The Spirit World

Few drinks are as synonymous with the Tiki Bar concept as the Mai Tai, and few restaurants/bars are as tightly intertwined with the Tiki Bar culture as Trader Vic’s. There is a good reason for this connection, and that’s because Victor “Trader Vic” Bergeron was the inventor of the Mai Tai back in 1944.

Back then, there were two main powerhouses in the wave of Polynesian Inspired establishments that were starting to sweep the nation, Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic’s. Don was first on the scene, but Victor followed soon after and took his cues well to build what would eventually become a world-wide chain of restaurants. While it might seem like the colorful and fruity concoctions coming out of these bars were more whimsy than might seem safe, both Don and Victor took their drinks very seriously indeed. In each of their restaurants they would build up a collection of unbeatable recipes that fully embodied the culinary sensibilities that all great cocktails should have, they just chose to hide them within creative, if not comical, glassware and garnishes.

Competition was fierce back in those days, not just between Don and Victor, but amongst all of the upstart Tiki bars that were following in their wake. With the signature cocktails playing such an important role, many of these bars would surround their prize recipes in secrecy. Many of the recipes were so secret in fact that the bartenders themselves didn’t know how they were made. This might seem impossible, but since most of these drinks relied upon combinations of various juices, syrups, and flavorings, it really wasn’t too hard, Certain flavorings would be pre-mixed in batches by special staff, and then given to the bartenders as simply “Don’s Syrup #1”, “Don’s Syrup #2”, etc. The bartenders would thusly be able to make great cocktails, without really knowing what the ingredients were.

Which brings us back to the Mai Tai.

If you look hard enough, you will find several dozen different recipes for the Mai Tai. You will find them with all sorts of different ingredients, including pineapple juice, passion fruit syrup, grenadine, falernum, or orange juice. Which can make it fairly hard to understand what a real Mai Tai should taste like. This all came about because of this secrecy. A customer would have a wonderful Mai Tai at a Trader Vic’s, and then a week later would be at another bar and want to relive that experience. The bartender unfortunately would have no clue what the recipe was, but might attempt to work something out based on what aspects of the drink the customer could recollect. If the customer was pleased with the result, then that recipe would become that bar’s “Mai Tai” from that point forward. Which is why today you’ll find such a wide variety of drinks going by that name, some of them good, but none of them actually a Mai Tai.

You can read about the whole story of the creation of the Mai Tai on Trader Vic’s website as well as the evolution of the recipe over the years (basically simplifying it and making mild alterations as ingredients became hard to find). But here is my interpretation of this recipe which is as simplified as possible while still staying true to Trader Vic’s original recipe:

Mai Tai

• 1 ounce light rum
• 1 ounce gold rum
• 1/2 ounce orange curaçao
• 1/2 ounce Orgeat (Almond Syrup)
• 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
• 1 ounce dark rum (optional)

Shake all but the dark rum with ice. Strain into old fashioned glass. Top with the dark rum.
Garnish with a maraschino cherry, and a sprig of mint.
Serve with short straws

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The “secret ingredient” in the Mai Tai is the Orgeat, its flavor should be present, but not overly so. If you have trouble finding Orgeat in your area, you should be able to find clear “Almond Syrup” anywhere that they sell coffee syrups and flavorings. The only real difference between Orgeat and Almond Syrup is that Orgeat is usually slightly cloudy, and usually has a little bit of orange flower water added to it.