Category: Recipe

Posted on

Light Mai Tai

Riffed a little on this Mai Tai, which leans much lighter than my usual recipe. This is based on some rums I had on hand and I can see how this style might be preferred in scenarios such as Mai Tais by the pool on a hot day. Or even just personal preference.

Light Mai Tai
¾ oz Lime Juice
½ oz Cointreau
½ oz Orgeat (Latitude 29)
¼ oz Simple Syrup
2 oz Ron Barcelo Gran Platinum
Shake with ice and float with ½ oz aged and sweetened Spanish style rum (mine was a multi-rum “infinity bottle”). No garnish.

Posted on

Tres Puntos y una Raya and Three Dots and a Dash

I was challenged by @alxfritch to make a Three Dots with Tequila replacing the rums. It is pretty good but we still prefer the version with rum. Not a bad choice if you’re looking for something beyond the usual Margarita cocktail using Tequila.

I’m always up for the experiment.

Three Dots and a Dash by Don the Beachcomber
½ oz Lime Juice
½ oz Orange Juice
½ oz Honey Syrup
¼ oz Falernum
¼ oz Pimento Dram
1½ oz Aged Martinique Rhum
½ oz Demerara Rum
1 dash Angostura Bitters
6 oz Crushed Ice
Flash blend and garnish with three cherries (three dots) and a pineapple (and a dash)

Posted on

Bloody Highball in Palm Spring Glass

This was one of the treasures we came back from Palm Springs with. Such a festive design that works well with this cocktail celebrating my first COVID vaccine.

The drink is a riff on Brian Maxwell’s (Shaker of Spirits) cocktail the “Mai Bloody Valentine.” This one changes up the rums a bit and formats it in a highball format with soda. Refreshing.



1 oz Aged Jamaican Rum (I used a multi-rum blend)
1 oz Unaged Martinique Rhum (Clement Premiere Canne)
½ oz Orgeat
¼ oz Ginger Syrup
1½ oz Blood Orange Juice
1 dash Angostura Bitters
Shake with Cubed ice, dirty dump and then top with club soda

Posted on

Orange Blossom Dream

This recipe came to me in a dream a couple nights ago, where it was a deep orange in color and in flavor.

Orange Blossom Dream
1 oz Lime Juice
½ oz Orgeat
1 oz Orange Liqueur (Clement Creole Shrubb)
1 oz Aged Jamaican (“Gold”) Rum (Appleton Signature)
1 oz Aged White Rum (Denizen 3)
4 Maraschino Cherries
Shake with Ice

Turns out that reality isn’t nearly as good as the dream was. This Mai Tai riff wasn’t a winner.

Posted on

Official Bali Hai Mai Tai Recipe

I think I’ve cracked it. I have noticed that Bali Hai does list Orgeat and Triple Sec alongside the rum and other “no juice” ingredients, so my second version without either must not be correct.

This is was based on a comment from @icecrushersd in a previous Instagram post and indeed seems to taste like the Bali Hai Mai Tai that I remember. Except that I didn’t find this too bad. Maybe I’m just so used to drinking straight rum that the tiny affordances of other ingredients is feeling like a luxury. Your actual mileage may vary.

The True Bali Hai Mai Tai
½ oz Sweet and Sour Mix – or ¼ oz Lemon Juice and ¼ oz Simple Syrup
¼ oz Orgeat
¼ oz Triple Sec
2½ oz Cruzan Light Rum
2½ oz Coruba Dark Jamaican Rum
Shake with ice

Yes, five ounces of rum.

I’m looking forward to comparing to the legendary Bali Hai original.

Posted on

The True Bali Hai Mai Tai Recipe?

Following up on yesterday’s post, I found this recipe online and it seems to be much closer to what I remember of the potent Mai Tai from the Bali Hai restaurant in San Diego.

This version omits the Orgeat, the key ingredient in a Mai Tai, and suffers for it. This tastes like the Bali Hai Mai Tai that I remember though, so I’ll compare this to the one served there when we visit on April 5th.

Bali Hai Mai Tai (redux)
2 oz Sweet and Sour Mix
1 oz Triple Sec
2 oz Light Rum (I used Cruzan)
2 oz Myers’s Dark Rum 

The Bali Hai says that they have sold over 2.7 million Mai Tais since they opened in 1953. Good thing for us is that we’re staying within walking/stumbling distance of the restaurant.

See the Official Bali Hai Mai Tai Recipe

Posted on

Getting in Shape

We’re heading to San Diego after Easter, so I’m trying to get into shape to prepare for the legendarily lethal Bali Hai Mai Tai.

We visited Bali Hai in 2017 and one of their potent Mai Tais nearly killed me. They famously “don’t contain any fruit juice.”  This recipe was published so I thought I’d give it a try:

Bali Hai Mai Tai
1 oz Sweet and Sour Mix
½ oz Trader Vic’s Orgeat
½ oz Triple Sec
1 oz Light Rum (I used Cruzan)
1 oz Myers’s Dark Rum 

Unlike my experience in 2017, this wasn’t bad. Though, it must be said that I used Cointreau as the triple sec and fresh lemon juice in my Sweet & Sour mix, plus Latitude 29 Orgeat, so possibly these are “top shelf” compared to what’s actually used at Bali Hai. Still, I’m thinking that this isn’t the real recipe. I would have noticed that orgeat in the cocktail, even back in 2017 when my palette was less refined and when my booze tolerance was less.

Time to search for the true recipe.

See the Official Bali Hai Mai Tai Recipe