Mai Tai Recipes

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Taking a quick break from dinner preparations to enjoy a mai tai...had a dream last night that feste's orgeat came in 48 oz (think 1.5 liter) bottles and was now on sale.

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Small Hands orgeat - the largest bottle is 17.5 oz which is enough for 35 Trader Vic Mai Tai. That is quite good already!  

[JoNorvelleWalker]

3 minutes ago, FrogPrincesse said:

Small Hands orgeat - the largest bottle is 17.5 oz which is enough for 35 Trader Vic Mai Tai. That is quite good already!  

 

I go through more than a dozen 17.5 oz bottles a year.  Had to open a new bottle tonight.

 

[FrogPrincesse]

35 * 12 = 420 Mai Tais. That's a whole lot of Mai Tais!

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I use 0.5 oz orgeat per mai tai, to 3 oz rum.  In a 16 oz tumbler.

 

Makes me want another.  Amazon Fresh is delivering limes in the morning.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

A minor revelation.  We all know (she states pretentiously) a proper mai tai is Jamaican and Martiniquais.  I've been having trouble sourcing La Favorite blanc for my quotidian mai tai.*  Neisson blanc is OK I guess but it's not quite the same.  On a whim I tried just using all Wray & Nephew.

 

Not half bad as my son would say.

 

 

* @Ed Hamilton had best get on the stick.

 

[Norm Matthews]

Bringing back memories. I think the first time I heard of a Mai Tai was when I was in college.  I probably read about it in Playboy.  Back then the recipe was a secret and the only place that served them was at Trader Vic's.  There were no trader Vic's in Kansas.  I think there were only a couple and they were on the west coast.  I wasn't 21 in any case and that was the legal drinking age back then.  Trader Vic's Pacific Island Cookbook (1968) had a chapter on mixed drinks and Mai Tai was not included.  Then I got drafted and stationed for Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Lewis.  On my 22nd birthday I got a pass to go into Seattle and the first place I went was Trader Vic's and the only thing I ordered was a Mai Tai.  Then I went to see a Spaghetti Western with Clint Eastwood. 

[Norm Matthews]

Edit, Actually you could drink in bars in Kansas at age 18 but the only beverage a bar could serve (To anyone) was 3.2 beer.  If you wanted a mixed drink, you had to be 21, go to a liquor store, get what you needed, then go home and make it yourself.  I am so glad the good ole days are dead and gone. 

[Bmuir40]

I am pretty experienced with wine.  However, I am VERY new to aged rum.  I just bought my first rum bottles this week, and I just made my first Mai Tai ever.  I have a few questions after going through all these 17 pages. 

 

First the recipe I used.

1 Oz Appleton 12

1 Oz Zacapa 23

3/4 Oz Cointreau 

3/4 Oz Orgeat 

Juice of a whole small lime (maybe 3/4 oz)

1/2 Oz Simple syrup.

 

Questions;

1) I liked the drink, but it's like my first one ever, so I don't have much to compare it to.  Can anyone recommend some tweaks to what I did?  I am thinking to follow all of JoNorvelle's many footsteps, but I only have room in my bar for maybe 4 kinds of rum (I am also a Moscow Mule lover, so I have an assortment of vodka's).  I like drinks on the sweet side.

 

2) Similar Question - I only have 3 Rums, Mount Gay XO, Zacapa 23, and Appleton 12.  I realize the XO may be to expense for blending.  So if I had one more to buy, what should it be?  Or should I learn to drink these first?  My nearby store has El Dorado 12/15, Smith & Cross, Pusser's, and I can order Clement 6 or 10 year.  

 

I also will purpose these rums for Hurricanes and other Tiki drinks, so any rum that can be multi purposed would be great.

Thanks for the help

Bill from Michigan..

[JoNorvelleWalker]

6 hours ago, Bmuir40 said:

I am pretty experienced with wine.  However, I am VERY new to aged rum.  I just bought my first rum bottles this week, and I just made my first Mai Tai ever.  I have a few questions after going through all these 17 pages. 

 

First the recipe I used.

1 Oz Appleton 12

1 Oz Zacapa 23

3/4 Oz Cointreau 

3/4 Oz Orgeat 

Juice of a whole small lime (maybe 3/4 oz)

1/2 Oz Simple syrup.

 

Questions;

1) I liked the drink, but it's like my first one ever, so I don't have much to compare it to.  Can anyone recommend some tweaks to what I did?  I am thinking to follow all of JoNorvelle's many footsteps, but I only have room in my bar for maybe 4 kinds of rum (I am also a Moscow Mule lover, so I have an assortment of vodka's).  I like drinks on the sweet side.

 

2) Similar Question - I only have 3 Rums, Mount Gay XO, Zacapa 23, and Appleton 12.  I realize the XO may be to expense for blending.  So if I had one more to buy, what should it be?  Or should I learn to drink these first?  My nearby store has El Dorado 12/15, Smith & Cross, Pusser's, and I can order Clement 6 or 10 year.  

 

I also will purpose these rums for Hurricanes and other Tiki drinks, so any rum that can be multi purposed would be great.

Thanks for the help

Bill from Michigan..

 

Wecome @Bmuir40, thank you for the mention.

 

I have not tasted any Zacapa but I see no reason it would not work with Appleton 12.  I like to mix a Jamaican rum with a Martiniquan rhum.  My longstanding choices are Appleton 12 and Neisson Reserve Speciale, when I'm not up to splurging on older spirits.

 

I should say I mostly have been drinking white mai tai's, that is mai tai's made with white rum and white rhum.  Drinking one at the moment.  For my white mai tai recipe I use Wray & Nephew Overproof along with La Favorite Blanc.  Another difference, I use Cointreau for my white mai tai, and Grand Marnier with the aged spirits.  Depends on your taste but I find it makes a big difference.

