Mai Tai Recipes

[Hassouni]

How does the Curaçao work for a Mai Tai? I've been long considering getting a bottle.

[Adam George]

Though I'm at risk of sounding immodest, this is the best Mai Tai I've ever had - hands down.

[FrogPrincesse]

Though I'm at risk of sounding immodest, this is the best Mai Tai I've ever had - hands down.

You seem very sure of yourself...

How does the Curaçao work for a Mai Tai? I've been long considering getting a bottle.

It also works great in a Sidecar.

Thanks, FrogPrincesse, for acquainting me with this thread! I've been working on assembling the makings of a Mai Tai.

[...]

I've also been window shopping for a proper Mai Tai glass. Would 11 1/2 oz be big enough? I have no cocktail glasses whatsoever -- other than two hurricane glasses, one of which is my son's. From what I've read the Trader Vic Mai Tai glass is 15 oz, however, to me, the printing looks more tacky than tiki (although I understand that may be part of the charm).

What I'd like is plain crystal, similar in shape to the one in Beachbum Berry's Mai Tai picture:

http://beachbumberry.com/how-to-make-a-mai-tai/

You are welcome but did you call my Mai Tai glasses tacky?! In any case, they are 14 oz glasses (available here if anyone's interested). As Kerry already responded, 11 1/2 glasses are probably going to be a bit small for a Mai Tai (but are perfect for an old-fashioned).

[Adam George]

Though I'm at risk of sounding immodest, this is the best Mai Tai I've ever had - hands down.

You seem very sure of yourself...

[FrogPrincesse]

And I French shrug in your general direction... (sorry, could not find a good video - although I looked. Just imagine Amelie doing the above)

But more seriously, I would love to hear how you came up with your rum combo & final recipe. Did you just get lucky or is it the result of endless experiments a la Rumdood ?

Edited October 22, 2013 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[Adam George]

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

Basically, I and many Mai Tais I had before this used Appleton VX and it's sensibly priced for mixing.

However, I was looking for something with more depth of flavour.

Then I discovered at the original was split with Jamaican Rum and agricole. However, despite it being perfectly good, it was too dry with the Clement VSOP for my personal taste.

This video inspired me to use cachaca in place of agricole (and vanilla syrup, incidentally) since we had it in the bar already.

Appleton VX and cachaca was fine and I threw some Wray at it, which was fun, but ultimately just upped the proof and pushed the young Appleton out front a bit more.

A colleague suggested I try a "dark" Jamaican rum with the cachaca, so for a while I settled on Meyers's with Cachaca, and that eventually made it onto my menu. I really liked this blend and loved how the drink was so layered, with a definite point where the Jamaican finished and the grassy, fresh cachaca took over and finished the drink. It was so refreshing.

When the Trois Rivieres came in and I had finished my batch of Meyer's and Cachaca pre-mix I changed the recipe. We even saved money because the agricole was loads cheaper than the expensive Leblon.

I liked this mixture but was now looking at a 50% white spirit pushing the Meyers's out of the way in profile.

I had taken delivery of hipster favourite Smith & Cross and for a while made half S&C and half TR. This was a banging drink. Really great and if it weren't so strong I might have called it a favourite. Also, I was missing the heavy, molasses-centric profile of Meyers's.

So I thought about creating "Turbo Meyers's" - something with a similar profile to the syrupy dark Jamaican, yet retaining the lovely banana/passionfruit notes of the S&C and also standing shoulder to shoulder with Trois Rivieres 100 Proof.

Enter the Skipper, a cheap £11 Demerera Rum from Guyana, yet bottled up in Glasgow. It's young and coloured to fuck.

When blended with S&C, this had exactly what I was looking for - it's basically 97 proof Meyers's.

I loved making this drink because I got to try it each time.

I typically don't taste drinks unless the balance really hangs in a couple of ml of citrus or sugar as I know when they'll be okay - and truthfully this was always going to be fine, just pour a measure from the pre-mix, squeeze 25ml of fresh lime and go - but I always tasted this Mai Tai because it's that fucking good.

Worth noting that I don't shake this with crushed and dump as I like to be able to control the dilution better, so I shake and strain over fresh cubes and crown with a good mountain of crushed to wedge my lime husk into.

This way the drink was as strong and punchy in ten minutes as it was as soon as served.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

You are welcome but did you call my Mai Tai glasses tacky?!

Well, I guess if they were mine they would be tacky. I prefer plain crystal without decoration. Very untiki of me.

[Hassouni]

And I French shrug in your general direction... (sorry, could not find a good video - although I looked. Just imagine Amelie doing the above)

But more seriously, I would love to hear how you came up with your rum combo & final recipe. Did you just get lucky or is it the result of endless experiments a la Rumdood ?

Ça suffit pas, Princesse?

