Post #43404 by thejab on Thu, Jul 17, 2003 2:54 PM

On 2003-07-17 13:54, TikiMaxton wrote:
i'm curious that none of these "authentic" recipes mentions a float of rum. It's always been my impression that the float is one of the hallmarks of the original recipe, but it looks like that may not be the case. Comments on this?

The float comes with the "San Francisco Style" Mai Tai at Emeryville. But no mention of it here:

http://www.tradervics.com/mai-tai-1.html

Mark, you go ahead and add it anyway. I've had your Mai Tai and thought it was delicious, float and all!

Also, in the article on the Trader Vic web site it says that Trader Vic switched to Bols brand Curacao in the 1950s as he liked it better than Dukuyper.

Regarding rum, the article says Trader Vic starting using Martinique rum when 17-year-old Wray & Nephew became unavailable because it had the essential nutty and snappy flavor. So, he wasn't just throwing in any old rum. Like Don the Beachcomber he knew of all the differences between rums and he was looking for a specific flavor of rum. It says he later created Trader Vic's Mai Tai Rum by blending certain Jamaican and Martinique rums. But I haven't seen the Mai Tai Rum in any liquor stores around here or at the restaurant.