Mai Tai Recipes

**FrogPrincesse** · June 9, 2014

Mai Tais with a Smith & Cross + Coruba 50:50 mix for the dark Jamaican rum, and Neisson (left) or Leblon cachaça (right) for the agricole component.

It worked. Improved finish thanks to the molasses-heavy Coruba.

Neisson is less intense compared to La Favorite and worked better. Leblon is a little more grassy than Neisson and worked well too, although it felt a bit less traditional.

Both versions are a great alternative to my usual Appleton 12 + Favorite aged combo.

1 oz Neisson rhum agricole blanc (50% abv) vs. Leblon cachaca
1/2 oz Coruba dark Jamaican rum
1/2 oz Smith & Cross Jamaican rum
1 oz lime juice
1/2 oz Clement creole shrub
1/4 oz orgeat
1/4 oz simple syrup

JoNorvelleWalker · June 11, 2014

Tonight I am trying a S&C/Neisson combination:

1 oz S&C

1 oz Rhum Agricole Blanc Neisson 50%

1/2 oz Ferrand dry curacao

1 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz orgeat

My original observation on Ferrand in a mai tai stands: too much orange. Other than that, quite nice indeed. I shook and dumped, as is my wont. I see no improvement using fresh ice, myself. Garnish, of course, was half spent lime and mint.

**FrogPrincesse** · June 11, 2014

I shook and dumped, as is my wont. I see no improvement using fresh ice, myself. Garnish, of course, was half spent lime and mint.

Unless you consume your Mai Tais quite fast, there is a clear advantage in using fresh ice. The cocktail stays cold longer and the ice does not melt so rapidly, plus you are guaranteed a frosted glass which is a nice touch.

I've discontinued my sloppy shake and dump practices a few months ago and won't go back.

JoNorvelleWalker · June 11, 2014

I go back and forth on the ice, but I really believe I can't tell the results apart.

In my case the ice and the shaker (which is silver) come from a very cold freezer. The glass may or may not have been in the freezer, depending on the glass, but will at the very least be well chilled in the refrigerator. Plus after I pour the mai tai I top up the glass with fresh ice.

JoNorvelleWalker · June 13, 2014

Revisiting the S&C/Neisson recipe:

1 1/2 oz S&C

1 1/2 oz Rhum Agricole Blanc Neisson 50%

1/2 oz Ferrand dry curacao

1 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz orgeat

The Ferrand is now in balance. This is wonderful. I made another. I confess the second time around I accidentally overshot the Neisson but this works too. I am very pleased.

JoNorvelleWalker · June 15, 2014

Never happened before, however tonight I spilt my mai tai at the computer:

1 oz S&C

1 oz Rhum Agricole Blanc Neisson 50%

1 oz W&N

1/2 oz Ferrand dry curacao

1 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz orgeat

Sad, but...

1 1/2 oz S&C

1 1/2 oz Rhum Agricole Blanc Neisson 50%

1/2 oz Ferrand dry curacao

1 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz orgeat

...was much better.

JoNorvelleWalker · June 25, 2014

Tonight's showdown was between Barbancourt 15 and Rhum JM:

3/4 oz Barbancourt/Rhum JM

3/4 oz Pusser's

3/4 oz Wray & Nephew

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

1/2 oz orgeat

Both were good. I think I liked Barbancourt a little better. I was going to actually cook dinner but I dropped a pan of Kosher salt (if it's not obvious, in which to bake potatoes) on the floor. It is still there. It may be there tomorrow.

Edit: if FrogPrincesse is reading, these were strained onto fresh ice.

Edited June 25, 2014 by JoNorvelleWalker (log)

JoNorvelleWalker · June 29, 2014

Now that I've recently added it to my armamentum I've begun testing Neisson Reserve Speciale:

1 1/2 oz S&C

1 1/2 oz Neisson Reserve Speciale

1/2 oz Ferrand dry curacao

1 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz orgeat

Strained onto fresh ice for science. I think this would be better made with Grand Marnier, myself. The orange here is a little sharp. Ferrand worked better with Neisson Blanc.

JoNorvelleWalker · June 29, 2014

Tried:

1 1/2 oz Appleton 12

1 1/2 oz Neisson Reserve Speciale

1/2 oz Grand Marnier

1 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz orgeat

This mai tai was clearly better than the above. Yes, I know, I changed two variables. Sad.