 

The only thing that troubles me about your recipe is how sweet it is.  However that is entirely up to you.  For four ounces of rum/rhum I use 1/2 ounce Small Hand orgeat and 1/2 ounce Cointreau or Grand Marnier.  No simple syrup.  Folks on eGullet have told me my beverages are too sweet!

 

 

I am a great fan of Smith & Cross.  I confess I consume a lot of Smith & Cross in Mississippi punch.  I think I've had El Dorado but have no remembrance bad or good.  I thought I might have a bottle of El Dorado someplace but if I do I cannot find it.  I'm not fond at all of either Mount Gay or Clement.  Your mileage may vary.  Pusser's 15 I occasionally drink neat after dinner, but not in a mixed drink.  I find Pusser's a bit too sweet.

[scamhi]

the Ron Zacapa 23 is a sipping rum. I wouldn't mix with it.

Smith and Cross is great for mixed drinks.

[Craig E]

Agree with Jo that reading the specs, I would think this was too sweet. I would jettison the simple syrup and see if the orgeat and liqueur contribute sufficient sweetness. And for a next rum to buy (welcome to the slippery slope!) I would try out a rhum agricole to pair with one of your molasses-based rums. Your rums on hand are all aged so for variety's sake you might look for a younger agricole. Is Clement Premiére Canne in reach?

[Tri2Cook]

I use 1 oz agricole, 1/2 oz Smith & Cross, 1/2 oz El Dorado 12, 1 oz lime, 1/2 oz Cointreau and 1/2 oz orgeat. If I have company who aren't of the extra special variety, I use equal parts Appleton 12 and El Dorado 12. Agricole and Smith & Cross are hard to come by where I live so I'm a bit stingy with them but honestly, until I got my hands on them, the Appleton/ED version was my go to and I still really enjoy it.

Edit: the reason for the S&C/ED12 blend is that's the Atomic Grog site's recommended sub for the Kohala Bay dark rum used in many original Mai Kai recipes. I realize it's not the original rum for the Trader Vic Mai Tai but I decided to give it a try and it tastes good in the drink. 

Edited September 27, 2020 by Tri2Cook (log)

[Bmuir40]

Ok, so I want to be like Jo.  I want to be setup for both white and dark Mai Tai's!

 

Based of this thread, I just bought a bottle of the Wray & Nephew Overproof Rum.  It took 4 stores to find it. 

I also have both Cointreau and Grand Marnier now.

I ordered a bottle of Smith & Cross coming later this week, was that a good move?  

 

I think this still leaves me without an acricole, right?  I am trying to do this with as few bottles as possible, as space is a concern.   I have room for 1 more bottle of rum maybe.  What should I target as my next bottle?  

 

As for rum's, I currently have;

- Mount Gay XO, Zacapa 23, Appleton 12, Wray & Nephew, basic Cruzan White (with Smith & Cross on the way). 

 

Thanks for the guidance!

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, Bmuir40 said:

Ok, so I want to be like Jo.  I want to be setup for both white and dark Mai Tai's!

 

Based of this thread, I just bought a bottle of the Wray & Nephew Overproof Rum.  It took 4 stores to find it. 

I also have both Cointreau and Grand Marnier now.

I ordered a bottle of Smith & Cross coming later this week, was that a good move?  

 

I think this still leaves me without an acricole, right?  I am trying to do this with as few bottles as possible, as space is a concern.   I have room for 1 more bottle of rum maybe.  What should I target as my next bottle?  

 

As for rum's, I currently have;

- Mount Gay XO, Zacapa 23, Appleton 12, Wray & Nephew, basic Cruzan White (with Smith & Cross on the way). 

 

Thanks for the guidance!

 

 

La Favorite Blanc pairs very well with Wray & Nephew.

 

[TicTac]

On 2/12/2017 at 11:14 PM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

3 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

La Favorite Blanc pairs very well with Wray & Nephew.

 

Taking a quick break from dinner preparations to enjoy a mai tai...had a dream last night that feste's orgeat came in 48 oz (think 1.5 liter) bottles and was now on sale.

 

Too bad we *still* cannot get any decent agricole's up here!

[Bmuir40]

Ok, so I still have not gotten any additional bottles, but I did try a new recipe this morning.  My 2nd Mai Tai ever;

 

1 Oz Appleton 12

1 Oz Wray & Nephew Over Proof

3/4 Oz Cointreau 

3/4 Oz Orgeat 

Juice of a whole small lime (maybe 3/4 oz)

NO Simple syrup.

 

It was less sweet, but a bit too strong & boozy for an 11 AM pre-lunch cocktail.  I did use crushed ice, and that did make an improvement over the big 2" cubes I used last time.  I did find a store that carries Clement 6 & 10 Year and Neisson Blac, along with a few other Agricole's.  

  

[Craig E]

Are you shaking with ice rather than just building the drink in the glass? The dilution that comes with shaking helps moderate the booziness, so if you weren't already, you might shake it, and if you were, you might shake it longer.

But yeah, 11am is not when I turn to overproof rum drinks.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

A mai tai tastes really weird after drinking malic acid and dextrose.

 

[FrogPrincesse]

For those of us interested in the origin and evolution of the Mai Tai recipe, below is a link to a presentation that was given at Tiki Oasis last week on the topic.

 

tldr: original recipe called for W&N 17. As that rum became scarce, it was replaced with a mix of W&N 15 with Coruba, then a mix of Jamaican rum (Trader Vic 15 or 8 ) with a rum from Martinique (St James), in order to try to match the flavor of the original rum that the recipe called for.

 

(Nearly) Everything You Know About Rum in a Mai Tai is Wrong