The 1958 Havana Mai Tai was an interesting oddball of a recipe and has some interesting connections to the use of Martinique Rhum in combination with Jamaica Rum. We joined Derek on Make & Drink to discuss and taste this Mai Tai.
The Penultimate Mai Tai
Derek from the Make & Drink YouTube channel asked me to come up with a two-rum Mai Tai as simpler version of our four-rum Ultimate Mai Tai. This was actually harder than you’d think, and I decided that using Appleton 12 and Smith & Cross from the Ultimate Mai Tai blend was sort of a cop out (though those two rums are fabulous in a Mai Tai). I ended up going with some newer rum expressions that are among my favorites.
The Penultimate Mai Tai by Kevin Crossman
1 oz Lime Juice
½ oz Latitude 29 Orgeat
¼ oz Demerara Syrup
½ oz Quality Orange Curacao
1½ oz Worthy Park 109 Jamaica Rum
½ oz Kuleana Rum Works Hawaiian Rum Agricole
Shake with ice and garnish with lime and mint.
The Worthy Park is a boozy and flavorful dark rum, similar in style to the punch rums from the 1950s. There is a little bit of the “funk” common to many Jamaica rums but there’s also a charred backbone as well. This rum is becoming more widely available and there’s literally nothing like it on the market today. Subbing an 80 proof dark Jamaica rum like Coruba or Myers’s isn’t going to provide the same results.
There’s a tradition of using Rhum Agricole in Mai Tais, so I thought I’d include a cane juice-based rum. My favorite in this style are the cane rums from Hawaii, which aren’t as grassy as those from Martinique but also have more flavor than some of the delicate Cachacas from Brazil. If you can’t find Kuleana or KōHana, then Copalli from Belize is a good sub.
Thanks to Derek for having me back on the channel to talk about Mai Tais once again. Look for a super interesting collaboration coming soon.
Spike’s Breezeway Cocktail Hour Makes the Ultimate Mai Tai
We’ve been supporters of Spike Marble’s YouTube show Spike’s Breezeway Cocktail Hour ever since it debuted in 2020. Based in Orange Country, Spike is the frontman for The Hula Girls rockabilly group and a longtime member of the SoCal tiki scene. His YouTube show focuses on cocktails that are often made with a special guest in attendance, but some recent episode are shot in a travelogue style and shows Spike visiting commercial and home tiki bars.
Tonight’s episode has Spike tasting our Ultimate Mai Tai. Now that we’ve watched the episode, what were Spike’s thoughts on the Ultimate Mai Tai? Spike says this is “Complex, there are a lot of different layers dancing around. The rums aren’t hiding in this cocktail. That is a delicious Mai Tai. This is super good.”
Spike’s suggestion for an improvement was to add an orchid for a garnish, which is a great addition. Thanks to Spike for trying the Ultimate Mai Tai and having kind words to say about it.
Out Of This World: A Deep Draught into the Woman Who Named the Mai Tai
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.
The Mirror Universe Version of the Ultimate Mai Tai
The Evolution of the Mai Tai on Make and Drink YouTube
We were pleased to be the inaugural guest on Derek Cole’s Make and Drink channel on YouTube. In the video we discuss how the cocktail evolved in Hawaii and even make the original Hawaiian Mai Tai that did not include Pineapple juice. Make and Drink is a really great cocktail channel and Derek’s production values are off the chart.
The thumbnail for the video includes some “Easter Eggs” about the Mai Tai and even some forthcoming content. Stay tuned for future collaborations.
Now is also a good time to recommend subscribing to the Make and Drink Patreon, where you can support high-quality content like this as well as being able to interact with other patrons and Derek who is also producing patron-exclusive content. Check it out.
Make and Drink Makes the Ultimate Mai Tai
In case you’ve missed this amazing new cocktail channel, now would be a great time to head over to Make and Drink on YouTube and see all the videos @makeanddrinkderek has been doing for Mai Tai month.
Derek says “This is something you level up to. It is as good of a Mai Tai as you’re ever going to have.”