National Mai Tai Day
June 30th is National Mai Tai Day.
According to Jeff “Beachbum” Berry world renowned Tiki expert and New Orleans restaurateur the Mai Tai was created by Victor Bergeron, aka “Trader Vic”, and his head bartender at his Oakland, CA restaurant.
As legend goes, he had two friends who were from Tahiti taste-test the drink. Afar the first sip, one friend exclaimed “Mai Tai, Roa Ae.” That’s basically Tahitian for awesome.
So in honor of Trader Vic, here is the Original Mai Tai recipe.
The Original Trader Vic’s Mai (1944) per Jeff “Beachbum” Berry
Ingredients:
1 oz fresh lime juice
1 oz dark Jamaican rum
1 oz aged Martinique rum
1/2 oz orange Curaçao
1/2 oz Latitude 29 Formula Orgeat
1/4 oz simple syrup*
Shake with crushed ice. Pour into double old-fashioned glass. Garnish with spent lime shell and mint sprig.
Jeff “Beachbum” Berry is the author of several books on vintage Tiki drinks and cuisine. He also has the Total Tiki app you can download for Iphone and Ipad.
Check out berry’s Latitude 29 at 321 N Peters Street in the French Quarter for classic Tiki drinks and food.