The Mai Tai is a cocktail based on rum, curaçau liqueur, orgeat syrup and lime juice. It is one of the quintessential cocktails in Tiki culture. So the Mai Tai, like the zombie, is a tiki drink. This means that it by no means comes from Hawaii, the South Seas or Polynesia, but was created in the continental USA to serve romantic clichés about an exotic island paradise.
INGREDIENTS
- 30 ml/ 1 oz. white rum
- 30 ml/ 1 oz. dark rum
- 15 ml/ ½ oz. orange curaçau
- 15 ml/ ½ oz. orgeat syrup
- 30 ml/ 1 oz. freschly squeezed lime juice
- 7,5 ml/ ¼ oz. sugar syrup
METHOD
- Add the white rum, curaçau, lime juice and orgeat into shaker with crushed ice and shake lightly (about 3 seconds).
- Pour into double Old Fashioned glass.
- Add some crushed ice.
- Float the dark rum over the top.
- Garnish with a lime slice and mint sprig.
NOTES
The Mai Tai became such a popular cocktail in the 1950s–60s that many restaurants, particularly tiki-themed restaurants or bars, served them. The Mai Tai was also prominently featured in the 1961 Elvis Presley film Blue Hawaii
SHOPPING LIST
- Bacardi white rum | USA* | UK* | Germany*
- Bacard Carta Negra rum | USA | UK* | Germany*
- Sugar syrup | USA* | UK* | Germany*
- Glasses | USA* | UK* | Germany*
