Hrm, New to this Mai Tai thing, but I've given it an honest try... - Tiki Drinks and Food

K Kukoae Member The Valley Joined: Apr 26, 2005 Posts: 37	K Kukoae Posted posted on Fri, May 13, 2005 2:52 AM Excellent! This is just the feedback I've been hoping for. After some experimentation, I've discovered indeed that the Mojito Mix (despite its nice ingredients) is a bit of a mistake. Ah well. I wanted to avoid having to keep fresh mint around (I can buy it for $0.69/bunch, but it ends up going dark before I can use even 1/5th of it). I think the mint is a bit old - the leaves are largish, and I imagine the younger leaves offer a lighter/sweeter flavour. The mint I get (at an Asian market) SMELLS great and just like mint you'd expect, but its taste on the tongue is a bit bitter. Also, do the Dark Rums have a place at all in this drink? I see a "Continental Divide" - where some recipes have a "dark rum" mixed with a white, while others have a premium aged rum mixed with a white. I do note the very different flavour profiles of the darker rums -- the question is of course, how much of this is desirable in a Mai Tai? My "confusion" regarding the pineapple juice stems from the nearly ubiquitous presence of fresh pineapple wedges in the Mai Tais I've seen/tasted "out in the wild": even at the celebrated Tiki-Ti, which serves their Mai Tais with a cut of fresh pineapple and a Maraschino Cherry. In fact, I've YET to ever be handed a Mai Tai with the oft-described fresh MINT as the primary/sole garnish. So..... I get all of these mixed messages. At the moment, my Rum collection is as follows: J. Wray + Nephew Overproof White Cruzan Light Appleton VX Trader Vic's Dark Rum In my supporting cast, I have: Bols Triple Sec De Kuyper Curacao Bringing up the sweets: Torani Orgeat Syrup [smells great], and some Trader Vic's Mai Tai mix. I'm not QUITE at the stage where I've weened off the TV Mai Tai Mix, primarily because of the lack of proper "control flavours" to establish what this bloody drink should really taste like. Yes, I'm a geek. I hate the thought of going off into the weeds here while my tastes for this thing are "new". So far, it's tasty as hell... I get the almond, a bit of the orange, and the rums provide a punchy bassline foundation of something almost like molasses, and yet sweet too of a different character. The fresh lime juice [I've been using the little "key limes"] is also important too. All in all, this is a fun exploration. I shake up my Mai Tais in an "Atlas" canning jar and strain it with the rubber-lined lid into my (glass :/ ) bamboo-shaped highballs [which have 2-3 ice cubes]. Cheers! =Kukoae=

Excellent! This is just the feedback I've been hoping for.

After some experimentation, I've discovered indeed that the Mojito Mix (despite its nice ingredients) is a bit of a mistake. Ah well.

I wanted to avoid having to keep fresh mint around (I can buy it for $0.69/bunch, but it ends up going dark before I can use even 1/5th of it). I think the mint is a bit old - the leaves are largish, and I imagine the younger leaves offer a lighter/sweeter flavour. The mint I get (at an Asian market) SMELLS great and just like mint you'd expect, but its taste on the tongue is a bit bitter.

Also, do the Dark Rums have a place at all in this drink? I see a "Continental Divide" - where some recipes have a "dark rum" mixed with a white, while others have a premium aged rum mixed with a white.

I do note the very different flavour profiles of the darker rums -- the question is of course, how much of this is desirable in a Mai Tai?

My "confusion" regarding the pineapple juice stems from the nearly ubiquitous presence of fresh pineapple wedges in the Mai Tais I've seen/tasted "out in the wild": even at the celebrated Tiki-Ti, which serves their Mai Tais with a cut of fresh pineapple and a Maraschino Cherry.

In fact, I've YET to ever be handed a Mai Tai with the oft-described fresh MINT as the primary/sole garnish.

So..... I get all of these mixed messages.

At the moment, my Rum collection is as follows:

J. Wray + Nephew Overproof White
Cruzan Light
Appleton VX
Trader Vic's Dark Rum

In my supporting cast, I have:

Bols Triple Sec
De Kuyper Curacao

Bringing up the sweets:

Torani Orgeat Syrup [smells great], and some Trader Vic's Mai Tai mix. I'm not QUITE at the stage where I've weened off the TV Mai Tai Mix, primarily because of the lack of proper "control flavours" to establish what this bloody drink should really taste like. Yes, I'm a geek. I hate the thought of going off into the weeds here while my tastes for this thing are "new".

So far, it's tasty as hell... I get the almond, a bit of the orange, and the rums provide a punchy bassline foundation of something almost like molasses, and yet sweet too of a different character. The fresh lime juice [I've been using the little "key limes"] is also important too.

All in all, this is a fun exploration. I shake up my Mai Tais in an "Atlas" canning jar and strain it with the rubber-lined lid into my (glass :/ ) bamboo-shaped highballs [which have 2-3 ice cubes].

Cheers!
=Kukoae=

Post #158515 by Kukoae on Fri, May 13, 2005 2:52 AM