Original Mai Tai from ‘Tiki Drinks’
This week we’re taking a break from healthy bites to serve up a summery selection of classic beachcomber libations from Tiki Drinks: Tropical Cocktails for the Modern Bar by Nicole Weston and Robert Sharp (Countryman Press). Try making one at home and let us know what you think!
Photograph by Nicole Weston and Robert Sharp
Original Mai Tai
Makes 1
Both Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic laid claim to the invention of the Mai Tai in the early days of tiki. Don seemed to be the first one to use the name, but Trader Vic’s version is the one that caught on and made the drink famous. His original recipe used a Jamaican rum, a seventeen-year-old J. Wray & Nephew, and the drink was such a hit that the supply of that rum was completely depleted. These days, the Mai Tai is usually made with a blend of aged Jamaican rum and unaged rhum agricole. The better rums you use, the better your Mai Tai will be—and you’ll start to taste why this drink was such a huge hit.
1 ounce aged rum
1 ounce rhum agricole
¾ ounce lime juice
½ ounce orange curaçao
¼ ounce Orgeat
½ ounce simple syrup
Combine all the ingredients in a shaker and fill with ice cubes. Shake vigorously for 20 to 30 seconds, until very cold. Strain the contents of the shaker into a large rocks glass filled with crushed ice and serve.
More party drinks to try this summer:
Watermelon-Rum Punch from ‘Endless Summer Cookbook’
