Cocktail Mai Tai

Mai Tai Recipe

How to make a Mai Tai Preparation time7 min Number of people: 2

Ingredients:

• 130 ml of rum.
• 70 ml of lemon juice.
• 40 ml curaçao liqueur.
• 30 ml of Amaretto liqueur.
• 125 ml of pineapple juice.
• Crushed ice.
• Natural pineapple chunks.
• Sour cherries or maraschino cherries.

Utensils:

• cocktail shaker
• Strainer.

The Mai Tai is an exotic cocktail that is prepared with rum (here you can find some options to choose from), pineapple juice and other liquors that give it a very sweet and expressive flavor. This is a typical rum cocktail from the Pacific islands, thanks to its peculiar flavor and its freshness, which makes it very suitable for warm places.

The origin of this combination is highly disputed, as there are two different theories about its creation. The first of them places the birth of the Mai Tai in 1934 in a restaurant on the island of Polynesia run by Víctor Bergeron. According to this story, Víctor wanted to surprise some of his friends from Tahiti, who, when tasting the drink, exclaimed: “Mai aé tai-roa”, which in Spanish means: “out of this world, the best”. With what the phrase “Mai Tai” remained as the name of the combination.

The original cocktail, in addition to the current ingredients, also included Orgeat, a liqueur made from bitter almonds that is typical of Brazil. However, this drink is very difficult to find outside of Rio de Janeiro, so the most widespread Mai Tai recipe changed this ingredient for Amaretto or any almond-based liqueur.

The second story places the origin of the Mai Tai in a Hollywood restaurant, in 1933, and claims that it was created by barman Don Beachcomber. Being a “Tiki” restaurant, with a Polynesian theme, he created several tropical cocktails such as the “Zombie” or the “Navy Grog”. According to this theory, he also created the Mai Tai.

Now that we know the origin of this drink, let’s see how it is prepared. First, all the ingredients, except the ice, are introduced into a cocktail shaker. Stir for about two minutes, so that the flavors are integrated and mix well. Next, in a glass or wide glass, add a couple of tablespoons of crushed ice.

Using the shaker strainer, pour the contents over the crushed ice. The strainer is used so that bits of fruit pulp are not strained if you have used natural pineapple juice. Once poured over ice, stir with a spoon so that everything cools and decorate with a piece of natural pineapple or a cherry.

In many cases, these types of tropical cocktails are also garnished with a small umbrella, which is usually stuck in the pineapple slice. The decoration, in the end, will depend on your tastes.