However it is the salient nature of mai tais that it is difficult to perform a full regression analysis at one sitting. Even so this drink needs somehow just a tad more funk. Have to think about this while I still can...

I have, at last count, seventeen rums to choose from.

JoNorvelleWalker · June 30, 2014

Taking up where we left off:

1 oz S&C

1 oz Appleton 12

1 oz Neisson Reserve Speciale

1/2 oz Grand Marnier

1 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz orgeat

Smooth and well balanced. Maybe too smooth and well balanced. Where to go from here? Wish I remembered last night better.

JoNorvelleWalker · June 30, 2014

To follow that was (as well as I can recall):

1 oz S&C

1 oz Pusser's

1 oz Neisson Reserve Speciale

1/4 oz Ferrand dry curacao

1 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz orgeat

The orange and sweetness were not overpowering, but somehow this was not my best. It was worth a try.

Edited June 30, 2014 by JoNorvelleWalker (log)

**ChrisTaylor** · June 30, 2014

Goddamn, JoNorvelleWalker. You approach this with so much focus I read your posts and imagine a sort of montage set to 'Eye of the Tiger'.

I use commercial orgeat. At some point I'll get around to DIYing it. At some point.

It's mid-winter. And it's rather cold. So a good time, really, for a Mai Tai.

Let's try

1 oz Appleton 12

.5 oz Smith & Cross

.5 oz Coruba

Juice of a lone lime

.5 Cointreau

.25 orgeat

.25 simple

Rafa · June 30, 2014

The house spec at the bar where I work:

3/4 oz Appleton V/X

3/4 oz El Dorado 12

1/2 oz Rhum JM blanc

1 oz lime juice

3/4 oz Tiki Adam t'orgeat

1/2 oz Creole Shrubb (though we're currently getting by with Combier)

Hull of a spent lime wedge

Optional Lemon Hart 151 float (for guests who've earned it)

Shake, strain over crushed ice, garnish with mint, serve with straw.

Not that far from Adam's recipe upthread.

Delicious. More approachable than my personal spec of 1 oz each Barbancourt 5 Star and Smith & Cross.

JoNorvelleWalker · June 30, 2014

I may yet revisit Barbancourt and Smith & Cross. However when I tried this combination before (post #264) the taste for me was a little flat.

JoNorvelleWalker · July 1, 2014

I decided to venture into terra incognita, my take on a mai tai light. None of this pricey, amber, aged for decades stuff:

1 1/2 oz W&N overproof

1 1/2 oz La Favorite Blanc

1/2 oz Cointreau

1 oz fresh lime juice (generous)

1/2 oz orgeat

Shaken and dumped so sue me, usual garnish of half spent lime and mint. The lime and mint are the same lovely hue and the only color in the glass. A green straw would have been an artistic touch but alas I did not plan ahead. Blue will have to do.

I'm not sure Vic would call this a mai tai, but it is one of the best mai tais I have made. All in balance, adequate funk, no real defects. A bonus that the rums/rhums are pretty cheap. Few would call this weak. What is not to like?

Hassouni · July 1, 2014

The house spec at the bar where I work:

3/4 oz Appleton V/X
3/4 oz El Dorado 12
1/2 oz Rhum JM blanc
1 oz lime juice
3/4 oz Tiki Adam t'orgeat
1/2 oz Creole Shrubb (though we're currently getting by with Combier)
Hull of a spent lime wedge
Optional Lemon Hart 151 float (for guests who've earned it)

Shake, strain over crushed ice, garnish with mint, serve with straw.

Not that far from Adam's recipe upthread.

Delicious. More approachable than my personal spec of 1 oz each Barbancourt 5 Star and Smith & Cross.

Humbug! Your personal spec is the shit.

JoNorvelleWalker · July 1, 2014

1 1/2 oz S&C

1 1/2 Barbancourt 15

1/2 oz Grand Marnier

1 oz fresh lime juice (generous...loving the large, inexpensive limes!)

1/2 oz orgeat

I really like you guys and would love to fit in. However for me this is at most very good. It does not blow my mind like the aforementioned mai tai variation...maybe three or four of them might blow my mind.

**FrogPrincesse** · July 1, 2014

More Mai Tai love.

A while back I tried rumdood's Look Normal, which is a Mai Tai of some sort with white rum as the base, and absinthe and maraschino replacing the orange liqueur. If we stretch this concept a little more, there are similarities with Dave Shenaut's Leaning to Tie. Now cachaça is the base (I used Leblon which is very grassy), a good dose of pastis (I used St. George absinthe) mixed with a touch of Campari replace the orange liqueur, and he swaps out the lime juice for orange juice. Without lime juice it's less acidic and sweeter than a regular Mai Tai. The flavor is hard to describe but there is something really intriguing in the way it all meshes together, herbal and nutty flavors. I liked it.

