David Bartell has posted a new video that’s an incredible deep dive biography of Carrie Guild, the woman who named the Mai Tai (or perhaps the wife of the person who named the Mai Tai). Bartell is a longtime contributor to the Search for the Ultimate Mai Tai, providing Mai Tai reviews back on the original site and contributing the circa-1999 essay “Famous Dirty Stinkers” which is still available.
Here’s the description of Bartell’s video essay:
“Maita’i roa ae! Out of this world, the best!” That’s the legendary phrase that gave the Mai Tai its name, according to Trader Vic. The toast was made by a friend, Carrie Guild, who with her husband Eastham were visiting from Tahiti.
Many of you already know that version of the story, but just who was this woman, and what do we know about the context of her gastronomic enthusiasm? Quite a lot!
In this video you will explore uncharted details about the circumstances surrounding the origin of the Mai Tai cocktail, while sailing around the world with the Guilds. If you read the companion article in the November 2023 issue of Exotica Moderne, get ready for an even deeper dive and a few little surprises for tiki afficionados.
You might catch a cameo of someone familiar toward the end of the video.
Hi David, I loved your film on Carrie and Ham! Ham was one of my Great Uncles, and my mother (Carolyn Guild Bryan) often mentioned the mysterious Uncle Ham who lived in Tahiti with Carrie. I was poking around today trying to understand what their life in Tahiti was about. I guess my mother also wondered because she spoke about visiting “some day”. So I was thrilled to find journal articles etc., but your film- it tied so much together for me. Would you like to see a picture of his childhood summer house? Thank you so very much! Amanda