Mai Tai Recipes

Hassouni · April 27, 2014

Contrary to what one may read on other eGullet threads I don't think W&N tastes much at all like Appleton, although I admit to being rather fond of both.

That's my stand as well

JoNorvelleWalker · April 27, 2014

Continuing where I left off -- after pausing briefly to agree with Hassouni -- I changed a different variable:

1 oz S&C

1 oz Pusser's

1 oz W&N

1/2 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao

1/2 oz orgeat

1 oz lime juice (ever so slightly scant, as life sometimes is)

I kind of think I prefer Grand Marnier here to Pierre Ferrand. But next time I concoct a Knickerbocker, watch out! Not sure about Pierre Ferrand vs Cointreau, though I don't feel either quite belongs here. If this were a sidecar rather than a mai tai I'd feel differently.

The funk of S&C/Pusser's/W&N is different from the funk of S&C and Rhum JM. I'd have to say half S&C and half Rhum JM is funkier. Which I like better is hard to say. I do miss W&N when it's not used.

Obviously a rum/rhum can only be AOC when it is made in France. This is not rocket science, though it may be rocket fuel.

JoNorvelleWalker · April 29, 2014

Tonight, a slightly lower proof mai tai for me:

1 oz Pusser's

1 oz Ruhm JM

1 oz Smith & Cross
1/2 oz Grand Marnier
3/4 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz orgeat

Very good, I must say. But I do miss W&N when it's not in my mai tai. Not sure what to do about this.

JoNorvelleWalker · April 29, 2014

On this I reflected for a while. I knew from the corpus of my zombie research that it does not take much in the way of Wray & Nephew to announce itself:

1 oz Pusser's

1 oz Ruhm JM

1 oz Smith & Cross

3/4 oz W&N
1/2 oz Grand Marnier
1 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz orgeat

Leslie, I do not find the additional lime juice makes the drink taste weak. If anything this mai tai is a little sweet, though I tried hard to measure most carefully. And while I like strong drink, it would be hard for me to enjoy too many of these at once.

All four of these rum/rhums have their own lovely funk. I just don't know best how to balance them.

brinza · April 30, 2014

All these Mai Tai variations encouraged me to experiment a bit this past weekend, using what I had on hand.

1 oz Appleton V/X

1 oz Pusser's

1/2 oz Brugal Anejo

splash Lemon Hart 151

3/4 oz lime juice (generous, probably closer to 1 oz)

3/4 oz Gran Gala

1/4 oz orgeat

I usually use 1/2 oz each of the orgeat and orange curacao, but I wanted to steer it in a different direction, while keeping the sweetness level about the same.

I have to say that this was one of the best I've made yet. I reproduced it for my friend and myself the next day, and it was still good. Now I want another bottle of S&C so I can try it with that.

Edited April 30, 2014 by brinza (log)

JoNorvelleWalker · May 1, 2014

I continue to explore Rhum JM:

3/4 oz Pusser's

3/4 oz Ruhm JM

3/4 oz Smith & Cross

3/4 oz W&N
1/2 oz Grand Marnier
3/4 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz orgeat

Not bad at all, but after this I thought best to switch to wine.

JoNorvelleWalker · May 4, 2014

Tonight I may have slightly over done it with the Grand Marnier:

1 oz Pusser's

1 oz Ruhm JM

1 oz Smith & Cross

1/2 oz W&N
3/4 oz Grand Marnier
1 1/4 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz orgeat

The rum/rhums were just about right however. As was the lime. Sadly I love lime.

JoNorvelleWalker · May 4, 2014

Then I tried substituting 1/4 oz Cointreau plus 1/4 oz PF Dry Curacao. Nope, no curacao I've tried in a mai tai works as well for me as Grand Marnier. But I suppose the experiment was worth a shot.

JoNorvelleWalker · May 5, 2014

When I dug my shaker out of the freezer tonight to make a zombie, what should I find in it but a sidecar's worth of mai tai. I should always be so fortunate.

But now I am out of limes.

JoNorvelleWalker · May 12, 2014

I've been going back and forth, as I am able, between mai tais with and without Rhum JM. E.g.:

1 oz Pusser's

1 oz Smith & Cross

1 oz W&N

1 oz Ruhm JM

1/2 oz Grand Marnier

1/2 oz orgeat

juice of one lime

vs.

1 oz Pusser's

1 oz Smith & Cross

1 oz W&N
1/2 oz Grand Marnier

1/2 oz orgeat

juice of one lime

I am not fond of flaccid drinks and few would find either mai tai version weak. However, by a small margin, I find the four rum/rhum version better. Can anyone suggest any other mai tai rum combinations I should consider?

scamhi · May 12, 2014

JoNorvelleWalker

I don't have a suggestion for rum combination but the top recipe packs a punch.