Learning to Tie: cachaça, orange juice, orgeat, absinthe, Campari

I am now intrigued about cachaça/white rhum agricole + absinthe possibilities outside of the Mai Tai template.

**FrogPrincesse** · July 1, 2014

The house spec at the bar where I work:

3/4 oz Appleton V/X
3/4 oz El Dorado 12
1/2 oz Rhum JM blanc
1 oz lime juice
3/4 oz Tiki Adam t'orgeat
1/2 oz Creole Shrubb (though we're currently getting by with Combier)
Hull of a spent lime wedge
Optional Lemon Hart 151 float (for guests who've earned it)

Shake, strain over crushed ice, garnish with mint, serve with straw.

Not that far from Adam's recipe upthread.

Delicious.

That looks really good. Bookmarked for future use.

Never heard of Tiki Adam's orgeat before - how is it? (Maybe a silly question - obviously it must be good if it's in use at Casa Rafa.)

Edited July 1, 2014 by FrogPrincesse (log)

Rafa · July 1, 2014

1 1/2 oz S&C
1 1/2 Barbancourt 15
1/2 oz Grand Marnier
1 oz fresh lime juice (generous...loving the large, inexpensive limes!)
1/2 oz orgeat

I really like you guys and would love to fit in.

Nonsense--the best Mai Tai recipe is whichever tastes best to you at a given moment. No need to try to fit in here, and at any rate I defer to your extensive field research on this drink. I'm going to have to try your La Favorite/Wray & Nephew White Tai one of these nights.

(Though I should note that your spec for the S&C/Barbancourt combo is rather different from mine-- I use two ounces total of rum, and Creole Shrubb or Cointreau rather than Grand Ma.)

That looks really good. Bookmarked for future use.

Never heard of Tiki Adam's orgeat before - how is it? (Maybe a silly question - obviously it must be good if it's in use at Casa Rafa.)

Ha. Chez Rafa I use homemade, but at work we use Mr. Adam's, as he is a friend to the bar. I quite like it--the flavor is rich but less assertive than, say, B. G. Reynolds' syrup, with a subtle but likable toasted character that reminds me of Kaiser Penguin's recipes. It's got a good viscosity and a nice translucence that doesn't muddy up the look of drinks like other orgeats sometimes do. I rate this syrup as highly as the other good commercial offerings I've tried, Small Hands and Reynolds', and recommend it if you're in the market for something that doesn't require hours of steeping and straining.

**FrogPrincesse** · July 1, 2014

Thanks Rafa. I actually don't mind the hours of steeping and straining (it's like a routine - I've been doing this for years now), but I am naturally curious. I don't think we get this orgeat on the West Coast. It's Adam Kolesar, correct?

Rafa · July 1, 2014

Correct. I can send you a sample if you so desire.

**FrogPrincesse** · July 1, 2014

Correct. I can send you a sample if you so desire.

You're very kind but there is no need to. I am sure I will make it to your neck of the woods in the not-too-distant future. I heard there were a few good bars I needed to try.

Hassouni · July 1, 2014

I heard there were a few good bars I needed to try.

In New York? Nahhhh

**ChrisTaylor** · July 2, 2014

The house spec at the bar where I work:

3/4 oz Appleton V/X
3/4 oz El Dorado 12
1/2 oz Rhum JM blanc
1 oz lime juice
3/4 oz Tiki Adam t'orgeat
1/2 oz Creole Shrubb (though we're currently getting by with Combier)
Hull of a spent lime wedge
Optional Lemon Hart 151 float (for guests who've earned it)

Shake, strain over crushed ice, garnish with mint, serve with straw.

Not that far from Adam's recipe upthread.

Delicious. More approachable than my personal spec of 1 oz each Barbancourt 5 Star and Smith & Cross.

I made this. Well. Kind of. I used my commercial orget--not a fancy brand like Small Hand, either--and Mount Gay XO in place of the El Dorado. And, er, Cointreau instead of Creole Shrubb. And I don't have Lemon Hart or any other overproof rum, bar the rather assertive Inner Circle, so I left that bit out entirely. Which is to say I didn't make it. Still pretty good, tho'.

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