Chi-Chi's Mai Tai - Tiki Drinks and Food

T TikiJosh Member Joined: Feb 01, 2005 Posts: 735	T TikiJosh Posted posted on Thu, Mar 1, 2007 3:07 PM I agree with Chip and Andy. About mixes, that is. I'm not even very pleased with the TV Mai Tai Mix (I know, I know). I'm just not sure about all the weird stuff in those things. From what I can tell, the mix takes the place of the curacao, orgeat and sugar syrup. I can't recall if you're supposed to add your own lime juice or not. I think you are. Regardless, aside from the sugar, I don't believe that Mai Tai mix has any of the other "actual" Mai Tai ingredients. There's no curacao in the ingredients. Nothing. You'd think the ingredient list would be three things: Curacao, Orgeat, Sugar Syrup. In that order. But it's not. It's all sorts of God-knows-what chemicals that are "supposed" to taste proper, but let's face it-- they don't. Ditto with Navy Grog mix. I was trying to make a voodoo grog and realized that the recipe calls for Navy Grog mix (TV bartender guide, revised). Well, I look at the navy grog recipes I've got and can't really come up with a good consensus about what would go into a Navy Grog mix. Since I don't know the mystery ingredients, I can't just make a voodoo grog from scratch, and I don't have all the weird chemicals in my house to make my own. Wish I had a meth lab. Even then I probably couldn't do it. It's a real hassle. As far as Mai Tai mix goes, if you only want it to give to people who don't know any better, and you just wanna save some money, here's what you do-- buy all the cheapest ingredients you can find instead of buying the premade mixes. Use Finest Call orgeat, bar syrup, etc. You could use the cheapest curacao, or if you're really stingy, use some cheap triple sec. Many of the uninitiated probably won't know the difference. If you work out the cost, you'll only pay $20 to $25 for all these things, and you'll be able to make nearly 50 drinks. If you're using Mai Tai mix, with a bottle being approx 25 oz, you'd need 6 bottles of Mai Tai mix for 50 drinks. At approximately $5 per bottle, you're talking $30, so it actually costs more to use the premade mix and doesn't even taste as good as buying everything separate. The only advantage is the convenience, IMO.

I agree with Chip and Andy. About mixes, that is. I'm not even very pleased with the TV Mai Tai Mix (I know, I know). I'm just not sure about all the weird stuff in those things. From what I can tell, the mix takes the place of the curacao, orgeat and sugar syrup. I can't recall if you're supposed to add your own lime juice or not. I think you are. Regardless, aside from the sugar, I don't believe that Mai Tai mix has any of the other "actual" Mai Tai ingredients. There's no curacao in the ingredients. Nothing. You'd think the ingredient list would be three things: Curacao, Orgeat, Sugar Syrup. In that order. But it's not. It's all sorts of God-knows-what chemicals that are "supposed" to taste proper, but let's face it-- they don't.

Ditto with Navy Grog mix. I was trying to make a voodoo grog and realized that the recipe calls for Navy Grog mix (TV bartender guide, revised). Well, I look at the navy grog recipes I've got and can't really come up with a good consensus about what would go into a Navy Grog mix. Since I don't know the mystery ingredients, I can't just make a voodoo grog from scratch, and I don't have all the weird chemicals in my house to make my own. Wish I had a meth lab. Even then I probably couldn't do it.

It's a real hassle.

As far as Mai Tai mix goes, if you only want it to give to people who don't know any better, and you just wanna save some money, here's what you do-- buy all the cheapest ingredients you can find instead of buying the premade mixes. Use Finest Call orgeat, bar syrup, etc. You could use the cheapest curacao, or if you're really stingy, use some cheap triple sec. Many of the uninitiated probably won't know the difference. If you work out the cost, you'll only pay $20 to $25 for all these things, and you'll be able to make nearly 50 drinks. If you're using Mai Tai mix, with a bottle being approx 25 oz, you'd need 6 bottles of Mai Tai mix for 50 drinks. At approximately $5 per bottle, you're talking $30, so it actually costs more to use the premade mix and doesn't even taste as good as buying everything separate.
The only advantage is the convenience, IMO.

Post #288992 by TikiJosh on Thu, Mar 1, 2007 3:07 PM