Tag: Limes

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Juice of One (Very Large) Lime

There were a good two months where I couldn’t find anything but small, dry limes at the grocery store, but apparently it is now lime season because all the limes are fresh and gigantic now. How large? I posted a photo and did a poll on my Instagram and only 10% picked the correct amount – 2 ½ ounces from one single lime!

This serves as a good reminder that when a recipe calls for “juice of one lime” that you shouldn’t merely juice the lime as is, because when a typical lime gives you 1 oz and instead you put in 2½, well, your drink will be very sour. Always measure all your ingredients in a cocktail including the citrus! A rule of thumb for a traditional 1944 Mai Tai is that it is 1 oz of lime juice, maybe a little less or a little more depending on the recipe and the balance you’re shooting for. Smuggler’s Cove only uses ¾ oz of lime, but the Halekulani Hotel in Waikiki uses 1¼ oz, and both are excellent.

I bought three limes and all gave me more than 2 oz of lime juice. One possibly solution to this is to make two Mai Tais or do like I did and just make yourself a double. Those 16 oz Mai Tai glasses are easily capable of handling the additional volume and the ice keeps everything cold to the last drop.

Glassware: The Kon Tiki Oakland. Catch them before they close for good after service on December 22.

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Lime Juice: Fresh vs. Fake

The question comes up from time to time about what kind of lime juice is appropriate for a Mai Tai or other craft cocktails. Limes have been super expensive in California lately and the lime juice in the plastic bottles appears to be a cost savings. But does it make for a good cocktail?

I tried this one day in a Mai Tai and found it to be suitable. Something seemed to be missing but not terrible in a pinch and seemingly potentially a reasonable option.

The next day I made two Mai Tais with Denizen Merchant’s Reserve rum and blind tasted them. The Mai Tai with fresh lime juice had a zingy taste that was so much better, whereas the bottled lime juice Mai Tai was simply flat. Maybe this was due to me opening the bottle the day before, but for bottles like this they aren’t typically emptied on the first day, so I think this was a reasonable test.

Though not terrible coming from a bottle, it really does make a difference when you use fresh lime juice.

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“Juice of One Lime”

Always measure your citrus in cocktails.

This lime gave over two and half ounces of juice! Enough for one big Mai Tai and one regular one.

“Juice of one lime” from the original Mai Tai recipe is an in exact measure. Use 1 oz or maybe ¾ oz in your Mai Tai, whichever is your preference, but in either case to provide consistency be sure to measure exactly.  Always.

We do have documentation on what Trader Vic considered the correct amount of lime juice in a Mai Tai, though. In his 1974 book Rum Cookery & Drinkery it is noted on page 96 that “Juice of one average Lime = 1 ounce.” So, if you’re following Vic’s standard recipe 1 ounce of lime juice is the correct measurement.