Mai Tai Recipe
Mai Tai Recipe
Mai Tai is a popular rum based cocktail. It is said to be created by a person called Victor J. Bergeron for his restaurant in Oakland named Trader Vic’s restaurant. On the other hand, some reports also suggest that a Mai Tai recipe called ‘Don the Beachcomber’ was created by Victor in 1933 in his little bar in Hollywood that later became a luxurious restaurant. However, the Beachcomber is quite complicated than that of Trader Vic’s recipe and they both taste pretty different.
The word ‘Maitai’ means good in a language called Tahitian. However, this word was split into two to constitute the spelling of the drink. The popularity of this drink is increasing day by day. In fact, it is one of the most favorite drinks of the Hawaiian tourists as well as businesspersons. Today, there are quite a few recipes, which are exclusively created for this drink. The Trader Vic’s restaurant is well known since 1930s for offering three major types of Mai Tai recipes and this is the reason why this restaurant seems to be crowded always. There are certain modifications made according to the taste of the people today. Today’s Mai Tai recipe is also said to be less sweet when compared to the original drink. There are some major differences between Don the Beachcomber and Trader’s Recipes. First of all, the almond flavored syrup called orgeat is used in the former ones and the latter ones use Caribbean syrup called falernum, which will be having an entirely different flavor of ginger and lime. However, orgeat is the flavor used in most of the recipe types.
There are five major types of Mai Tai recipes and a short introduction is given below for all five types.
Don the Beachcomber Mai Tai- This version is actually from a book, which was written quite a few years late after Beachcomber’s death. This recipe is said to be apparently close to the one that was served in a restaurant in Hollywood. Various fruits are used to garnish this recipe. However, it is quite unfortunate to see that the flavored Caribbean syrup called Falernum is tough to find in United States today. Although some amount of water can be added to this drink, it will still be extremely strong and it is asked to be drunk in moderation.
The original Trader Vic formula- This is also one of the most preferred type of Mai Tai recipe. It is made by adding French Garnier Orgeat Syrup, Trader Vic's Rock Candy Syrup and Holland DeKuyper Orange Curacao etc.
The ‘Old Way’ Trader Vic formula- This recipe is created by adding orgeat syrup, orange Curacao, Martinique rum, Fine Jamaican rum etc.
Today's Trader Vic mai tai- This recipe is less sweet compared to the original drink. Orgeat syrup, limejuice, triple sec, dark rum, gold rum etc are added to make this recipe tasty.
Pineapple variation mai tai- This Mai Tai recipe is used by making use of grenadine, triple sec, light rum, dark rum, rose’s lime juice, orange juice etc.
