Mai Tai Cocktail Recipe
A tiki masterpiece of aged rum, lime, orgeat and orange liqueur.
- Category: Contemporary Classics
- Glass: Highball glass
- ABV: 22%
- Difficulty: Medium
- Prep time: ~3 min
Ingredients
- Aged rum40 ml (1.4 oz)
- White rum20 ml (0.7 oz)
- Orange curaçao15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Orgeat syrup15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Fresh lime juice30 ml (1 oz)
How to Make It
- Add all ingredients to a shaker with crushed ice.
- Shake briefly.
- Pour unstrained into a glass.
- Top with more crushed ice.
- Garnish with mint and a spent lime shell.
Garnish
Mint sprig and lime shell
What it tastes like
Fruit notes come forward and there is pineapple and passion fruit in it.
The technique
Shaking. Anything with juice, syrup, egg white or cream gets shaken: the shaker chills the drink and adds roughly 20% water, and that water is what takes the edge off. Twelve to fifteen seconds, until the tin frosts over. Under-shaking leaves the drink harsh because it never got enough dilution.
Glass and ice
A tall, narrow highball. The narrowness does real work — less surface area means the carbonation lasts longer and the ice melts more slowly.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Aged rum
- Aged rum. The barrel gives it a tannin and oak character close to whiskey's; it is smooth enough to drink neat, which is why the drinks built on it keep the ingredient list short.
- White rum
- The Cuban style is light and dry, the Puerto Rican a little rounder. It is the base of the mojito and the daiquiri; swap in gold rum and the drink turns sweeter.
- Orange curaçao
- A liqueur made from the bitter orange of Curaçao; usually brandy-based, which makes it darker and rounder than Cointreau.
- Orgeat syrup
- Almond syrup with orange flower water in it — the signature of a Mai Tai. Without it, sweetened almond milk plus a drop of almond extract gets you close.
- Fresh lime juice
- Freshly squeezed lime. Bottled lime tastes cooked and flat; one lime gives about 30 ml. If you have none, half lemon and half grapefruit juice comes closest.
The Story
Created by Victor 'Trader Vic' Bergeron in 1944 in Oakland, California.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Mai Tai mixed?
- It is shaken and served in a highball glass.
- How strong is a Mai Tai?
- Roughly 22% ABV as served — in fortified-wine territory — plan it as a single drink.
- Can a Mai Tai be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Mai Tai hard to make?
- Moderate. A shaker or mixing glass plus a strainer covers it.
759 recipes in your pocket
Cocktails and mocktails from 55 countries — ingredients, steps and the story behind each drink. Works offline too.
Similar recipes
Collections
Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.