The Mai Tai
From the beaches to the court room
Living in a tropical place like I do, it’s sunshine 365 days of the year. We do not have 4 seasons; we have 2. A dry and a wet, and as the names suggest; one season is dry, the other one is (really) wet. The transitioning period from the dry into the wet is called the build-up; temperatures of 35 degrees Celsius, humidity upwards of 80%. ‘Clammy’ does not even start to cover it. So, what are we drinking? Something fresh and a tad boozy, preferably whilst we cuddle an air conditioner set to 18 degrees.
The Mai Tai! A rum based drink that goes oh so well shaken as it does frozen. With the right rums this drink is delicious and a bit funky! And as you might know, I do like a good story of origin, and this story almost ended in the court room.
It all starts in 1944: the tiki movement is in full swing in the U.S. but hadn’t peaked yet. Two bartenders/entrepreneurs are in somewhat of an arms race; Donn Beach known as Don the Beachcomber, the grandfather of the tiki movement, and Victor Bergeron who is better known as Trader vic.
In his book ‘Revised bar guide’ he writes how he came up with the Mai Tai in his restaurant in Oakland. Were he used J. Wray & Nephew from Jamaica, curacao, lime juice and dashes of sugar syrup and orgeat topped with shaved ice. This was served to his friends from Tahiti, Ham and Carrie Guild. Carrie exclaimed “Mai Tai – Roa Ae” which roughly translates to “Out of this world – the Best”.
Donn Beach wasn’t too happy about this story, he claimed that Vic derived the Mai Tai from his Q.B. Cooler, one of Donn’s famous punches. However, if we put the two recipes next to each other for comparisons, you might want to say that Donn’s claim is somewhat farfetched. Although the flavour profile might be the same the drink is different:
Trader vic’s Mai tai
60 mls Wray & Nephew 17 year
15 mls orange curacao
15 mls orgeat syrup
7.5 mls white sugar syrup
30 mls lime juice
Donn the Beachcomber Q.B. Cooler
60 mls Wray & Nephew 17 year
30 mls gold Jamaican rum
15 mls orange curacao
30 mls dark Puerto rican rum
15 mls orgeat syrup
15 mls Demerara rum
7.5 mls white sugar syrup
7.5 mls falernum
30 mls lime juice
5 mls Honeymix
5 mls Ginger syrup
15 mls lime juice
30 mls orange juice
20 mls club soda
2 dashes angostura bitters
Victor’s executive assistant Fred Fung did admit that Victor copied from Donn, although he confirmed that Victor did create the Mai Tai, and that Carrie Guild did name it. The things that Trader did copy, and he himself also admitted, was the general ‘vibe’ of Donn, think menu’s and style. But not actual drinks.
The one drink that does come to mind is the Golden Glove, created by the grandmaster of Daiquiri’s Constantine Ribalaigua Vert at bar El Floridita. However, this one does not use orgeat.
From courtroom to cultural icon
In the 1950’s Trader Vic and his crew were asked to make a few drinks to be listed at the Royal Hawaiian hotel. One of these drinks was the Mai Tai, and it became a hit. Although the recipe at this stage was a trade secret, other hotels on the islands started to make their own version. Some of them were just rum and pineapple juice garnished fancy with an umbrella and an orchid.
During the 1960’s, the Mai Tai became the most ordered cocktail in the US and became a symbol of a lifestyle, a pop culture drink like the world had never seen before. And trader Vic made sure to let everyone know that he invented it. Trader Vic’s “The home of the Mai Tai” was seen on every advertisement of his restaurants. He brought out a Trader Vic’s Mai Tai mix, and Mai Tai rum, so you could make your own Mai Tai at home.
Donn Beach was still adamant that he invented to Mai Tai and Trader Vic simply stole it. Did Donn know that wasn’t the case, or was he just trying to protect his legacy, because without Donn the Beachcomber, the tiki movement wouldn’t have happened. Trader Vic wouldn’t have happened, and the Mai Tai that pushed Trader Vic into the stratosphere of drink making, wouldn’t have happened.
This argument led to a court case, which was settled in favour of Trader Vic after he released his recipe in a press release titled “Let set the record straight on the Mai Tai” that included an affidavit from Carrie Guild.
My favourite recipe:
I would love to use the original Wray & Nephew, but the 17 is no longer being made, nor the substitute Trader used later, the 15 years old. The original recipe does ask for Jamaican rum, so I go with Appleton Estate 8 years old. Please note, that here in Australia – Especially where I am located; Darwin, a wide arrange of products aren’t available to me. I would like to try a few more Rums that contains more “Funk” like Smith and Cross, so if you can get your hands on it, let me know!
For a grassy element, I’d take a rhum Agricole from Martinque; Pere Labat 40 or St. James does great. Pere Labat would be my personal favourite.
For curacao, Cointreau is sweet, I tend to use deKuyper – that is personal, I tend to like the drier version more.
For orgeat, the purists will make it themselves; which I am one of, however – it is a lot of work, so if you make it home; try and get Crawley’s orgeat, you can get it here: https://www.onlybitters.com/syrups-mixers/cocktail-syrups/ (Please note: I have no affiliation with this website – I am just trying to share the love). Using anything else, make sure to balance out that sweetness.
30 mls Appleton Estate 8 years old
30 mls Pere Labat 40
10 mls deKuyper triple sec
20 mls Crawley’s Orgeat
30 mls Fresh lime juice
Add all ingredients to the shaker (if at home without tins; protein shaker works just as well). Strain over cubed Ice in a rocks glass. Garnish: Mint sprig and orange slice. If you want to impress: Dendrobium Orchids.
This article wouldn’t have been possible without one of my favourite books on tiki drinks, Beachbum Berry’s Potions of the Caribbean.
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