One of the most essential Tiki cocktails to know and love is the Mai Tai. The original was created by Victor J. Bergeron (better known as Tiki cocktail master Trader Vic) to shine a spotlight on a coveted bottle of 17-year-old J. Wray and Nephew Jamaican rum. The drink was a not-too-sweet mix of two rums (light and dark), orgeat (almond syrup), lime juice, simple syrup, and orange curaçao. Vic’s Tahitian friends loved the drink, proclaiming it "maita’i roa a’e," or, "out of this world! The best!" The drink was named Mai Tai, for being “the best.”
Let’s go back to orgeat for a moment: Specifically, what is it and is it really something you should have in your home bar? Absolutely. Orgeat is made from almonds, sugar, and orange blossom extract, and lends a sweet, floral richness to cocktails it’s added to. It doesn’t just enhance Tiki drinks like Mai Tais and Scorpions, however—try a dash of orgeat in cognac with freshly squeezed lime juice and a drop or two of Angostura bitters for an uncommon gem known as the Japanese Cocktail.
Bartenders nowadays add all kinds of ingredients to Mai Tais, from canned pineapple juice to elaborate fruit garnishes, but the only element you need to enjoy the full effect of this beloved tipple is highest-quality rum. It’s been long debated which rum (or rums) belong in a proper mai tai, but you can’t go wrong with a blend of light and dark, or in the case of this Mai Tai recipe, Jamaican rum and rhum agricole—distilled from sugarcane juice instead of molasses. If you don’t have both rums, one will absolutely suffice.
Shake up this delicious classic drink, and keep quality Jamaican rum on-hand to recreate it for guests.
—Erik Lombardo
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