Mai Tai in Pop Culture: “Mai Tai” by Les Baxter

This is track number 6 (closing Side A) from Les Baxter’s 1963 album Soul of the Drums. This albums was one of Baxter’s last in the exotica genre and is pretty good overall.

Unfortunately, “Mai Tai” is maybe the least exotic song on the album, and was described by Ambient Exotica (reprinted in The Les Baxter Companion, 2018) as a “stupefying silkened string panorama.” Since this album was Baxter’s first on Reprise it also means that none of its tracks made it onto the otherwise excellent Capitol Records compilations from the 1990s.

New Site Feature: Orgeat

Orgeat is one of the cornerstone ingredients in a Mai Tai, so we’ve added a page that talks about what it is, how it’s used in a Mai Tai, how to make your own, or the best brands to purchase.

View the page: Orgeat

BG Reynolds Orgeat and Latitude 29 Formula Orgeat