This is from a print-ad circa 1962 and is noteworthy for a few reasons.
Firstly, it is a very early printed Mai Tai recipe, substantially similar to others from the mid-late 1950s. This was the original “Hawaiian Mai Tai” style that featured a split base of light rum paired with a flavorful dark Jamaica rum. I can assure you the Myers’s of that era was quite flavorful, and issued at robust 97 proof! A “jigger” in this time period was usually 1 oz.
As is typical of these early Hawaiian Mai Tais, the sweeteners were used in equal portions. Dash in this case being equal to ¼ oz. While the cocktail pictured does seem to be somewhat reminiscent of a fruit salad, it is also noteworthy that there’s no pineapple or orange juice. Remember, the Hawaiian Mai Tai was not born with pineapple juice.
1 jigger Ronrico White 1 jigger Myers’s Jamaica Rum Juice of One Lime 1 dash Orgeat 1 dash Simple Syrup 1 dash Orange Curacao
I love the line “Don’t waste your time making it”. The person writing the copy also misspelled “Myers” rum, though they surely weren’t the first and far into the future people will still be misspelling it.
Felt like making it a little extra spicy tonight, so did a riff between two favorites. This was quite nice, without overpowering sweetness or spice.
1½ oz Lemon Juice 1 oz Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Concentrate Syrup ⅓ oz Don’s Spices #2 (50/50 Vanilla Syrup/Pimento Dram) 3 oz Jamaican Rum Blend (courtesy Andy from @easytikidrinks) 4 dashes Angostura Bitters
I love this Trader Vic’s Pilsner glass for tall drinks like this. Looks great with the classic logo treatment. We’ll see if the Mai Tai Planters Punch ever gets famous.
I’ve been mostly on the wagon for the past two weeks after coming back from Bakersfield with a pretty bad flu. But felt well enough to try a few things tonight. The Blue Curacao was being used for a comparison test we’ll cover in the upcoming days.
But I had a little bit left over, so made myself a quick and dirty unmeasured cocktail. And you know it ain’t too shabby.
National Cocktail Day Cocktail 2 glugs of Giffard Blue Curacao 2 glugs of Probitas Rum 1 scant pour of Lemon Juice 2 Dashes Orange Bitters Stir with ice
The orange bitters actually did improve this a little and there’s nothing wrong with a half-half pour of my favorite Blue Curacao and my favorite “white” rum.
This is an Irish Whiskey variant of the Eastern Sour. Like the Mai Tai recipe variants we discussed a couple weeks ago, Trader Vic’s created the Sour template and then substitutes different types of spirits to give the cocktail a new name, often related to a new Trader Vic’s location.
Eastern Sour: Bourbon
London Sour: Scotch
Munich Sour: German Brandy (sometimes Cognac)
Toronto Sour: Canadian Whisky
Tokyo Sour: Japanese Whisky? Recipes are unclear.
Jalisco Sour: Tequila
Dublin Sour Recipe from Trader Vic’s (2023) 2 oz. Irish Whiskey Squeeze ¼ Fresh cut Lemon Squeeze ¼ Fresh cut Orange (save spent shells) 1 oz. Lemon Juice 1 oz. Orange Juice Dash (¼ oz) Orgeat Dash Rock Candy Syrup Shake with cracked ice and pour in your new St. Patrick’s Day Glass and top with spent shells for garnish.
Sharp-eyed readers will note this recipe differs from the classic recipe from the 1972 Trader Vic’s Bartender’s Guide. That book called for the “juice of half an orange and half a lemon.” That basically means 2½ oz of orange juice and just about 1½ oz of lemon juice. Trader Vic’s says they use the smaller amount because an entire half orange and half lemon are too large for the glass.
Using Jameson, the whiskey is really lost in this cocktail, even with just the 1½ oz of OJ I squeezed from my small-ish orange. Bolder spirits such as Scotch or Bourbon are a better match for all that juice, and I also recommend upping the Orgeat to ½ oz.