Then I discovered at the original was split with Jamaican Rum and agricole. However, despite it being perfectly good, it was too dry with the Clement VSOP for my personal taste.

The original was actually a 17 year aged Wray and Nephew, which makes me REALLY want to try barrel aging some WN Overproof. Vic later consider a more standard JA rum and a Martinique to be a decent sub. I still think S&C, W&N, and something mega oaky (Appleton 12, ED15, etc) would make THE killer Mai Tai. Someone remind me to try it when I'm not a few cocktails in....

[FrogPrincesse]

You are welcome but did you call my Mai Tai glasses tacky?!

Well, I guess if they were mine they would be tacky. I prefer plain crystal without decoration. Very untiki of me.

Crystal? Definitely untiki.

[FrogPrincesse]

And I French shrug in your general direction... (sorry, could not find a good video - although I looked. Just imagine Amelie doing the above)

Ça suffit pas, Princesse?

C'est pas mal, Hassouni, but I was looking for Le Shrug. Thanks for your help though. Always good to revisit the classics.

[FrogPrincesse]

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.

Adam,

Thanks for taking the time to share your thought process. I think that's really cool. I don't have access to the same rums otherwise I would try your version in a heartbeat.

My experiments went in a different direction because I went with the Appleton 12 early on and it has plenty of depth. Then it was just a matter of pairing it with a compatible aged agricole. I tried a few and some were surprisingly too tame to add much interest to the drink. I really like it with La Favorite vieux rhum because it is still a bit rough around the edges like a white agricole, and complements the Appleton amazingly well.

I recently bought a bottle of the Clement VSOP based on the recommendation from Rumdood and after trying it at Tiki Oasis. Also I had a chance to try his version of the Mai Tai at 320 Main a few times and it is quite good. (They use Clement VSOP + Appleton Reserve + Clement creole shrubb.) But I haven't had a chance to crack open the bottle of Clement yet.

[Kerry Beal]

The original was actually a 17 year aged Wray and Nephew, which makes me REALLY want to try barrel aging some WN Overproof.

Try this quick aging your WN - finishes on post 212 I think. It was lovely.

[Rafa]

Adam,

Your search for a proper high proof dark Jamaican rum reminds me of The Dead Rabbit's quest for a molasses-intensive, dunder-funky Jamaican rum in the late 19th Century style. They also settled on a blend. Unfortunately I haven't been able to get anyone to tell me the ratios they use, but the rums are Smith & Cross, Banks 7, and Cruzan Blackstrap. I imagine mixed with a white agricole it'd also make for a hell of a Mai Tai.

[EvergreenDan]

Tiki = Tacky. Admit it and move on.

[Hassouni]

Tiki = Tacky. Admit it and move on.

The drinks by themselves are not...

[FrogPrincesse]

Tiki = Tacky. Admit it and move on.

You need to relax, man. Tiki is not just about the drinks, it's a state of mind.

[Rafa]

Yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

[FrogPrincesse]

Yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

Too much negativity around here. I am going back to tiki-land.

[Rafa]

Yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

Too much negativity around here. I am going back to tiki-land.

Where the rum's always flowin', the slide guitar's always ringin', and the luau girls sway softly on the sands.

In the distance, Dan revs his BMW's engine and harshes everyone's mellow.

Edited October 23, 2013 by Rafa (log)

[Hassouni]

Yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

Too much negativity around here. I am going back to tiki-land.

Where the rum's always flowin', the slide guitar's always ringin', and the luau girls sway softly on the sands.

In the distance, Dan revs his BMW's engine and harshes everyone's mellow.

Can I rev my BMW engine and stay mellow?

[Rafa]

Dancing luau lady on the dashboard a must.

[Hassouni]

I'd prefer a Jack Sparrow figurine, as he kicked off my rum obsession at the impressionable age of 18

[Kerry Beal]

You are welcome but did you call my Mai Tai glasses tacky?! In any case, they are 14 oz glasses (available here if anyone's interested). As Kerry already responded, 11 1/2 glasses are probably going to be a bit small for a Mai Tai (but are perfect for an old-fashioned).

I love those glasses! I covet those glasses! I look for glasses just like those in every thrift store I find. If they are tacky - I'd be thrilled to be Tiki-tacky.

[Rafa]

I'd prefer a Jack Sparrow figurine, as he kicked off my rum obsession at the impressionable age of 18

I remember wondering what the rum he gulped out of barrels tasted like. I guess something like Pusser's or Smith & Cross. It would probably make a good Mai Tai.

[Hassouni]

I'd prefer a Jack Sparrow figurine, as he kicked off my rum obsession at the impressionable age of 18

I remember wondering what the rum he gulped out of barrels tasted like. I guess something like Pusser's or Smith & Cross. It would probably make a good Mai Tai.

Pussers, Smith & Cross, Sea Wynde...MAYBE Scarlet Ibis