Big News for Mai Tai fans: there’s a new Mai Tai Mix now available.
The product is Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29 Wiki Wiki Mai Tai Mix and comes from the same folks behind our favorite Orgeat.
Press Release from Orgeat Works:
Very exciting news at Orgeat Works HQ! After two years of exhaustive formulation and collaboration with the Bum. We are proud to introduce Beach Bum Berry’s Latitude 29 Wiki Wiki Mai Tai Mix!!!! The mission brief: To imbue your run of the mill dry white rum with the qualities of the classic aged rums used in our beloved Mai Tai. Like the name says, Wiki means Quick!
2 oz. rum, ¾ oz. Wiki Wiki Mai Tai Mix and and ounce of fresh lime and you’re good to go!
We spoke with Orgeat Works founder Adam Kolesar about the product. The thing that every craft cocktail aficionado is likely to notice first is that this Mai Tai Mix doesn’t say “add your favorite aged rum” but instead specifies an unaged light rum. Kolesar gave us a breakdown of the product positioning.
“The reason for specifying an unremarkable “easily obtained” dry white rum was to reflect the primary mission of the Wiki Wiki aspect of the Mai Tai mix. The Bum and I thought it would be great to have a flavorful syrup that would imbue a pedestrian rum with the flavor profile of something more complex. An example might be coming home from work, thinking a Mai Tai would be a great soother, and discovering you’re out of Ferrand Dry Curacao or your favorite Martinique rhum.
The product certainly doesn’t purport to be the ultimate Mai Tai as everyone we know has a carefully curated spec. It is meant to be a quality hack when you’re short handed, on vacation (where you can typically find a dry white rum and a lime), or when you want a hassle free cocktail.
Another goal of the product is to allow folks to make a decent “Mock Tai” if that’s their groove.”
Orgeat Works provided a sample bottle for review purposes and so we gave the Mix a spin with Cruzan Light Rum. The mix does a good job imbuing the cocktail with bright orange notes that compliment the lime juice and make for a satisfying cocktail. Not as good as we’d make from scratch of course, but that’s besides the point. These guys know what a good Mai Tai is supposed to taste like, so the Wiki Wiki Mai Tai Mix does a good job getting you there even with light rum.
Kolesar closed by noting that “the end user is certainly free to experiment with more complex rums and strike a more elaborate balance. It was important to the Bum and I to build a product that would work decently with the likes of the ubiquitous Bacardi Light as our baseline.” The Wiki Wiki Mai Tai Mix is quite good for travel scenarios where you can bring this and get some lime and rum at your destination.
Order the Wiki Wiki Mai Tai Mix on the Orgeatworks website.
Next: Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29 Wiki Wiki Mai Tai Mix Experimentation
Next: Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29 Wiki Wiki Mai Tai Mix Market Analysis
Where do I buy it?
Go to http://www.orgeatworks.com and click the Shop button.
Just got some for the office and the kids. It’s perfect . . . when you don’t have access to or expertise for the actual requirements of a Mai Tai.
I would think this would be ideal for the vacationer, apartment dweller, weekend barrior, tiki novice, or anyone who feels daunted by the recipe and skills required for a tiki cocktail.