Mai Tai
A disputed Tiki cocktail of rum, citrus, and orgeat.
The Mai Tai (pronounced MYE TYE) is a Tiki cocktail built from rum, Curaçao liqueur, orgeat syrup, and lime juice. Its invention is disputed: Victor J. Bergeron claimed he created it in 1944 at his Oakland restaurant, Trader Vic's, while his competitor Donn Beach said he had already made it in 1933. A longtime colleague of Beach's noted that Beach was actually just claiming the Mai Tai was based on his Q.B. Cooler. Beach's recipe is more complex than Bergeron's, and some find the two drinks taste quite different, though others argue the Q.B. Cooler tastes similar despite different ingredients.
The drink reached Hawaii in 1953, when Bergeron designed a cocktail menu for the Matson Company's Royal Hawaiian Hotel. It became a hit, dubbed the "top tourist tantalizer" in 1959. Over time, Hawaiian versions commonly added pineapple juice, orange juice, and a dark rum float. The name likely comes from the Tahitian word *maitaʻi*, meaning "good" or "excellence," though the drink is usually written as two words, sometimes hyphenated or capitalized.
Most modern recipes follow Trader Vic's 1944 formula: rum, lime juice, orgeat syrup, and orange liqueur (typically orange Curaçao). Variations may include amaretto, falernum, bitters, grenadine, or juices like orange, pineapple, and grapefruit. This wide range exists because Trader Vic's kept the recipe unpublished for nearly 30 years, forcing competitors to guess, though 1950s and 1960s newspaper recipes did list key ingredients like orgeat, orange Curaçao, and rock candy syrup. Bergeron's own books used rum from Jamaica and Martinique—the latter now often a rhum agricole (made from sugarcane juice), though Martin Cate and Rebecca Cate note that the Martinique rums Bergeron used in the 1950s were not agricole. Overproof rums are sometimes added for stronger versions, but Cate says the idea that this was "the old way" stems from a frequent elderly customer who preferred a 151-proof Demerara float.
The Mai Tai was a popular cocktail in the 1950s and 1960s, especially in tiki-themed bars and restaurants. It appeared prominently in the 1961 Elvis Presley film *Blue Hawaii*. In Oakland, California, the city council named it the official cocktail of the city.
Quick Facts
- Base
- Rum
- Ingredients
- 30 ml amber Jamaican rum / 30 ml Martinique molasses rhum / 15 ml orange curaçao / 15 ml orgeat syrup (almond) / 30 ml fresh lime juice / 7.5 ml simple syrup
- Served
- shaved or crushed ice
- Garnish
- pineapple spear, mint leaves, and lime peel
- Prep
- Add all ingredients into a shaker with ice. Shake and pour into a double rocks glass or a highball glass.
- Drinkware
- Double old fashioned glass
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Victor J. Bergeron claimed to have invented the Mai Tai in 1944 at his restaurant, Trader Vic's, in Oakland, California. However, Donn Beach, a competitor of Trader Vic's, claimed to have first created it in 1933, though a longtime colleague said Beach was actually alleging the Mai Tai was based on his Q.B. Cooler cocktail. Don the Beachcomber's recipe is more complex than Vic's and some believe it tastes quite different, while others believe the Q.B. Cooler tastes quite similar despite ingredient differences.
The Mai Tai was introduced in Hawaii in 1953 when Bergeron created a cocktail menu for the Matson Company's Royal Hawaiian Hotel. It became a hit and was called the 'top tourist tantalizer' in 1959. In the years thereafter, pineapple juice, orange juice, and a dark rum float became commonly used in Mai Tais produced in Hawaii.
Reader's Guide
The Mai Tai's significance lies in its role as a defining cocktail of Tiki culture, popularized in the 1950s and 1960s. Its disputed origin between Victor J. Bergeron and Donn Beach reflects the competitive early days of Tiki bar culture. The drink's introduction to Hawaii in 1953 helped cement its status as a tropical icon, and it was featured in the 1961 Elvis Presley film Blue Hawaii. The Oakland, California city council named it the official cocktail of the city. The recipe's wide variance—including additions of amaretto, falernum, bitters, grenadine, and various fruit juices—stems from Trader Vic's keeping the recipe unpublished for nearly 30 years, forcing competitors to guess. Modern recipes based on Trader Vic's 1944 version include rum, lime juice, orgeat syrup, and orange liqueur (typically orange curaçao). The use of Martinique rum in the 1950s was most certainly not agricole rum, and overproof rum floats were a preference of a frequent elderly customer, not an 'old way' tradition.
Did You Know?
- The name is allegedly taken from maitaʻi, the Tahitian word for 'good' or 'excellence'.
- The Mai Tai was introduced in Hawaii in 1953 at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel and Moana Hotel.
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