How about trying one on the bottom this way and skipping the W&N.

1 oz Pusser's

1 oz Smith & Cross

1 oz Rhum JM
1/2 oz Grand Marnier

1/2 oz orgeat

juice of one lime

I just made a fresh batch or orgeat yesterday so I am back in Mai Tai mode.

JoNorvelleWalker · May 12, 2014

I tried Pusser's S&C, and Rhum JM a while back.

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/25600-mai-tai-recipes/?p=1962645

JoNorvelleWalker · May 24, 2014

I can now confirm that using Barbancourt 15 with Smith & Cross makes for a real hell of a Mai Tai, although the 15 is more intense than the 8 and therefor stands up to the S&C more.

Trade secrets and all of that, but you did not give the full recipe. Such as how much rum you used. Anyhow, now that I have Barbancourt 15, I concocted:

1 1/2 oz S&C

1 1/2 oz Barbancourt 15

1/2 oz Grand Marnier

1/2 oz orgeat

1 oz fresh lime juice

Garnish of mint and spent half lime. A little weak, if you ask me. My usual mai tais have more alcohol. But very nice. I have yet to try Barbancourt 15 neat but perhaps now is not the the most auspicious time. My thought is that with this recipe one should cut the lime a little or use more rum.

Now that I am near the bottom of the tumbler I miss my Pusser's and the W&N. This drink just does not have the necessary funk. Nothing else works quite like W&N.

Hassouni · May 24, 2014

The mai tai is not my secret. 1 oz of each, as per the typical 2 oz of booze for nearly every cocktail ever (and Vic's original recipe)

Edited May 24, 2014 by Hassouni (log)

JoNorvelleWalker · June 3, 2014

I thought tonight I was trying something new, but alas, this is identical to post #257. I liked it then too!

3/4 oz Pusser's

3/4 oz Ruhm JM

3/4 oz Smith & Cross

3/4 oz W&N
1/2 oz Grand Marnier
3/4 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz orgeat

I figure that four ounces of rhum/rum in a mai tai is excessive, even for a mai tai. Even though I must say it is more fun to measure rum by wineglasses and ponies. But I digress...this is possibly my favorite mai tai recipe to date. Pardon me while I caress my mint.

Though stay tuned, I have a couple more experiments in mind.

JoNorvelleWalker · June 5, 2014

Tonight:

1 1/2 oz Barbancourt 15

1 1/2 oz W&N
1/2 oz Grand Marnier
3/4 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz orgeat

Spent half lime and bush of mint. The logic being to recreate an original mai tai that used W&N, the mai tai ought to have W&N in it. This formula has possibilities. A bit headier than I was expecting. Not a mai tai to go down fast. All the more time to fondle my mint.

Though this recipe is right up there, I think I liked the previous mai tai version better. I want to like Barbancourt in a mai tai, I really do. But Barbancourt just does not come through for me the way it does for others. For what my amateur opinion is worth I like W&N better mixed with Barbancourt than S&C with Barbancourt. I hesitate to admit it but better than either I'd probably like S&C and W&N half and half.

Hassouni · June 5, 2014

17 years of aging drastically transforms a rum. Plain old whites probably has very little in common with the 17 year old stuff. 1/2 oz WN and 1.5 Barbancourt 15 is probably not far off. Anyway a Mai Tai has 2 oz rum in it....

JoNorvelleWalker · June 5, 2014

Your mai tai may have 2 ounces of rum. Vic's mai tai may have had 2 ounces of rum. Richard Nixon's mai tai may have had 2 ounces of rum (though I doubt it). Mine does not.

Anyhow:

3/4 oz Appleton 12

3/4 oz Gosling's Old

3/4 oz Barbancourt 15

3/4 oz W&N
1/2 oz Grand Marnier
3/4 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz orgeat

This is an attempt to combine W&N with the oldest rums in my collection. It is a very smooth mai tai and goes down easy. For some reason it is a little sweet. Too sweet for my taste, though I measured carefully. I suspect this version is a waste of ancient rum as both of my previous mai tais were better. I am kind of disappointed.

tanstaafl2 · June 5, 2014

I see a new rhum from Clement on the K&L Spirits Journal that might be of interest to the Mai Tai set (or rhum lovers in general!).

$30 for a 3yo Clement Barrel Select seems like a pretty decent deal but whether I can get any to see for myself remains to be seen. Getting anything from K&L is always a challenge and so far I don't see it available anywhere else. Hopefully it will be eventually.

Edited June 5, 2014 by tanstaafl2 (log)

**FrogPrincesse** · June 5, 2014

$30 for the 3 year old - a decent deal, but I can get the VSOP (4 years) for $30 too, and it's great in a Mai Tai...

