Post #315000 by The Gnomon on Tue, Jun 26, 2007 7:16 AM

I just visited Trader Vic's Gourmet – Drinks Recipes and saw this painful sight:

The Famous MAI TAI
4 oz. Trader Vic's Mai Tai Mix
2 oz. fine dark rum
juice of 1 fresh lime

Fill a double old fashioned glass with cubed ice and add the ingredients above. Stir well and garnish with fresh mint sprig, pineapple spear, cherry and slice of lime. Substitute 2 oz. of bourbon for the rum, and you've made a HONI HONI.

Then it went downhill from there...

Truth in advertising?

If you go to the Mai Tai Mix page you're treated to this claim:

MAI TAI MIX LITER

Created half a century ago, but as bracingly contemporary as ever, this is The Trader's original formula - and the most requested tropical drink in the world. We've done our homework to recreate the famous Mai Tai of our restaurants, combining the flavors of oranges and almonds and formulating a mixture that stands up proudly to cubed or crushed ice.

I don't know if there is a new mix that replaces the TV Mai Tai mix long available on grocery store shelves, but if it is, it not only bears no resemblance whatsoever to the original formula, it isn't anything like any of TV's recipe adjustments either.

Does anyone know what's up with this outrageous claim?

Also at the site you can buy "official" Mai Tai glasses and cocktail shakers.

TV Mai Tai Glass $40.00 for a set of 6 (damn!)

TV Shaker with Mask Insignia $49.95 each (double damn!!)

I wonder what Jules would think if he was alive to see this.