Firstly, it is nice to see this being labeled “Mai Tai Day” this year rather than “Real Mai Tai Day”. It celebrates the birth of the Mai Tai in 1944, using the date for Mai Tai Day designated by Oakland several years ago.
Vic’s opened at 11 am for Brunch and cocktails, and several of us made the trek to be there at opening. Plenty of souvenir Mai Tai Day Mason Jars were available and they’re a timely design. My Mai Tai looked great and was refreshing on Vic’s outdoor patio/picnic space (in the corner of the parking lot). Good social-distancing employed.
Brunch was a little tricky in that you still have to order food via telephone (brunch menu isn’t in the online system yet, though I’d expect that to be fixed soon). And so you have to go over to the main building to pick it up. But otherwise, this is pretty nice. The morning fog was actually a welcome component and then slowly burned off by around 12:30 pm. My Salmon Toast was delightful and Mrs. Mai Tai’s Eggs Benedict was great too. Supposedly brunch will be an option every week going forward.
Aside from the tikiphiles in attendance, there was a special online toast for Mai Tai Day, featuring Vic’s CEO Rhett Rosen. Eve Bergeron set up a monitor and so everyone in attendance could participate. While this wasn’t as grand as last year’s incredible Mai Tai 75 celebration, this was still pretty good considering the restrictions on indoor gatherings.
How to make the Ultimate Mai Tai? Follow along with our recipe and make a Mai Tai yourself to celebrate Mai Tai Day on August 30.
Ultimate Mai Tai by Kevin Crossman ½ oz Appleton 12 Rum ½ oz Smith & Cross Rum ½ oz Plantation OFTD Rum ½ oz Plantation Xaymaca Rum 1 oz Lime Juice ½ oz Orgeat (Latitude 29) ½ oz Orange Curacao (Ferrand Dry Curacao) ¼ oz Demerara Syrup (BG Reynolds)
August 30 is Mai Tai Day, the date where true Mai Tai fans celebrate the birth of the Mai Tai in Oakland, California in 1944.
I celebrated by making a standard proportion 1944 recipe Mai Tai with some special rums. A tribute to fine rums that belong in the finest cocktail. And a salute to Mai Tai Nation.
¼ oz Mount Gay XO ¼ oz Pampero Aniversario ¼ oz Clement VSOP ¼ oz Hampden Estate Overproof ½ oz Denizen Merchant’s Reserve ½ oz Appleton 12 Rare Casks
Float ¾ oz Ultimate Mai Tai Blend (Appleton 12, Smith & Cross, Xaymaca, OFTD)
A delicious Mai Tai, slightly boozier than average. Though by Frankensteining the rum blend it doesn’t have a particularly unique character that you’d get using one of these rums all by themselves.
The iconic Mai Tai at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki was introduced by Trader Vic Bergeron in 1953. During the 1950s the reputation for this cocktail built such a following that it was described as the “top tourist tantalizer” in 1959. This original Hawaiian Mai Tai was similar to the original, notably switching from long-aged Jamaica rums to a blend of Light Puerto Rican and Dark Jamaican rums – and no added pineapple or orange juice!
But the Mai Tai you get today at the Royal Hawaiian differs considerably, since it uses the pineapple juice and orange juice commonly seen in modern Island-style Mai Tais.
Mai Tais being served at the Royal Hawaiian, June 2022
1956 Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai
The earliest known recipe for the Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai comes via a letter written to a customer by Trader Vic himself. This is still substantially similar to the original 1944 recipe, though with different proportion of sweeteners and notably using both a Dark Jamaican rum and also a light rum. It is light and refreshing and a good dark Jamaican rum does punch through in this recipe. Try Worthy Park 109.
1956 Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai Juice of One Lime Dash of Rock Candy Syrup Dash of Curacao Dash of Orgeat 1½ ounces Trader Vic’s Puerto Rican Rum ¾ ounce Myers’s Plantation Punch Rum Stir and decorate with fresh mint
This style of original Hawaiian Mai Tai was commonly seen during the 1960s and beyond. It is noteworthy to note that Trader Vic never added pineapple juice to a Mai Tai.
1972 Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai – Classic Recipe
The use of Pineapple Juice became common in Mai Tais in Hawaii starting in the 1960s, but The Royal Hawaiian seems to be a late convert. There’s a published recipe from their sister hotel The Moana Surfrider in 1968 that’s substantially similar to the 1956 version. However, there must have been pressure to include Pineapple Juice from many tourists.
