Post #253047 by Swanky on Fri, Sep 8, 2006 7:13 AM

The good folks here at TC have likely had so many Mai Tais that we can discern every nuance. If I make thejab a Mai Tai at my bar, he'll know if it's top shelf or not, guaranteed. And he'll appreciate a good one! Not so of the average drinker, even in Trader Vic's.

As for names, isn't "Vicious Virgin" or "Navy Grog" a great name? I think so. It has just become the most called for drink. I am sure it was not a marketing scheme. Why? Because most of the serious tiki drinkers I know prefer the Navy Grog or the Test Pilot or other drink over the standard Mai Tai at Trader Vic's. He would have pushed the best drink, and likely the cheapest. It became the top because people liked it.

If having been a bartender for many years is enough to qualify you as an expert, there are many thousands of experts in my fair city and I would not drink a Mai Tai made by any of them! And, I would never order one at any bar in the state! Bartenders here are better at juggling bottles than mixing subtle and complex concoctions. 99.9999% of the drinks made are A) Hi-balls or B) Poured pre-mixed out of bottles like Bloody Marys or Pina Coladas. The most complex drink made is a Long Island Tea and that's not a complex drink. But, enough about good bartenders and the average drink...

Vic and Donn had their favorite pens to write with for sure. But the Mai Tai was not a marketing scheme. It evolved. As for the etymology of the name, I am comfortable with it meaning "the best" as it has been used in that context by many, many people for 60 years now. I have not heard otherwise until this point. There seems to be a lot of wiggle room on interpretation of many island phrases.

Today, yes, Trader Vic's has made the Mai Tai a marketing tool. They push the brand. They make it their out front name. But they are following a trend, not manufacturing it.