Here's how to make the original Mai Tai recipe! Gather the ingredients for this tropical rum drink that's as complex as it is fruity.

The Original Mai Tai

(3 tablespoons) aged rum

(1 tablespoon) orange liqueur: Curaçao, Cointreau or Grand Marnier

(1 1/2 tablespoons) lime juice

(2 tablespoons) orgeat syrup

(1 tablespoon) dark rum

For the garnish: Fresh mint, cocktail cherry, pineapple slice, lime wedge

Place the aged rum, orange liqueur, lime juice, and orgeat syrup in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake until cold.

Strain the drink into an ice-filled glass. Top with the dark rum. Garnish with fresh mint, a lime wedge, cocktail cherry and pineapple slice. 

This is my favorite go-to recipe, without a doubt... but I might suggest, at the very end, you don't strain the drink... tiki drinks go into the glass with the ice they got mixed with... add more as needed!

Great recipe, but found adding a 1/2oz of pineapple juice brightens it up just a touch.

I agree. Purists will say it oversweetens maybe, but I think many will prefer it this way.   I think you could also try fresh squeezed navel orange juice.

So your method of making mai tai is incorrect. You want to know how I know It's because I met and became friends with one of the 11 soldiers that were stranded on one of the Midway Islands during world war II with nothing but one of the first half semis that was refrigerated generator and gas had plenty of that and that half semi I was filled with fresh fruit all liquors and it was going to be for MacArthur and headquarters as a small bar setup so these soldiers were stranded on this island for 2 weeks and all of them were cooks and bartenders so they had nothing better to do than eat get rested and eventually they started inventing drinks One of them was the Mai Tai and I met this bartender when he was in his '90s during the '90s at a restaurant in San Diego called the Bali hai his name was Fernando and when he made my tie not only did one of them get you thoroughly wasted lol but it was delicious but it was packing as well So finally before he retired I asked him hey Fernando how do you make this my tie cuz I noticed you put your back to us every time you do your wizardry with this drink and he wrote it on a napkin for me and so yeah nice try you're close but it's still wrong You're missing a key elemental step in preparation and one major ingredient so yeah which is why I gave your recipe rating a two

would throw rotten tomatoes if i could 🍅🍅🍅, at this point make your own blog post except wait— you don’t even want to explain what the missing parts are. 

as for the recipe, makes a nice drink if a bit too sweet for my tastes.

I thought your recipe was excellent.  I added more lime juice than listed by accident, but is turned out fine.  The flavors are amazing and I felt like I was back on Maui enjoying happy hour.   It sure packs a punch! I will definitely make this again.  Thanks!

My twist is using spiced rum instead of aged. I rub thr inside of glas with passion fruit (eases the sweetness for me) and 1/2 ounce of ovenproof over the pineapple/cherry garnish. Which can be lit for effect.  Still no juice...yeay

Thanks Sonja and Alex for doing the hard work researching this great recipe. You’re right. I thought a Mai Tai was a sweet overly fruity drink, but your recipe goes back to the origins that I find so much better. Greatly appreciate all the details too!

Perfect! Didn’t have the syrup. Subbed simple syrup.

This isn't quite the original version, but it's closer than most. The biggest difference is your recipe calls for significantly more orgeat than the true one.

the original mai tai

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total: 5 minutes

Servings: 1

Author : Sonja Overhiser

Ingredients

Instructions

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