Tag: Hawaii

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Mai Tai Contest

I’m leaving Wednesday for 11 days in Hawaii (June 8-18). We’ll be at Aulani for one night, then in Waikiki for five nights, then in Kauai for four nights.

The contest is simple: guess how many Mai Tais I’ll drink while I’m in Hawaii or while in transit in the air.

Any cocktail with “Mai Tai” on a menu or packaging counts, as does any cocktail handed to me when I ask a bartender for a “Mai Tai.” RTD Mai Tais count as one per can or bottle. If I order but don’t finish the Mai Tai it still counts.

Participate in the Contest on Instagram

  1. Enter your guess for my Mai Tai total in the comments. Round numbers only.
  2. @ mention two accounts
  3. One entry per person

Deadline for entries: 7 am PDT on Wednesday June 8.

Winner gets prize pack from Hawaii including swizzles and swag collected on the trip. Plus bragging rights. Shipping overseas is okay.

  • In the event of a tie we’ll split the prizes
  • In the event of no correct guess we’ll choose the next closest entry (higher or lower)

Need help guessing? 

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1962 Hawaiian Mai Tai

This recipe appeared in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin on January 28, 1962 and is one example of a de-evolved Mai Tai. Though, notably, it doesn’t include any Pineapple or Orange Juice. The source is “a reasonably neutral, presumably unbiased source” according to the column, “Dining Out with the Gourmet.”

1962 Mai Tai
½ oz Fresh Lime Juice
½ tsp Sugar
½ oz Grenadine
½ oz Orgeat
1 oz Orange Curacao
1 oz Light Rum
1 oz Dark Rum
Build in glass and add 2 oz crushed ice, then stir.
Garnish with Pineapple and Cherry
“For the hardier types, float a final dash of 151 proof rum. And stand back/”

This actually is not bad at all, with a pleasant rum-forward finish. Though for sure it doesn’t need the 151 added. I used Pomegranate-based Grenadine, so I can’t say how this would work with Rose’s. I used DeKuyper Orange Curacao, Cruzan Light Rum, and Myers’s Dark Rum, modestly priced spirits that indeed worked just fine in this.

Honolulu Star-Bulletin, January 28, 1962, page 56

You can learn more about the De-Evolution of the Hawaiian Mai Tai here on the site and at our presentation at Tiki Kon this July.

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1958 Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai

In 1958, a syndicated news story published in newspapers nationwide provided a Mai Tai recipe that was attributed as coming from a bartender at the Royal Hawaiian.

1 oz Lemon Juice
½ oz Fresh Lime Juice
⅓ oz Rock Candy Syrup
⅓ oz Orgeat
⅓ oz Orange Curacao
1 oz Light Puerto Rican Rum (Cruzan Aged)
1 oz Dark Jamaican Rum (Hamilton Florida Rum Society blend)

Decorate the glass with a stalk of Sugar Cane, a sprig or two of Mint, and a Pineapple stick or two.

The ⅓ ounce measures for the Rock Candy, Orgeat, and Orange Curacao are most likely due to those ingredients being batched so that the bartender can more easily measure 1 ounce of sweetener.

In practice, this cocktail is significantly too tart. Most 1944 style Mai Tais feature an equal or slightly more sweeteners compared to the citrus. Adding additional sugar made this taste better to me, but didn’t taste as rummy as I like. Only using 1 oz of citrus would have been better.

The glass was a limited edition release from our friends at Skull & Crown Trading Company, the best tiki bar between San Francisco and Tokyo. We’re going to be visiting O’ahu in June and will be making a pilgrimage to Skull & Crown where we expect to have a properly balanced Mai Tai like we did back in 2019.

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New Site Feature: The (De)Evolution of the Hawaiian Mai Tai

An important piece of cocktail journalism is launching this week with my article in the latest issue of Exotica Moderne, available today at the Tiki Caliente weekend event in Palm Springs.

The article describes how the Hawaiian Mai Tai evolved from 1953 to present day and also explodes several myths.

  • The Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai was born with Pineapple Juice in 1953.
  • Nobody knew the ingredients for a Mai Tai, so they made due with whatever they had.
  • Trader Vic kept the recipe for a Mai Tai secret until 1970.

All of the above are not true.

Just this week I saw two fresh articles that stated that Trader Vic himself added pineapple juice when he brought the Mai Tai to Hawaii in 1953. This is clearly not correct based on my research, and the Royal Hawaiian isn’t documented to have added pineapple juice until 1972!

So, we’ll be doing our best to get the word out about this. As a starting point, you can catch my appearance on the Pod Tiki Podcast episode from last week. 

Read the Article Online

Since the article was submitted for print publication, we’ve uncovered additional details on the history of this iconic cocktail. Those added items are now included on the version of the article now available on this website:

Experience the Presentation at Tiki Kon

We’ll have even more historical details and context in my presentation at Tiki Kon in July. Come join us if you’re attending and weekend passes for Tiki Kon are still available.

I’m always on the hunt for more historical details. Leave a comment or send me a message if you have any details or breadcrumbs for us to follow.

The original 1953 menu at the Royal Hawaiian
Drinks of Hawaii, 2nd Edition 1972
1959: Top Tourist Tantalizer
1953: The Mai Tai was Vic’s Favorite
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Pod Tiki Podcast: Hawaiian Mai Tai Chat

It was a pleasure to talk Mai Tais with Tony from the Pod Tiki Podcast. The new episode with my appearance is now available. Check your favorite podcast app or go to shareyourbuzz.com/pod-tiki.

Tony is a new to tiki but is exploring the territory quite well from his home in Nashville. During the show we discussed my new article for Exotica Moderne magazine, which focused on the evolution of the Hawaiian Mai Tai. And of course a little discussion of how to make or find a great Mai Tai.

Listen now: The Pod Tiki Podcast

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Best Mai Tai of AZ Tiki Oasis

Not a lot of Mai Tais on premises but I had an amazing Mai Tai at the seminar “Rum, the Spirit of Hawai’i: Crafting tiki cocktails with island style rum with Gabrielle Maser.” See the recipe in photo 2.



The Mai Tai really highlighted the savory notes from the Kuleana Hawaiian Rum Agricole that goes into the Hui Hui blend. The rich MacNut Orgeat added a nice taste and some rich mouthfeel.

The seminar was a great opportunity to see how some various producers are approaching spirits production in Hawai’i. I have definitely enjoyed Kuleana’s rums and dug the gin from Kupu spirits, sampled here as well.

One of the best Mai Tais I’ve had this year.

Straw from @surfsidesips

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1956 Mai Tai Prep

Prep work for my Tiki Kon presentation starts with revisiting the 1956 Mai Tai recipe. This was provided by Trader Vic himself to a customer and propertied to be the recipe used at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. Definitely different than the classic 1944 recipes, but most certainly not an Island Mai Tai with pineapple juice.

Original 1956 Mai Tai recipe:
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

1956 Mai Tai – Adjusted for 2022
1 ounce Lime Juice
¼ ounce Rock Candy Syrup
¼ ounce Curacao
¼ ounce Orgeat
1½ ounces Lightly Aged Puerto Rican Rum
¾ ounce Hamilton 114 rum or Worthy Park 109 rum
Mix in 16 ounce tumbler glass with shaved ice. Drop half a spent lime shell in the glass. Stir and decorate with fresh mint.