Edited June 5, 2014 by FrogPrincesse (log)

**FrogPrincesse** · June 6, 2014

I was in the mood for a Mai Tai last night and still had homemade orgeat on hand, so I tried the white rhum agricole and Smith & Cross combo that Adam suggested a while back.

Potent stuff. Very different mood from my usual Appleton 12 + La Favorite aged combo.

La Favorite white has a HUGE aroma - you can literally smell it from across the room as soon as you start pouring. So it was not a surprise that it dominated > 75% of the drink; then the S&C made a somewhat timid appearance. The resulting Mai Tai is punchy and strong as opposed to the smoothness of the other combo (which still has plenty of funk thanks to the agricole).The finish was lacking something, it felt a bit "hollow" and did not have the satisfying richness I am used to. But what an amazing flavor overall. The lime was more present in this version and the orgeat less noticeable. Still a perfectly excellent drink.

Maybe I will try half S&C and half Coruba with a slightly less intense rhum blanc next time. (Now I feel I am turning into Jo with her endless quest for the best Mai Tai!) Also I am thinking of making Mai Tais for an event and if so will explore cachaça and dark Jamaican rum options.

How does everyone like Pierre Ferrand dry curaçao in Mai Tais? That's what the new Jeff Berry "Total Tiki" app recommends now.

Hassouni · June 7, 2014

Hm, my bottle of Cointreau is nearly gone, may have to pick some up...

JoNorvelleWalker · June 7, 2014

I was in the mood for a Mai Tai last night and still had homemade orgeat on hand, so I tried the white rhum agricole and Smith & Cross combo that Adam suggested a while back.

Potent stuff. Very different mood from my usual Appleton 12 + La Favorite aged combo.
La Favorite white has a HUGE aroma - you can literally smell it from across the room as soon as you start pouring. So it was not a surprise that it dominated > 75% of the drink; then the S&C made a somewhat timid appearance. The resulting Mai Tai is punchy and strong as opposed to the smoothness of the other combo (which still has plenty of funk thanks to the agricole).The finish was lacking something, it felt a bit "hollow" and did not have the satisfying richness I am used to. But what an amazing flavor overall. The lime was more present in this version and the orgeat less noticeable. Still a perfectly excellent drink.

Maybe I will try half S&C and half Coruba with a slightly less intense rhum blanc next time. (Now I feel I am turning into Jo with her endless quest for the best Mai Tai!) Also I am thinking of making Mai Tais for an event and if so will explore cachaça and dark Jamaican rum options.

How does everyone like Pierre Ferrand dry curaçao in Mai Tais? That's what the new Jeff Berry "Total Tiki" app recommends now.

Some while ago I tried Pierre Ferrand dry curacao and reported I didn't find it optimum in a mai tai. However based on your positive results I went back and resurrected Adam's post:

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/25600-mai-tai-recipes/?p=1941084

"Grab a bottle of 100 Proof Blanc or Vieux Agricole and make this:"

And now that I have all the ingredients, I set out diligently to replicate Adam's work:

1/2 oz Appleton 12

1/2 oz Rhum Agricole Blanc Neisson 50%

1/2 oz Pusser's

1/2 oz W&N

1/4 oz Cointreau

1/4 oz Ferrand dry curacao

1 oz fresh lime juice

1/4 oz orgeat

1/4 oz syrup

Strained onto fresh ice (not that I find it necessary). Garnish half spent lime and mint. Certainly one of the best mai tais I have had. Very well balanced. My one complaint is the lack of liquid. Now I must go make another.

Oops, I see this recipe of Adam's has no S&C. What recipe of Adam's did you follow FP?

Adam, have you been able to think of a way to require more ingredients?

JoNorvelleWalker · June 7, 2014

Second time around it seems a little sweet. I could drink more than two of these but I don't think I could make more than two of these.

**FrogPrincesse** · June 7, 2014

Oops, I see this recipe of Adam's has no S&C. What recipe of Adam's did you follow FP?

Iteration #7 in the post below.

Next I want to try #8 with Coruba, S&C, and Neisson blanc.

I'll list how got there in roughly chronological order.
Should note, these aren't the only combos I tried, but the ones that best represent the lineage of my thinking.

Appleton VX only.
Appleton VX & Clement VSOP
Appleton VX & Leblon Cachaca
Appleton VX & Leblon Cachaca with a dash of Wray
Meyers's Dark Rum & Leblon Cachaca
Meyers's Dark Rum & Trois Rivieres Blanc
Smith and Cross & Trois Rivieres Blanc
Part Skipper, part Smith & Cross & Trois Rivieres Blanc

Edited June 7, 2014 by FrogPrincesse (log)

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