This recipe comes from Drinks of Hawaii, 2nd Ed. 1972, by Paul B. Dick. The entry describes this is “now being used by the Sheraton” implying a recent change. The recipe included in the book did not specify an exact amount of Pineapple or Orange Juice except to say that they should be used in equal parts. The recipe is notable in that it describes using 3 ounces of rum, including two flavorful dark rums. But a rum float is not specified.
This recipe was later used in many books by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry, who designated 1 oz each for the Pineapple and Orange Juice. This seems like the correct choice, keeping the balance with the other ingredients.
1972 Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai ½ oz Lime Juice ¼ oz Lemon Juice 1 oz Orange Juice 1 oz unsweetened Pineapple Juice ¼ oz Sugar Syrup ¼ oz Orgeat ¼ oz Orange Curacao 1 oz Demerara Rum 1 oz Dark Jamaican Rum 1 oz Light Rum
1990s – No Pineapple Juice
This recipe comes from a 1997 Honolulu Star-Bulletin article, and curiously doesn’t include any Pineapple Juice.
1990s Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai 5 oz Mai Tai Mix 1 oz White Rum 1 oz Myers’s Dark Rum Fill glass with ice, add mix and rums
Mai Tai Mix 10 oz Orange Juice 4 oz Orange Curacao 2 oz Orgeat 2 oz Rock Candy Syrup 2 oz Sour Lemon Combine all ingredients and add water to make 1 quart
Mai Tai Mix (single use) 1½ oz Orange Juice ⅔ oz Orange Curacao ⅓ oz Orgeat ⅓ oz Rock Candy Syrup ⅓ oz Sour Lemon Juice 1¾ oz Water
2010s Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai: Headscratcher
This devolved “secret recipe” was published on the Royal Hawaiian’s website, and includes some curious ingredients. The use of almond-flavored Amaretto liqueur in place of Orgeat syrup is sadly not uncommon in Mai Tais. Amaretto is fine elsewhere but doesn’t add the right flavors or body to the cocktail like Orgeat does. The use of Cherry Vanilla Puree, even in a small amount, is also a noteworthy head-scratcher.
2010s Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai Build in shaker with ice: 1 oz Bacardi Rum 1 tsp Cherry Vanilla Puree ½ oz Amaretto di Saronno ½ oz Cointreau 1 oz Fresh Govinda Orange Juice 2 oz Fresh Govinda Pineapple Juice ½ oz Whaler’s Dark Rum Float
Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai, 2019
2022 Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai Returns to Normalcy
In mid-2022, the Royal Hawaiian updated their website to include this updated “secret recipe” and thankfully it’s much more of a standard Island Mai Tai. It is nice to see Orgeat coming back, though I don’t find Old Lahaina rum to be particularly good. Nonetheless, I did very much enjoy the cocktail in June 2022 when I sat looking out at Diamond Head.
2022 Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai 2 oz Pineapple Juice 1 oz Orange Juice ½ oz Orgeat ½ oz Orange Curacao 1 oz Old Lahaina Light Rum 1 oz Old Lahaina Dark Rum (float) Shake all ingredients except the Dark Rum with ice. Pour in a large “bucket” glass. Float the Dark Rum, garnish with a parasol with cherry, pineapple and lime wedge.
Found this at an antiques store in Coos Bay, OR and had to have it. It seems to be vintage from the 1960s, including some powdered Mai Tai mixes. I could see how this would have been really cool back in the day, though obviously I’m not going to try and use the shaker or the Mai Tai Mix now.
It smells just as old as you might think, and it’s great!
For the post today I thought I’d highlight my favorite rum: Appleton 12.
Back ten years ago, before I got deeply into rum, Appleton was my go-to answer for a rum to be gifted. Later, as I started to explore rum I saw that Appleton 12 was specifically called for in Mai Tai recipes from Beachbum Berry and Martin Cate. I obtained this expression myself and never looked back.
I’ve tried hundreds of rum since, and enjoyed most of them. Yet Appleton 12 remains my favorite for its rich, smooth taste, wide availability, and attainable price point. It is delightful when sampled neat. But not so expensive that you feel like you’re wasting money when you put it into a Mai Tai. It is my go-to “one rum” Mai Tai rum when ordering at a bar, and it remains an important part of my four-rum Ultimate Mai Tai rum blend.
Pictures are the last several vintages of this rum. The new Rare Casks edition continues the tradition wonderfully but I did make it a point to buy two bottles of the precious Rare Blend for safe keeping.
