Tiki
Mai Tai
Made with orgeat (almond syrup) · Victor Bergeron, Trader Vic's, Oakland, 1944
- rocks
- crushed
- shake
Mai Tai
- 2 oz60 ml aged Jamaican rum (or 1 oz aged Jamaican + 1 oz aged molasses-based Martinique rum)
- ¾ oz22 ml fresh lime juice (juice of 1 lime; save a spent half-shell)
- ½ oz15 ml orange curaçao
- ½ oz15 ml orgeat
- ¼ oz7 ml rich simple syrup
- Squeeze the lime and keep one spent half-shell for the garnish.
- Add the rum, lime juice, curaçao, orgeat and rich syrup to a shaker with a good scoop of crushed ice.
- Shake hard for a few seconds, then pour everything, ice included, into a double rocks glass.
- Tuck in the lime shell and a mint sprig.
Garnish: Spent lime half-shell and a sprig of fresh mint
The syrup
In this recipe
Orgeat (Almond Syrup)½ oz15 ml
Orgeat is a creamy almond syrup flavored with orange blossom water, best known from the Mai Tai.
As printed: French Garnier orgeat
Or use
Rich Simple Syrup (2:1)¼ oz7 ml
Rich simple syrup is two parts sugar to one part water by weight: 400 g sugar dissolved in 200 ml hot water.
Rock candy syrup is a very rich sugar syrup; our 2:1 rich simple is the usual stand-in. Our 2:1 demerara syrup also works (Smuggler's Cove uses a rich demerara syrup).
As printed: rock candy syrup
Where it comes from
Victor Bergeron said he first mixed the Mai Tai in 1944 at his Trader Vic's restaurant in Oakland, building it around a 17-year-old Jamaican rum. He took it to Hawaii's Matson hotels in 1953, which is where the later pineapple-and-orange-juice versions grew up.
Source: Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide, Revised by Victor Bergeron (1972).
Checked against: Trader Vic's - Mai Tai History (original 1944 formula) · The Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai - Trader Vic's Mai Tai Recipes · Wikibooks - Bartending/Cocktails/Mai Tai · Punch - Martin Cate's Mai Tai · IBA - Mai Tai
Gear for this drink

Mixology & Craft 16-Piece Cocktail Shaker Set
OXO SteeL Angled Measuring Jigger
Best for Measuring syrup into drinks
Cuisinart Fine Mesh Stainless Strainers (set of 3)
Best for Every infused or fruit syrup
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