In any case, raise a Dublin Sour on Saint Patrick’s Day and toast: “A good friend is like a four leaf clover, hard to find and lucky to have”
There were some discussions of this cocktail online this week and so I took at run at it. I tweaked the original recipe by lowering the Green Chartreuse a little and definitely going for a heavy pour of John D. Taylor Falernnum that is not as bold as the Falernum syrup used in the original version of the cocktail.
¾ oz Lime Juice ¾ oz John D. Taylor Falernum (heavy pour) ½ oz Green Chartreuse 1 oz Wray & Nephew Overproof Jamaica Rum Shake with ice cubes and strain
This was just right for me. Enough of the Chartreuse to taste, but not enough to overwhelm. But it works very nicely with the bold Wray & Nephew rum.
A little remix that I gave half a thought to and tried. I subbed half the simple syrup for Ogreat in a Planters Punch to … okay results. It tasted like a Planters Punch, and the funky Jamaican rums at 45-46% ABV gave this a nice punch. But it needs something else or maybe different proportions to be excellent.
Planters Punch
1 oz Lime Juice
½ oz Simple Syrup
½ oz Orgeat (Latitude 29)
1½ oz Hampden Estate Single Jamaican Rum
1½ oz Worthy Park Single Estate Reserve
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
I’d been thinking of doing a comparison test anyway, but was inspired by this week’s episode of the Tiki with Ray show on YouTube featuring the topic of “My Favorite Mai Tai” and a discussion of Menehune Juice.
Menehune Juice is a Mai Tai variant developed by Trader Vic’s in the early 1970s and is essentially a replacement of the aged Jamaican-forward rum with a Light Puerto Rican Rum. Other variants from this time period include the Pinky Gonzales (sub Tequila) and Honi Honi (sub Bourbon). The Menehune craze of the 1960s allowed Vic to put the Menehune Juice on the menu and you even got to take one home with you.
For this test, I compared the 1944 Mai Tai, Trader Vic’s Mai Tai, and Menehune Juice as they are prepared by Trader Vic’s restaurants today. Notably, the latter two use Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Concentrate as a substitute for the Orgeat, Rock Candy, and Orange Curacao. That Concentrate is used in Trader Vic’s restaurants and is occasionally sold off the Trader Vic’s website (I bought mine as part of the Trader’s Treasures membership). For the 1944 I’m using the present day recipe that calls for ¾ oz of Orange Curacao (I used DeKuyper).
I was surprised how much I liked the Menehune Juice, which I found light and refreshing but still “rummy” in a good way. I do enjoy the Mai Tais made with the Concentrate. But, no surprise that my personal preference was for the more complex body and taste of the 1944. Mrs. Mai Tai said she preferred the Trader Vic’s Mai Tai and then the Menehune Juice, so it seems true that there’s a cocktail for everyone at Trader Vic’s.
1944 Mai Tai (Trader Vic’s present day, referenced as The Original Mai Tai on menus) ¾ oz Lime Juice ¼ oz Rock Candy Syrup ½ oz Orgeat ¾ oz Orange Curacao 2 oz Trader Vic’s Royal Amber Rum Shake with crushed ice and pour into Mai Tai glass Squeeze ¼ of a lime, then garnish with spent lime shell and mint sprig
Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Typically labeled “Our signature Mai Tai has been modified to perfection” on menus. ½ oz Lemon Juice ¾ oz Mai Tai Concentrate 2 oz Trader Vic’s Royal Amber Rum Shake with crushed ice and pour into Mai Tai glass Squeeze ¼ of a lime, then garnish with spent lime shell, fruit stick, and mint sprig
Menehune Juice Same as Trader Vic’s Mai Tai but sub 2 oz Trader Vic’s Light Rum in place of the Royal Amber.
I used Trader Vic’s products throughout, except subbed Latitude 29 orgeat and Liber Demerara for the Rock Candy in the 1944 recipe.
Los Angeles Times, February 8, 1970. First printed mention of Menehune Juice.
