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 Mon, May 23, 2005 5:10 AM I had to make my own Simple Syrup (oddly, while Bevmo stocks TV's Mai Tai Mix and Passion Fruit Syrup, they don't have their Orgeat or Rock Candy Syrup)... In fact, I've yet to find TV's Rock Candy Syrup at all so far in SoCal markets. Yeah, I can mail order it, I guess, but... it seemed easier to make it myself. My recipe: 2 pounds of sugar (about 1/2 of this ended up being white sugar, and the other 1/2 "organic" washed (a bit beige) sugar [not demerara]). 2 cups of water At first, I was dubious that much sugar was going to dissolve into so little water, but amazingly enough, it does... making a rather thick syrup in the process. I recycled my spent TV Mai Tai Mix bottles [rather fitting, since I'm now confident enough to kick the "premix" bucket, as it were]. I put a little capful of organic vanilla extract into the syrup and stirred it well, based on the backchat I've seen that TV's Rock Candy Syrup has a bit of vanilla in it. I'd verify it for myself, if only I had some. Anyway... So as of tonight, I had my very first from-scratch, Beachbum-Berry regulation Mai Tai. It is a truly wonderful drink. Very different (as you'd expect) from all of the drinks I made with the premixes. The bummer was how many bloody "key" limes I had to squeeze for 1oz of lime juice. Yeesh, about 4-5!! I'm going to need a lime juicer if I'm going to continue along this path. Rums were: Appleton VX and Cruzan Light (the transparent/white stuff) Curacao was DeKuyper [bottle contents say it's distilled in the USA] Orgeat was Torani. Anyway, folks - you owe it to yourselves to try it (as close to) canonically specified as possible. I'll have to track down the Marie Brizard (anyone in SoCal know where to find this?) and Rhum St James for the "Ultimate" Mai Tai, one of these days. What an incredibly educational experience this has been. I've become a great deal more enlightened into the subtle art+science behind mixology. By the way... if anyone else has been bitten by (Tiki-Ti) Mike's "Great White Shark", my goodness... it's so damned good. I think it's a poster-drink for why Rum is truly the drink of Satan. Aloha Oe, =Kukoae=

I had to make my own Simple Syrup (oddly, while Bevmo stocks TV's Mai Tai Mix and Passion Fruit Syrup, they don't have their Orgeat or Rock Candy Syrup)... In fact, I've yet to find TV's Rock Candy Syrup at all so far in SoCal markets. Yeah, I can mail order it, I guess, but... it seemed easier to make it myself.

My recipe:

2 pounds of sugar (about 1/2 of this ended up being white sugar, and the other 1/2 "organic" washed (a bit beige) sugar [not demerara]).
2 cups of water

At first, I was dubious that much sugar was going to dissolve into so little water, but amazingly enough, it does... making a rather thick syrup in the process. I recycled my spent TV Mai Tai Mix bottles [rather fitting, since I'm now confident enough to kick the "premix" bucket, as it were].

I put a little capful of organic vanilla extract into the syrup and stirred it well, based on the backchat I've seen that TV's Rock Candy Syrup has a bit of vanilla in it. I'd verify it for myself, if only I had some.

Anyway...

So as of tonight, I had my very first from-scratch, Beachbum-Berry regulation Mai Tai. It is a truly wonderful drink. Very different (as you'd expect) from all of the drinks I made with the premixes.

The bummer was how many bloody "key" limes I had to squeeze for 1oz of lime juice. Yeesh, about 4-5!! I'm going to need a lime juicer if I'm going to continue along this path.

Rums were: Appleton VX and Cruzan Light (the transparent/white stuff)

Curacao was DeKuyper [bottle contents say it's distilled in the USA]

Orgeat was Torani.

Anyway, folks - you owe it to yourselves to try it (as close to) canonically specified as possible.

I'll have to track down the Marie Brizard (anyone in SoCal know where to find this?) and Rhum St James for the "Ultimate" Mai Tai, one of these days.

What an incredibly educational experience this has been. I've become a great deal more enlightened into the subtle art+science behind mixology.

By the way... if anyone else has been bitten by (Tiki-Ti) Mike's "Great White Shark", my goodness... it's so damned good. I think it's a poster-drink for why Rum is truly the drink of Satan.

Aloha Oe,
=Kukoae=

Post #160863 by Kukoae on Mon, May 23, 2005 5:10 AM