We’ve shared one of the original recipes for the Mai Tai, which did not contain any pineapple or grenadine – it was made with rum, orgeat (almond syrup), fresh lime and curacao (orange liqueur). Over time, as the Mai Tai was modified by bartenders, and made its way to Hawaii, it was changed – you’ll find lots of drinks sold under that name, many of which bear little resemblance to the original, aside from the rum foundation and probably some lime. The Mai Tai most commonly seen in Hawaii these days is a very different style, and does use pineapple and grenadine.
To denote the difference, we included the reference to Hawaii in the name. And now we want to go on a trip to investigate (sample) the Mai Tais in Hawaii!
Hawaiian Mai Tai
1 oz Doublewood Rum
½ oz Bourbon Cask Rum
½ oz Orange Liqueur (we use our housemade one, you should use Cointreau or another Triple Sec)
½ oz Fresh Lime Juice
1½ oz Fresh Orange Juice
1½ oz Pineapple Juice
1 dash real pomegranate grenadine
Shake ingredients with ice, strain into a tiki mug (or a double old fashioned glass, or Collins glass, or even a goblet) over fresh ice. Garnish with a sprig of mint, a lime wedge and an edible orchid, if you have one.
Instead of mint, we’ve also garnished ours with pineapple sage in the summer, which adds some bright green and intriguing aromatics to the cocktail – we’ve grown it right outside our front door!
