How far in advance can I mix up batches of mai tais? - Tiki Drinks and Food

CAA Chip and Andy Member Corner table, Molokai Lounge, Mai-Kai. Joined: Jul 13, 2004 Posts: 2277	CAA Chip and Andy Posted posted on Sun, Apr 6, 2008 2:02 PM On 2008-04-05 21:04, JanetMermaid wrote: But the question is, how far in advance can I mix the ingredients without having it go bad or oxidize or something else unpleasant? Or can I mix SOME of the ingredients but leave others out until the last minute (such as the lime juice)? The lime juice is your greatest stumbling block to premixing...... Fresher is better, ask most everyone here. What you can do is this.... Since you are using a single rum, that is done. Mix everything else but the lime and cover or bottle. This is your 'mix' and you can do this the day before, but the morning of is better. Squeeze your limes as close to the party as your scheduling will allow. It sounds like you have an option to buy squeezed from your local market, that is an excellent idea as long as it really is fresh from today. Then, at party time, pour 2 measures of rum, 2 measures of Mix, 2 measures of lime, ice and shake, pour, repeat. That gets them from your bar two at a time with little effort during the party, and is simple enough you can get a trusted party guest to continue the process while you attend to your hostessing. From your recipe that would be 4 oz rum, 2 oz mix, 2 oz lime. Or, you can mix them up in a pitcher, but you will have to do your own math based on the size of your vessel. As an alternate suggestion, and this is based on the 'refinement' of your guests..... ( and the size of your party, this works better for bigger parties) Use a high quality bottled lime option like Joe & Nelly's Key-Lime. Mix your curacao, orgeat, syrup and lime by ratio into a vessel/bottle. You will probably need more sugar so make one and taste test. This is your 'mix' and should be done the morning of the party. To make, it is one measure of rum, one measure of mix, per Mai-Tai, ice, shake, serve. Works equally well in a pitcher at volume. (Tip... if you are going to mix in a pitcher, over pour your rum just a wee bit to make up for the large volume of ice and the melt you will get by the bottom of the pitcher.) Good luck with the party! Take pictures! Tell us what method you finally chose and how it worked for you.

On 2008-04-05 21:04, JanetMermaid wrote:
But the question is, how far in advance can I mix the ingredients without having it go bad or oxidize or something else unpleasant? Or can I mix SOME of the ingredients but leave others out until the last minute (such as the lime juice)?

The lime juice is your greatest stumbling block to premixing...... Fresher is better, ask most everyone here.

What you can do is this....

Since you are using a single rum, that is done.

Mix everything else but the lime and cover or bottle. This is your 'mix' and you can do this the day before, but the morning of is better.

Squeeze your limes as close to the party as your scheduling will allow. It sounds like you have an option to buy squeezed from your local market, that is an excellent idea as long as it really is fresh from today.

Then, at party time, pour 2 measures of rum, 2 measures of Mix, 2 measures of lime, ice and shake, pour, repeat. That gets them from your bar two at a time with little effort during the party, and is simple enough you can get a trusted party guest to continue the process while you attend to your hostessing.

From your recipe that would be 4 oz rum, 2 oz mix, 2 oz lime.

Or, you can mix them up in a pitcher, but you will have to do your own math based on the size of your vessel.

As an alternate suggestion, and this is based on the 'refinement' of your guests..... ( and the size of your party, this works better for bigger parties)

Use a high quality bottled lime option like Joe & Nelly's Key-Lime. Mix your curacao, orgeat, syrup and lime by ratio into a vessel/bottle. You will probably need more sugar so make one and taste test. This is your 'mix' and should be done the morning of the party.

To make, it is one measure of rum, one measure of mix, per Mai-Tai, ice, shake, serve. Works equally well in a pitcher at volume.

(Tip... if you are going to mix in a pitcher, over pour your rum just a wee bit to make up for the large volume of ice and the melt you will get by the bottom of the pitcher.)

Good luck with the party! Take pictures! Tell us what method you finally chose and how it worked for you.

Post #372004 by Chip and Andy on Sun, Apr 6, 2008 2:02 PM