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Bon Appétit

Mai Tai

By Rachel Gurjar
Mai tai cocktail recipe
Photo by Emma Fishman, food styling by Kat Boystova, prop styling by Allie Wist

In the canon of classic tiki drinks, the mai tai stands out as one of the most iconic. Victor Bergeron is credited with creating the rum cocktail at his bar Trader Vic’s in the 1940s, but some sources say Ernest Gantt, better known as Donn Beach, helped pave the way the decade before at his bar Don the Beachcomber.

Sadly, it’s often bastardized with canned fruit juices or too many maraschino cherries. It shouldn’t look or taste like Hawaiian punch.

At its core, a classic mai tai recipe is meant to showcase great rum. We use a combination of white and aged or dark rums—the white rum is lighter bodied and fruity, while the aged rum brings juicy banana, vanilla, and burnt sugar notes and a richer mouthfeel. High-quality orgeat syrup, a type of almond syrup, is essential (we love L’Orgeat) and is worth seeking out if you’re a fan of tropical drinks. For the citrusy element, we prefer Grand Marnier or orange curaçao (not the blue stuff) over Cointreau or another triple sec, plus a tangy hit of fresh lime juice.

Making mai tais for a crowd? This recipe easily scales up. Set out rocks glasses and plenty of crushed ice, and make a large batch in a pitcher or jar simply by swapping out the “ounces” for “cups” to make 8 servings, and stirring over ice.

What you’ll need

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes 1

Ingredients

1 oz. aged rum (such as Plantation Original Dark or Denizen Merchant’s Reserve)
1 oz. white rum (such as Denizen aged white rum)
1 oz. fresh lime juice, a squeezed lime half reserved
½ oz. curaçao or Grand Marnier
¼ oz. orgeat (such as L’Orgeat, BG Reynolds, or Liber & Co.)
¼ oz. simple syrup
1 lime wedge
1 large mint sprig

Preparation

  1. Combine both rums, lime juice, curaçao, orgeat, simple syrup, and reserved lime half in a cocktail shaker. Fill shaker with ice, cover, and shake vigorously until outside of shaker is very cold, about 20 seconds. Strain into a glass filled to the brim with crushed ice. Garnish with lime wedge and mint sprig.

TagsCocktailAlcoholBeveragesPitcher DrinkCold DrinkAmericanRumLimeCitrusFruitGrand MarnierLiqueurQuickEasyBon Appétit
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