Yes, we would break several laws to climb to the top of the Empire State Building to help everyone learn that the Mai Tai that Trader Vic brought to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in 1953 did not contain any pineapple juice.
It is easy to see how this myth developed, as there weren’t a lot of vintage 1950s era Mai Tai recipes floating around and there was no effort to tie these loose ends together until our work on this started in 2021. Once all the pieces were gathered it was clear that not only did Trader Vic not add pineapple juice to the Mai Tai in 1953, there aren’t any published recipes calling for pineapple until the 1960s!
Everyone is getting geared up for Mai Tai Day on August 30, including the Halekulani Hotel in Waikiki. This is the home of one of Waikiki’s best Mai Tais, made in a fashion very similar to the original Hawaiian Mai Tai that was introduced in 1953 by Trader Vic.
Earlier this year we covered the evolution of the cocktail based on published recipes that the Halekulani has made available over the years. The current version is pretty good and like that 1950s original Hawaiian Mai Tai it uses the sweeteners in equal portions, plus a dark rum alongside a lighter rum.
Every great Mai Tai needs a signature rum, and the Halekulani’s Mai Tai is no exception. The key ingredient here is the float of Lemon Hart 151 rum, which adds savory smoky notes to the cocktail along with the layer of color that tourists expect in Mai Tais in Waikiki. It is truly essential to the success of this cocktail, and mild low-proof dark rums simply don’t cut it. Other brands that are suitable for the float here would be Hamilton 151, Planteray OFTD, or any dark Guyana rum.
The recipe is not quite an original 1944, nor is it a “Tourist Tai” with tons of pineapple and OJ. The Halekuani Mai Tai is its own thing, and it is delicious.
Favorite memory at the Halekuani: relaxing in the shade to the sound of waves lapping on the shore, sipping an amazing Mai Tai that’s unlike any other on Waikiki.
Halekulani Mai Tai 1¼ oz Lime Juice ⅓ oz Orgeat ⅓ oz Rock Candy Syrup ⅓ oz Orange Curacao ¾ oz Bacardi Select/Black Rum ¾ oz Bacardi Gold Rum Combine ingredients over crushed ice Float ½ oz Lemon Hart 151 Rum Garnish with lime wheel, sugar cane stick, and vanda orchid
The House without a Key restaurant’s reputation for having a great Mai Tai goes back to at least the 1990s when I first started researching Mai Tais in Hawai’i, at the time notably being a Mai Tai known to omit the pineapple juice commonly used.
During my 1999 visit I thought the drink included a touch too much lime, though others who provided reviews to our site during that period raved consistently. The look and overall makeup of this cocktail hasn’t changed at all since that time, still one of the better Mai Tais in Waikiki and made in the style of the early Hawaiian Mai Tais with equal parts of the sweeteners and the use of light and dark rums.
Note that Bacardi Select is the older name for today’s Bacardi Black rum.
Mai Tai from June 2022
2002
This recipe was included in an August 2002 article in the Honolulu Star Bulletin, where bartender Curtis Wong described the rums as being a high-quality blend and that they make at least 100 Mai Tais per night often making 40 at a time in an assembly line-like process. This is substantially similar to the current recipe, though the use of lemon juice is a curious choice.
2002 Halekulani Mai Tai 1¼ oz Lemon Juice ½ oz Orgeat ½ oz Rock Candy Syrup ½ oz Orange Curacao (Cointreau) ¾ oz Bacardi Select ¾ oz Bacardi Gold Rum Combine ingredients over crushed ice Float ½ oz Lemon Hart 151 Rum Garnish with lime wheel, sugar cane stick, and vanda orchid
Mid-2000s Era
This recipe was recently included in Beachbum Berry’s Total Tiki app, attributing the date to 2006. We found references to this recipe on the Halekulani’s website throughout the 2010s. The use of the now-discontinued Bacardi 151 means you can’t truly replicate this at home, and the swap was likely due to supply constraints of Lemon Hart during that period.
