Named after maita‘i — Tahitian for “good” or “excellent” — the Mai Tai is a tiki icon created by Trader Vic in the 1940s and made famous in Hawaii by the 1950s. A well-made Mai Tai is all about balance: bold, rum-forward, bright with citrus, and rounded with nutty orgeat, never a sugary fruit punch.

Ingredients

30 ml Jamaican rum
30 ml sugarcane juice rum
15 ml dark rum
15 ml dry curaçao
30 ml fresh lime juice
15 ml orgeat syrup
Crushed ice
Garnish: fresh mint sprig, lime shell, cocktail cherry

Instructions

In a shaker, combine Jamaican rum, sugarcane juice rum, curaçao, lime juice, and orgeat.
Add half cup crushed ice and shake for 10 seconds.
Open-pour (no strainer) into a rocks glass. Top with more crushed ice, leaving space for the float.
Gently float dark rum on top.
Garnish with mint, inverted lime shell, and cherry.
(Optional) Add 15ml overproof rum to the lime shell and light for a flame presentation; blow out before drinking.