Mai Tai

The cocktail that defined tiki. Victor “Trader Vic” Bergeron created the Mai Tai at his Oakland bar in 1944, and legend says a Tahitian friend took one sip and declared it “maita’i roa ae”, out of this world. This is the original spec: two rums, fresh lime, orange curaçao and orgeat.

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Prep Time 5

Total Time 5

Course Drinks

Cuisine American, Polynesian

Servings 1 Cocktail

Ingredients

30 ml Aged Jamaican rum
30 ml Aged rhum agricole or a second aged rum
22.5 ml Fresh lime juice
15 ml Orange curaçao
15 ml Orgeat
7.5 ml Demerara gum syrup

Instructions

Add all the ingredients to a shaker with a scoop of crushed ice.
Shake hard for about 10 seconds.
Pour everything, ice included, into a double rocks glass and top up with more crushed ice.
Garnish with the spent lime shell and a fresh sprig of mint.

Notes

Orgeat

Orgeat is a rich almond syrup and the backbone of many tiki classics. Liber & Co. make theirs from roasted almonds, cane sugar and a touch of orange blossom.

Shop Liber & Co. Almond Orgeat Syrup here.