Authentic Mai Tai Recipe

Victor Bergeron, aka Trader Vic, has been attributed to developing the original Mai Tai recipe in 1944. Controversy still exists as to who really invented the Mai Tai. Rumor has it that Trader Vic eventually admitted that a guy nicknamed Don the Beachcomber actually invented the Mai Tai drink more than a decade earlier. Both men were restaurant owners in California.

There are so many bastardized Mai Tai recipes out there. Please know that the original Mai Tai recipe contained only one fruit juice, and that was lime. Neither orange juice or pineapple juice are original Mai Tai ingredients.

Here are the original Mai Tai recipe ingredients-

17-year old J. Wray Nephew Jamaican rum

Holland DeKuyper Orange Curacao

French Garnier Orgeat almond syrup

Rock candy syrup

juice of one lime

It may be difficult to find some of the Mai Tai ingredients. ;) So, here is a close Mai Tai recipe clone.

Mai Tai Recipe Almost Like the Original

1 ounce Jamaican rum

1 ounce Martinique rum

1/2 ounce orange Curacao (Cointreau can be used as a decent substitute)

1/2 ounce Orgeat almond syrup (This is a must for an original Mai Tai recipe!)

1/4 ounce homemade sugar syrup

Juice of one small lime (Use 1 ounce of lime juice if no fresh lime is available)

Hand shake all of the ingredients briskly with crushed ice for at least 20 seconds. Serve the Mai Tai in a double old-fashioned glass. Garnish your Mai Tai cocktail with a fresh mint sprig.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with enjoying a cocktail similar to the original Mai Tai recipe. Just please don't call it a Mai Tai drink. So if someone ever asks "How do you make a Mai Tai?", now you know the authentic Mai Tai recipe ingredients. (If you didn't already, of course.)