Mai Tai History

[Jason Perlow]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...WIG619OSAL1.DTL

Sixty years ago, cocktail history was made in Oakland, with the creation of the Mai Tai -- a fruity and powerful concoction that has been associated with breezy relaxation ever since.

The Mai Tai soon became the signature drink of Trader Vic's, a South Seas- styled bar and restaurant that expanded beyond its roots in Oakland to become an international chain. And the drink itself -- with its thick, rich texture and citrus and cherry undertones softening the meaty punch of two different rums -- has gone forth into the world beyond Trader Vic's, becoming a standard at tiki and lounge bars and even appearing on airlines flights.

[Splificator]

...fruity...

Actually, not the way Trader Vic made it--it's powerful enough, although not so much as the average Martini or Manhattan (or even a stiff G&T), but it's more mellow and fragrant than it is fruity. That came with all the imitators, who tended to overcharge the thing with fruit juices to cover up the cheaper cuts of rum they were using. The only fruit in the Trader's formula is a lot of lime juice and a little orange liqueur.

I want one now.

--DW

[DrinkBoy]

The Mai Tai is one of the early drinks I cut my teeth on prior to being christened "DrinkBoy", and when properly made it still remains one of my favorite drinks.

I was fortunate in that my introduction to the Mai Tai was done at a nearby restaurant that does them "right" the Original Trader Vic way. It was when I would order this drink elsewhere, and be served something "radically" different, that I started to put my chef training to work and focus on trying to research into the origins and "proper" construction of this and other cocktails.

Part of the reason that there are -so- many variations of the Mai Tai (many bartenders will quote their recipe as "Rum and a bunch of juices"), is that many of the recipes from the Tiki era were closely held secrets. Trader Vic wanted you to need to come to "his" restaurant in order to get a Mai Tai, and Don the Beachcomber likewise wanted to own your allegience to the Zombie and others of his drinks. This meant that customers going into some other bar and ordering a Mai Tai would get a blank stare in return... Resourceful bartenders however are always trying to please their customers, and would therefore try to discover from the customer how they might "approximate" this drink for them. If they ended up with something that appeared to satisfy this customer, then that is what that bartender will record as their recipe. Thus many recipe books will list the Mai Tai as including Pineapple Juice, Orange Juice, Passion Fruit Syrup, Guava Juice, Falernum, or any number of other ingredients. While these might often produce a great drink, they don't produce what should be considered a Mai Tai.

We no longer have a Trader Vic's here in Seattle, and I never had the opportunity to visit it before it closed down long ago. It was only recently that I finally had the opportunity to actually try a "real" Mai Tai, at a "real" Trader Vics restaurant (in Atlanta). I was frankly shocked at how uninspiring it was. It tasted like rum, and a bunch of juices. Definately not a drink that would be memorable enough to seek out again. The bar staff was clearly using bottled Mai Tai Mix (but dark brown, while it normally is more of a light tan in color), and having used the official Trader Vics Mai Tai mix in the past, I know that it can make a good (but not great) Mai Tai. So I'm not quite sure exactly what the problem was.

Now, imagine my surpise, in reading the above referenced article, to see it say:

"Beware that if you just ask for a Mai Tai, they'll make it using a pre-bottled mix, and the drink will be lighter and sweeter, with less cherry flavor and a thinner texture. You want what they call the Original Mai Tai,..."

If I'd only known I should have asked for an "ORIGINAL Mai Tai"... dang, guess that means I've got to plan another trip to another Trader Vics :-> (Note: I'm not sure what they mean by it having "less cherry flavor", since there isn't any cherry flavoring in the recipe!)

-Robert

[DrinkBoy]

...it's powerful enough, although not so much as the average Martini or Manhattan...

Depends on how you make it :->

I'm well known amongst the bartenders here in Seattle as fairly consistantly having three, and usually only three, cocktails when I go out. At Chopsticks, where they have my Mai Tai ready for me almost before I even sit down, I only ever have two.

-Robert

[trillium]

The "Original Mai Tai" at Trader Vic's was the drink I had when I came of age in San Francisco. I had 2 of them, and was very disappointed when I didn't get carded. Then we went out to dinner at Postrio, my first spendy dinner ever, and I remember worrying when I walked down the stairs from the restroom. They were marble maybe, and I was wearing high heels. I was really worried I was going to fall flat on my face in a very undignified manner. I've only had them once or twice since, but they still do pack a wallop!

regards,

trillium

[waves2ya]

So Jason - convenient knower of all thing culinary & NJ - where can ya get one of the 'originals' locally ( NYC counts)...?

Thks.