Mid-2000s Halekulani Mai Tai 1¼ oz Lime Juice ⅓ oz Orgeat ⅓ oz Rock Candy Syrup ⅓ oz Orange Curacao ¾ oz Bacardi 151 Rum ¾ oz Bacardi Gold Rum Combine ingredients over crushed ice Float ¾ oz Bacardi Select Garnish with lime wedge, lime wheel, sugar-cane stick, mint leaf, and vanda orchid
Mai Tai from June 2019
2020s / Current Era
First included on the Halekulani website in 2020, this version still relies on a base Bacardi rums but once again features Lemon Hart 151 for a float that provides just enough additional rummy flavor. On occasion we’ve seen that Myers’s is used when supplies of Lemon Hart are unavailable, much to the detriment to the overall character of the cocktail, but if you can get this with Lemon Hart it is really a fantastic Mai Tai.
Halekulani Mai Tai – Current 1¼ oz Lime Juice ⅓ oz Orgeat ⅓ oz Rock Candy Syrup ⅓ oz Orange Curacao (Cointreau) ¾ oz Bacardi Select/Black Rum ¾ oz Bacardi Gold Rum Combine ingredients over crushed ice Float ½ oz Lemon Hart 151 Rum Garnish with lime wheel, sugar cane stick, and vanda orchid
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.
Someone commented about all the Mai Tais from our recent trip to Hawai’i and asked which was my favorite.
The Banyan Mai Tai at the Skull & Crown Trading Co. pop up at Don’s Treehouse at the International Market Place was by far my favorite. This one really hit all the right notes and was complex and so full of flavor. It also features three outstanding rums, all of which are amongst my favorites: Appleton Estate 12 Jamaica rum, Kō Hana Kea Hawaiian agricole rum, and Smith & Cross Jamaica rum.
We had a little free time after the Tiki in Waikiki cocktail competition and went to Duke’s Waikiki for drinks. We enjoy this restaurant but it is always really crowded and hard to get in without a reservation. But the bar is open seating and we were lucky that server at the bar let us sit at a table that technically wasn’t open. Our service was very prompt and he was super friendly, too.
The very good Duke’s Vintage ’44 Mai Tai is made with Koloa rums from Kauai, lime, and a splash of fresh pineapple. I don’t mind a little bit of pineapple juice in a Mai Tai, though of course it really shouldn’t be called a ’44 if there’s pineapple in there. Nevertheless, this was the right balance and I thought this Mai Tai was pretty good. Definitely different than the traditional Duke’s Mai Tai made with POG juice.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Mai Tai had the pretty and sweet Lava Flow. Nothing fancy but this is the kind of drink she loves.
We couldn’t leave Duke’s without some Hula Pie. There’s something about a Hula Pie in Hawai’i that makes it taste better than one you have from a restaurant in California. Maybe it is how it melts just a little faster, but boy it was fab.
Afterwards, we wandered out to the for some photos and great views of the beach and Diamond Head.
Tipsy Tiki is the bar located in the food court at the International Market Place, previously known as Myna Bird. When we visited last year we appreciated that while this location was connected to the nearby La Pina Cantina there was also a separate list of tropical drinks under the Tipsy Tiki moniker. We enjoyed the Hawaiian-style Tipsy Tiki Mai Tai made by the bartender last year.
This year the Tipsy Tiki-specific menu has gone away, so when you ask for a cocktail menu it’s a Margarita-heavy menu for La Pina. There isn’t even a Mai Tai on the menu, which seems shocking given the still-present Tipsy Tiki signage.
Nonetheless, I’m pleased to report that my friendly bartender was easily able to make a Mai Tai and even went to extra effort to procure an orchid for garnish. It was an entirely serviceable Mai Tai that tasted just fine.
While a food court tiki bar doesn’t really scratch the itch of the hardcore tikiphile, there are far worse “tiki” experiences in Waikiki than this one (hello Cuckoo Coconuts!). I like the tiki touches here and did find the service to be very good. Plus my 11:00 am Mai Tai wasn’t half bad.
