Sharkbait’s Cocktail of the Week: The Mai Tais That Bind

Happy Friday one and all! I don’t know about your respective parts of the world, but the Northeast has been baking for the better part of two weeks. That finally came to an end this week, and it was a bit odd. a 30 degree temperature drop from one day to the next is a little jarring on the system.

So of course I wait until the heatwave is over to break out the tiki drinks. It also helps when you can finally visit your buddy who bartends and can score you some home made oregat syrup.

I’ve been sitting on this one a while, and have eagerly waited to make it. May I present to you: the Mai Tai!

Now this drink has been around for a while. It was either invented by Victor Jules Bergeron Jr aka Trader Vic, or Donn Beach. in the late 30s. Over the course of history, many variations of recipes have been created and served, and my cocktail books are no exceptions. I have multiple recipes for Mai Tai’s, and none of them are the same. I settled on the Eater version, since it appears to be the recipe that is closest to the original:

.75 oz. fresh lime juice
.5 oz. orange curaçao (Pierre Ferrand preferred)
.25 oz. orgeat
.25 oz.  rich demerara simple syrup
2 ounces aged pot still or blended rum

Combine all ingredients with 12 ounces of crushed ice and some cubes in a shaker. Shake until chilled and pour — ice and all — into a double old fashioned glass. Garnish with a spent lime shell and mint sprig.

The nose is all lime, thanks to the spent lime shell which supposedly represents an island in the ocean. I also get a little bit of the oregat coming through. It’s a slightly almond-y aroma, but it’s very subtle.

This version of the Mai Tai is very well balanced. Nothing takes over and dominates, which is what I would look for in a Tiki drink. The rum flavor eventually pokes through the oregat and the (faux) demerara syrup, but the flavor only. Any kind of stronger alcohol related burn or harshness is nowhere to be found.

The oregat adds a nice depth as well. This is the first time I’ve used this and I’m liking what it brings to the table. It adds a subtle sweetness, but not overly cloying. The Mai Tai actually finishes with a hint of almond from the oregat as well.

I ended up having to make this with cointreau and not curacao, and with faux demerara syrup made from dark brown sugar (which was a pain in the ass to measure since it was mostly solidified and I needed to bang it on the counter to break off enough pieces to eyeball the amount needed) but I don’t think swapping those ingredients adversely affected the cocktail. Besides, as my bartender friend put it when I was discussing the Mai Tai with him earlier “…the Mai Tai is like the margarita or the martini in that it’s suffered some truly heinous crimes”. He’s not wrong. I have in my possession  a cocktail book that lists sour mix as the first ingredient.

So even if the cointreau isn’t called for, it is by no means the worst Mai Tai ever created, so I think I’m in the clear here.

No doubt about it, this is absolutely fantastic. It’s well balanced, super cold, and the perfect warm weather drink. I can easily get on board with making these during the next heatwave, or the next time I’m vacationing somewhere tropical.