Mai Tai

Cocktail· Aged

Mai Tai

The Mai Tai is a shaken tiki cocktail of aged Jamaican and Martinique rums, orange curaçao, orgeat, rich simple syrup, and fresh lime juice, served over crushed ice in a rocks glass and garnished with mint and a spent lime shell. It was created by Victor Bergeron at Trader Vic's in Oakland in 1944. The drink is rum-forward and bone-dry; the orgeat carries the sweetness, not added syrup.

5 min ModerateRocksShaken

Ingredients

  • 1 oz aged Jamaican rum
  • 1 oz aged Martinique rhum agricole
  • 0.5 oz orange curaçao
  • 0.25 oz orgeat
  • 0.25 oz rich demerara syrup
  • 0.75 oz fresh lime juice
The Shaken Set

Built for shaken drinks

The Shaken Set

Boston Shaker · Hawthorne Strainer · Jigger

$50.00 Save $10.00

Method

  1. Combine both rums, orange curaçao, orgeat, rich demerara syrup, and lime juice in a shaker.
  2. Add ice and shake briefly, about 6 seconds.
  3. Pour unstrained into a rocks glass.
  4. Top with crushed ice to form a mound.
  5. Slap a fresh mint sprig against the back of your hand to release oils; garnish with the mint and the spent lime shell.

Garnish

Fresh mint sprig and spent lime shell

Pro tip

Use two aged rums of different styles; a Jamaican for funk and a rhum agricole for grassiness creates the layered character that defines Trader Vic's original.

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