Mai Tai

Original recipe
4 cl 17 Year-old J. Wray Nephew Jamaican Rum
1 cl De Kuyper Orange Curaçao
1 cl Garnier Orgeat
0,5 cl Rock Candy syrup
Juice of one fresh lime

Mixing Technique: Hand shake
Glass: Old-Fashioned
Garnish: Lime & mint
Method:
Hand shake and garnish with half of the lime shell inside the drink and float a fresh mint sprig at the edge of the glass. The use of cocktail cherries and pineapple, often combined with orchids, is nowadays common practice for garnishing Mai Tai’s as well.

2018-09-17T10:35:27+01:00By Victor Bergeron|Categories: Signature Cocktails, Tiki Cocktails|

Historical Perspective

Today the Mai Tai is the most famous Tiki cocktail and synonymous with Tiki culture, both past, and present. Amongst lovers of the Mai Tai, often referred to as ”the most famous tropical drink ever created,” there has been an ongoing feud over who first created this wonderful concoction. The Mai Tai was purportedly invented at the Trader Vic’s restaurant in Oakland, California in 1944 by Victor Jules Bergeron. The story goes that Trader Vic created the Mai Tai one afternoon for some friends who were visiting from Tahiti. In 1970 Trader Vic was interviewed stating: “In 1944, after success with several exotic rum drinks, I felt a new drink was needed, I thought about all the really successful drinks; Martini’s, Manhattans, Daiquiris…. All basically simple drinks. I was at the service bar in my Oakland restaurant. I took down a bottle of 17-year old rum. It was J. Wray Nephew from Jamaica; surprisingly golden in color, medium bodied, but with the rich, pungent flavor particular to the Jamaican blends. The flavor of this great rum wasn’t meant to be overpowered with heavy additions of fruit juices and flavorings. I took a fresh lime, added some orange curaçao from Holland, a dash of rock candy syrup and a dollop of French orgeat, for its subtle almond flavor. A generous amount of shaved ice and vigorous shaking by hand produced the marriage I was after. Half the lime shell went in for color. I stuck a branch of fresh mint and gave two of them to Ham and Carrie Guild, friends from Tahiti, who were there that night. Carrie took one sip and said, “Mai Tai - Roa Aé!” In Tahitian, this means “Out of this world, the best!” Well, that was that. I named the drink Mai Tai”. Today the Mai Tai is the most famous Tiki cocktail and synonymous with Tiki culture, both past, and present.

Victor Bergeron

Entrepreneur

San Francisco, December 10, 1902

United States

Victor Jules Bergeron was the founder of a chain of Polynesian themed restaurants that bore his nickname, “Trader Vic’s.” He was born on the 10th of December 1902, in California and would become one of two people who claimed to have invented the Mai Tai, the other being his amicable competitor for many years, Don the Beachcomber. Victor Jules Bergeron, the San Francisco restaurateur who started with a beer-and-beans parlor 50 years ago and developed a multimillion-dollar chain of ''Trader Vic'' restaurants, died Thursday at his home in Hillsborough, Calif. He was 81 years old. Bergeron was a notorious writer and self-taught artist and wrote many books on food and drink. His paintings, hand-crafted jewelry, and sculpture have received both widespread acclaim and modest critical praise. His books included a standard reference work, Trader Vic’s Bartender's Guide and an autobiography called Frankly Speaking: Trader Vic's Own Story, published by Doubleday & Company in 1973. With $300 of his own and $800 borrowed from an aunt, Bergeron opened Hinky Dink's, a modest beer parlor and luncheonette in Oakland, in 1934. At Hinky Dink’s he sold meals for 25 and 35 cents and beer for a nickel. Eventually, it became ''Trader Vic's'', with a South Pacific theme to provide ''complete escape and relaxation”. The nickname of Trader Vic was given to him by his first wife, Esther, because of his habit of swapping meals and drinks for supplies and services. It was in Oakland that Mr. Bergeron introduced the exotic drinks that were to become a trademark of his restaurants, among them the Mai Tai, the Scorpion, the Queen's Park Swizzle and the Doctor Funk of Tahiti. Trader Vic died on October 11, 1984, in his home in Hillsborough (California) at the age of 81. The brand that bears his name today includes 30 outposts worldwide, from Tokyo to Bahrain.