserve Speciale

1 oz S&C

1 oz Lost Spirits Navy Style

1/2 oz Grand Marnier

1/2 oz orgeat

1 oz lime

[FrogPrincesse]

Another rendition of the My Oh My Ty, the white agricole/absinthe Mai Tai created by Brian Miller, this time with Kō Hana Kea (white) Lahi for the rhum agricole. This rum is made from freshly pressed cane juice from a single varietal (Lahi) grown in Hawaii. Glasses by Michael Uhlenkott.

 

 

 

 

[Rafa]

How's the Lahi?

[Norm Matthews]

When I was in college (Ottawa University) I fantasized about Trader Vic's Mai Tai.  18 was old enough to drink 3.2 beer but aside from that, Kansas was a dry state. I was 21 when I was at Fort Lewis, Washington and got leave to go into town where  I had my first Mai Tai at Trader Vic's. I only had one and had a buzz on afterward.   At the time Trader Vic's recipe was a secret but now it's published.  I have the recipe in a Trader Vic recipe book but  I like his Scorpion drink better. 

Edited September 3, 2015 by Norm Matthews (log)

[TicTac]

I just started getting into Mai Tai's

 

I am using 1.5oz each of S&C and El Dorado 12 y/o (or is it 15?) rum, Pierre Fernand Curacao, A Montreal based Co Ogreat, and lime juice.

 

Are those the appropriate rums to use?

 

Tastes great, regardless - but I am curious!

[tanstaafl2]

I just started getting into Mai Tai's

 

I am using 1.5oz each of S&C and El Dorado 12 y/o (or is it 15?) rum, Pierre Fernand Curacao, A Montreal based Co Ogreat, and lime juice.

 

Are those the appropriate rums to use?

 

Tastes great, regardless - but I am curious!

 

Did you like it? If so then those were the right rums to use!

 

A fairly traditional Mai Tai based on the Trader Vic recipe can be found on Kindred Cocktails (a great resource). I think of the Appleton 12 and a Rhum Clement that is 4-6 years of age as a good place to start. Note that in the notes S&C is mentioned as another good Jamaican rum. In the combination you listed it helped bring in the hogo or funk that would otherwise be missing from the ED12. A solid orgeat is critical to me. Not personally familiar with the one you used but it might be perfectly fine. I almost never use simple syrup, adding more orgeat instead.

 

But there endless variations including many in the preceding posts on this thread.

[TicTac]

Did you like it? If so then those were the right rums to use!

 

A fairly traditional Mai Tai based on the Trader Vic recipe can be found on Kindred Cocktails (a great resource). I think of the Appleton 12 and a Rhum Clement that is 4-6 years of age as a good place to start. Note that in the notes S&C is mentioned as another good Jamaican rum. In the combination you listed it helped bring in the hogo or funk that would otherwise be missing from the ED12. A solid orgeat is critical to me. Not personally familiar with the one you used but it might be perfectly fine. I almost never use simple syrup, adding more orgeat instead.

 

But there endless variations including many in the preceding posts on this thread.

 

Can you tell me a bit more about Rhum Clement - is from a certain geography?  A white rum?  The LCBO is very limited (sadly) with its selection, even if it is the biggest liquor buying power in the world....

 

The orgeat I got is this one:  http://cocktailemporium.ca/collections/orgeat-syrups/products/le-lab-sirop-d-orgeade 

 

I too opted for more orgeat and no simple. 

[FrogPrincesse]

Appleton 12 and a Rhum Clement that is 4-6 years of age as a good place to start. *

 * As recommended by Rum Dood after a lot of experimentation (see here for his elucubrations). Note that I am pretty sure he uses Appleton V/X when he works at 320 Main...

 

Or just use Denizen Merchant's Reserve which is already a mix of Jamaican (like the Appleton) and aged agricole (like the Clement). Developed in collaboration with Martin Cate, with Mai Tais in mind.

 

 

Can you tell me a bit more about Rhum Clement - is from a certain geography?  A white rum?  The LCBO is very limited (sadly) with its selection, even if it is the biggest liquor buying power in the world....

 

The Clement VSOP that is often recommended for Mai Tais is an aged rum, so it's amber in color. It's from Martinique and it's a rhum agricole, therefore made from fresh cane juice, which makes it different from most other rums which are produced from molasses.

 

But you should try your own rum mixes and see what you like. There are many, many permutations that have been tried on this forum if you feel like reading the 14 pages of discussions!

Edited September 4, 2015 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

How's the Lahi?

It's pretty good but only 40%. La Favorite is still my favorite.

[Rafa]

 

Or just use Denizen Merchant's Reserve which is already a mix of Jamaican (like the Appleton) and aged agricole (like the Clement). Developed in collaboration with Martin Cate, with Mai Tais in mind.

 

The Martinique rum used in the Merchant's Reserve is molasses-based--it's a rare rhum industriel from Martinique. Martin Cate's research led him to believe that the style of Martinician rum Vic used for his Mai Tai blend was derived from molasses, not cane juice. (In this he departs from Berry). Regardless, an agricole is delicious in a Mai Tai--with good rums and good orgeat, it's hard to go wrong. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

It's pretty good but only 40%. La Favorite is still my favorite.

 

Indeed, Frog.  And like many Bothans thou shalt forever be in my remembrance for that information.

 

 

Enjoying a white mai tai (La Favorite/W&N) at the moment.  TicTac, if it tastes good it is good, but keep experimenting because something else might taste even better.

 

As to orgeat I recommend small hand foods.  The owner, feste, is an eGullet member, not that she seems to post much anymore.  But good stuff:

 

http://smallhandfoods.com/store/index.php/orgeat

 

Amazon has it.  Not sure about amazon.ca.  I consume it by the case.