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Sunday, August 2, 2009

The Mai Tai

Success again! We found a drink that we both like. Because of the sweetness, I was surprised David like the Mai Tai as much as he did. It was actually slightly strong for me, but I did like it. Visions of the beach did pop into my mind a few times - the only time I've ever had a Mai Tai was in Hawaii, at a restaurant on Waikiki. Ah, Hawaii!

The Mai Tai was actually invented in 1949 at Trader Vic's in Oakland, California. "Maita'i" is the Tahitian word for "good". The story goes that the owner of Trader Vic's (Victor Bergeron) first made it for some friends who were visiting from Tahiti. One cried out "Maita'i roa" - very good, or literally "Out of this world", and the name stuck.

I held off making this drink because of one ingredient - orgeat syrup. All of my sources provided directions on making this almond sweetener and it sounded terribly difficult and hardly worth the effort. I checked in at the liquor store though and found it's available and inexpensive. Fate!

David's Swizzle Stick Ratings -
Mai Tai - 5 Swizzle Sticks

The Mai Tai - 1 oz. light rum, 1 oz. dark rum, 1/2 oz. curacao, 1/2 oz. orgeat syrup, 1/4 oz sugar syrup, juice of 1/2 lime. Garnish with lime peel, mint sprig, pineapple, and Maraschino cherry. Mix the light rum, curacao, orgeat syrup, sugar syrup and lime juice in a shaker filled with crushed and cubed ice. Strain into a glass and add the dark rum just before serving. It will float on the top for a couple of minutes. Garnish.

Aloha!

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