The recipe
for your table
Shake the amber rum, curaçao, orgeat, and lime juice briefly and vigorously with crushed ice.
Pour everything - including the ice - into the glass.
Top up with extra crushed ice and float the dark rum on top.
Garnish with a generous sprig of mint and half a squeezed lime.
The story
Victor 'Trader Vic' Bergeron mixed the first Mai Tai at his restaurant in Oakland for friends from Tahiti, with an aged Jamaican rum as the star. His eternal rival Donn Beach ('Don the Beachcomber') claimed to have invented the drink earlier, and the feud between the two tiki pioneers became legendary. In the fifties and sixties, the Mai Tai conquered America - helped by Elvis in Blue Hawaii - and drank entire rum supplies dry. Anyone who makes one today with fresh ingredients understands what all the fuss was about.
The right glass
The Mai Tai is served in a double-walled sculpted tiki glass or a wide, low tropical glass holding 45 to 49 cl. Trader Vic himself used a sturdy tumbler, but tiki culture turned it into an art form: glasses with reliefs, faces, and Polynesian motifs. In our Mai Tai category, you'll find glasses that complete the party - from classic to exuberant. For cups with Polynesian relief, visit our tiki glasses.
Royal Leerdam Cocktail Tiki Glass 49 cl (4 pieces)
Tiki Glass 45 cl
Together € 35,90.
The right tools
For a Mai Tai, besides the glass, you need a shaker, a jigger for precise measuring, a zester for the twist, and a citrus press. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you can find everything in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Glass set (our choice 01) + 4 bar tools - together € 78,75.
Variations & twists
Trader Vic's original is all about good rum - blend an amber Jamaican rum with a rhum agricole yourself for the full spectrum. Add pineapple juice and it becomes sweeter and more touristy; purists frown, partygoers cheer. The dark rum float on top is welcome in both camps. Looking for more inspiration? Browse more than 100 cocktail recipes.
Servingtip
Orgeat is the soul of the Mai Tai - buy a good almond syrup or make it yourself. And skip the orange juice version: the original contains not a drop of juice, only lime.
Trader Vic's proportions explained
The original from 1944 revolves around 4 cl of aged rum alongside 1.5 cl of orange curaçao, 1.5 cl of orgeat and 2.5 cl of fresh lime juice, topped with a 1 cl float of dark rum. In terms of proportions, that is about eight parts rum, three parts curaçao, three parts orgeat and five parts lime. There is no fruit juice in it: no pineapple, no orange, no grenadine. That very simplicity is what sets it apart from tourist versions. Shake briefly and vigorously with crushed ice, then pour everything, including the ice, into the glass.
How strong is a Mai Tai
In the glass, you end up at about 16 percent. The 4 cl of amber rum and the 1 cl float together provide 2 cl of pure alcohol, and the 30 percent curaçao adds almost half a centiliter more. After shaking with crushed ice, you have a glass of about 15 cl, equivalent to almost two standard drinks. If you use a 57 percent Jamaican overproof rum, that rises to over 20 percent. This is no beach lemonade, as the orgeat and lime mask the rum exceptionally well.
Mai Tai or Hurricane: the difference
The Hurricane from New Orleans uses two types of rum, passion fruit, orange juice, lime and grenadine, and is deep red, fruity and sweet. The Mai Tai leaves out all fruit juice and is built on orgeat and orange curaçao, resulting in a dry, nutty cocktail in which the rum remains the centerpiece. The preparation also differs, as the Hurricane is shaken for 12 seconds and strained, while the Mai Tai is shaken briefly and goes into the glass complete with its crushed ice. Two tiki classics that have little in common beyond their base.
What is orgeat and where can you buy it?
Orgeat is a thick syrup made from blanched almonds, sugar, and a hint of orange blossom water, and it is the soul of this cocktail. In the Netherlands, you can find it at Asian grocery stores, Italian delicatessens, and online with bar supplies, with Monin and Giffard being the most widely available. You can also make it yourself: steep 200 grams of almond flour in 25 cl of water, strain it, dissolve 250 grams of sugar in it, and add a teaspoon of orange blossom water. Almond syrup from the supermarket coffee aisle lacks the orange blossom and tastes flatter, but it will save you in an emergency.
Frequently asked questions
What is in a Mai Tai cocktail?
The original contains 4 cl aged amber rum, 1.5 cl orange curaçao, 1.5 cl orgeat, 2.5 cl fresh lime juice, and 1 cl dark rum as a float, garnished with mint and a squeezed lime half. Orange juice or pineapple juice do not belong in it, no matter how often you come across them.
Is Mai Tai sweet?
Less sweet than its reputation. Orgeat and curaçao add sweetness, but 2.5 cl of fresh lime juice keeps it balanced; the result is more nutty and refreshing than sugary. The syrupy versions you get on holiday owe that to added fruit juice and ready-made mix.
What does Mai Tai mean?
Maita'i roa ae is Tahitian for exceptionally good. According to tradition, a guest from Tahiti exclaimed this after tasting the drink at Trader Vic in Oakland in 1944, and that is how the cocktail got its name. The pronunciation is therefore not a coincidence but a compliment.
What is orgeat, and can you replace it?
Orgeat is a syrup made from almonds, sugar, and a hint of orange blossom water, and it is the soul of the Mai Tai. You can replace it with regular almond syrup, although it often lacks the floral note. Serve with crushed ice in a wide 45 cl glass; see our Mai Tai glasses.
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