My exploration of Tiki drinks continues with the Mai Tai.
My first attempt used the following recipe, which is based on Trader Vic’s original 1944 recipe, replacing the 17-year-old J. Wray & Nephews Jamaican rum with equal parts dark Jamaican rum and Martinique aged rum (Rhum Vieux Agricole) as recommended by Jeff ‘Beachbum’ Berry:
| 1 oz | 30 ml | Smith & Cross Traditional Jamaica Rum |
| 1 oz | 30 ml | Clément Rhum Vieux Agricole VSOP |
| ½ oz | 15 ml | Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao Triple Sec |
| ½ oz | 15 ml | Monin Sirop d’Orgeat (almond syrup) |
| 1 oz | 30 ml | Fresh lime juice |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | Bar syrup |
The Smith & Cross and the orgeat over-dominated. IMHO the Jamaican rum and orgeat needed toning down a little.
Reducing the orgeat to ¼ oz and replacing the rum with Myer’s Rum Original Dark produced a more balanced cocktail, resulting in the following formula:
| 1 oz | 30 ml | Myer’s Original Dark Jamaican Rum |
| 1 oz | 30 ml | Clément Rhum Vieux Agricole VSOP |
| ½ oz | 15 ml | Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao Triple Sec |
| ¼ oz | 7.5 ml | Monin Sirop d’Orgeat (almond syrup) |
| 1 oz | 30 ml | Fresh lime juice |
| ¼ oz | 7.5 ml | Bar syrup |
Shake together with crushed ice and pour contents including ice into a Tiki mug, garnish and serve.
Having been making this recipe for a while, I have been experimenting to see if I could add a little more flare and finally settled on a dash of Dale DeGroff’s Pimento Bitters, which in my opinion, improves the recipe and drinking experience without distracting from what the Mai Tai is all about or its colour. So, here is Mixelero’s recommended formula:
| 1 oz | 30 ml | Myer’s Original Dark Jamaican Rum |
| 1 oz | 30 ml | Clément Rhum Vieux Agricole VSOP |
| ½ oz | 15 ml | Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao Triple Sec |
| ¼ oz | 7.5 ml | Monin Sirop d’Orgeat (almond syrup) |
| 1 oz | 30 ml | Fresh lime juice |
| ¼ oz | 7.5 ml | Bar syrup |
| 1 dash | 1 dash | Dale DeGroff’s Pimento Aromatic Bitters |
Shake together with crushed ice and pour contents including ice into a Tiki mug or double Old Fashioned glass and garnish with a slice of pineapple sandwiched between 2 Luxardo Maraschino cherries.