Mai Tai
Quick Look: Mai Tai Cocktail Recipe
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 5 minutes
- ⏱️ Total Time: 5 minutes
- 🍹 Servings: 1
- 🔥 Calories: 298
- 🥃 Cook Method: shaken or stirred, no cooking required
- 🌺 Flavor Profile: tropical, nutty, citrus-forward, not overly sweet
- 👍 Difficulty: beginner-friendly, ready in one shake
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Table of Contents
What Is A Mai Tai
The name comes from the Tahitian phrase “maita’i roa ae,” meaning “the very best,” and a properly made one earns it.
- 🏝️ The first sip always feels like a beachfront tiki bar, even if I’m just standing in my own kitchen.
- 🥃 Trader Vic gets credit for creating it in 1944 at his Oakland restaurant, though his old partner Donn Beach disputed that for years.
- ⚖️ Done right, it’s smooth and balanced, not overly sweet or fruity like a lot of tropical cocktails.
- 🧪 I tested this recipe more times than I can count to get the ratios exactly right.
- 🍹 I’ve ordered this at bars all over, and most versions miss the mark. Extra fruit juice, no orgeat, grenadine (bit no-no), pre-made mix. I’ve only found one true version at a small beach bar near me.
Ingredients In A Proper Mai Tai
- Orgeat syrup (pronounced “or-zsa”) – a sweet almond syrup made with sugar, blanched almonds, and rose or orange flower water. It has a soft, rounded almond flavor, nothing like the sharp bite of almond extract. I don’t recommend substituting it. Order a bottle online if your store doesn’t carry it. It keeps for months in the fridge. (Brand doesn’t matter, I’ve tried several.)
- Orange curaçao – this is what gives the drink its real citrus backbone. If you can’t find true curaçao, Cointreau or Grand Marnier both work well as a swap.
- Light rum – light or silver rum will work very well. This is the same rum I use in my Mojito. Gold or aged rum works here too if that’s what you have on hand.
- Dark rum – for a stronger pour, swap a quarter ounce of the dark rum for 151-proof rum. It’s also what gives my Rum Punch its depth.
- Orange juice – I use bottled here instead of fresh. Fresh oranges vary too much, and one sour orange will throw off the whole drink.
- Lime juice – fresh lime juice is your best option as bottle one can taste quite different.
- Simple syrup – I keep a batch made ahead in the fridge, just equal parts sugar and hot water stirred until dissolved. It stores well for weeks.
How To Make Mai Tai Cocktail
- You can make this cocktail two ways: shaken or stirred. (No pun intended.)
- The main idea is to incorporate the ingredients very well because orgeat is thick and will take a few seconds to blend in. So you can combine all ingredients in a shaker with a few ice cubes and give it a good shake. Pour it over crushed ice.
- Or, you can combine the ingredients in a double/old-fashioned glass with crushed ice and use a spoon to stir for 15-20 seconds.
Mai Tai Recipe FAQs
You will find many sources of the internet that will tell you to substitute almond extract for orgeat. I am NOT one of those sources.
Personally, no, I do not recommend substituting orgeat syrup because it has a very specific flavor that is in no way replicated by almond extract. Almond extract tastes like pungent raw almond straight out of the shell. It will give your drink an overpowering raw almond taste.
If you don’t have orgeat syrup at your store, I recommend ordering it on Amazon. I order it there myself and keep it in the fridge. It has a very long shelf life so it won’t go bad before you use it up. If you like to make Mai Tais and other tiki/tropical drinks, it’s worth ordering a bottle.
A combination of light and dark rum gives you the fullest flavor. Light rum keeps it bright, and dark rum adds depth. Aged or gold rum can stand in for either if that’s what’s in your bar.
Yes but you’ll need an orange liqueur. Cointreau or Grand Marnier both make a good substitute if curaçao isn’t available near you.
It is a fruity drink, but not an overly sweet one. A true Mai Tai leans citrus-forward and nutty, not syrupy. If yours tastes like fruit punch, the recipe has strayed from the original.
More Tiki Rum Cocktails To Try
- If you’re building out your rum bar, try my Painkiller for something creamy and rum-forward, or a Blue Hawaii for a fruitier, ocean-blue option.
- My Rum Runner and Bahama Mama are both great next stops too.
- A Piña Colada is always a good call if you want something frozen, and my Calypso Cooler is a fun copycat if you love a fruity rum drink.
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Mai Tai Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 oz lime juice
- 1/2 oz Orgeat syrup
- 1/2 oz simple syrup
- 1 oz orange juice
- 1 oz light rum
- 1 oz dark rum
- 1 oz orange curacao
Instructions
Stirred:
- Combine the ingredients in a double/old-fashioned glass with crushed ice and use a spoon to stir for 15-20 seconds.
Shaken:
- Combine all ingredients in a shaker with a few ice cubes and give it a good shake. Pour it over crushed ice in a double/old-fashioned glass.
- Garnish and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Don’t substitute almond extract for orgeat, the flavor is too different.
- Use crushed ice for the best texture and quickest chill.
- Double or triple the batch and mix it in a pitcher for a party, just shake or stir individual servings over ice.
Nutrition
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Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
As a bar tender, I’m SO happy to see orgaet included and grenadine omitted. This IS the golden recipe! So balanced, very refreshing.
Thank you so much! 😊 That means a lot, especially coming from a bartender! Thanks for taking the time to leave such a wonderful comment. Cheers! 🍹
What a beautiful drink!
Our FAVORITE movie night cocktial!