Mai Tai (Royal Hawaiian)

Material Components

  • 1 ounce orange juice
  • 1 ounce pineapple juice
  • 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
  • 1/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 ounce orange Curaçao
  • 1/4 ounce orgeat syrup
  • 1/4 ounce sugar syrup
  • 1 ounce aged blended rum
  • 1 ounce aged pot still rum
  • 1 ounce lightly aged column still rum

Vessel

double old fashioned glass

Garnish

pineapple finger, sugar cane stick, orchid, and a mint sprig

Preparation

  1. Shake with plenty of crushed ice.
  2. Pour unstrained into a double old fashioned glass.
  3. Garnish with a pineapple finger, sugar cane stick, orchid, and mint sprig.

Notes

Trader Vic was the consummate tinkerer, and by 1953, he had perfected his most famous drink. The Royal Hawaiian Mat Tai is the best of "the best".

This drink is best with a somewhat mellow pot still rum, like Plantation Xaymaca. Something super funky, like Doctor Bird, overpowers it. I used El Dorado 15 Year Old and Denizen Aged White Rum to round out the pictured drink.