Rum Cocktails: Aged Rum
Mai Tai Cocktail
Mai Tai Cocktail Ingredients
0.75 oz. Appleton Estate Rum Reserve
0.75 oz. Rhum J.M Gold
0.5 oz. Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao
0.5 oz. Cruzan Black Strap Rum
1 oz. Fresh lime juice
0.5 oz. Orgeat syrup
0.25 oz. Simple syrup
Garnish
Tropical fruit
Tropical flowers
Mai Tai Cocktail Preparation
Fill a Louis bag with ice and crush with a mallet. Combine all ingredients in a shaker and add crushed ice. Shake hard. Pour into a tiki mug. Add crushed ice, swizzle, and add more crushed ice. Garnish with a refreshing combination of pineapple leaves, a pineapple wedge, an orange wheel, a lime wheel, a brandied cherry, orchids, and a paper umbrella.
Mai Tai Cocktail Story
A workhorse of Trader Vic's cocktail catalogue, the Mai Tai is essentially a rum daisy with the addition of orgeat syrup. Both Trader Vic and Don Beach claim to have originated the rather simple tiki recipe, however Trader Vic continued to aggressively defend ownership of the cocktail for decades after the tiki craze faded. Where Vic undoubtedly deserves credit is in the incorporation of a truly inspired rum choice, the now-extinct seventeen-year Wray and Nephew. The Mai Tai has enjoyed the lasting power of an endless summer, in part due to its catchy name, which translates roughly to "very good" in Tahitian. The playful cocktail has also endured thanks to its wild popularity in Hawaii from the 1950’s to the present, where bartenders with tiki fever bestow the Mai Tai moniker on any drink with fruit juices and an umbrella.