Post #328546 by The Gnomon on Mon, Aug 27, 2007 1:59 PM

More and more I find myself saying to bartenders:

"I don't know what you call it, but you take the juice of one lime, ½ oz of orgeat... (if he says, "What's that?" I usually give up there)..., ½ oz of Orange Curaçao, ½ oz of rock candy syrup... (if he says, "We don't have that," it's not a show stopper given a few alternatives)..., 1½ oz of Coruba dark rum (or substitute), 1½ oz of decent Caribbean amber rum (whatever contenders I see behind the bar), shake that up with shaved ice until the ice dissolves, then pour that over the rocks and top it with a shot of aged Jamaican rum (or substitute), toss the lime shell in the glass and garnish with a sprig of mint."

If he says, "Oh, you want a Mai Tai," I'll say something like, "Oh, yeah, that's right. It's the best," and know that there's a ray of hope.

Otherwise, I don't have to argue about what is and what isn't a Mai Tai, or worse, suffer through a miserably failed attempt (at my expense).