Confused About Mai Tais- Kauai'i vs Trader Vics??? - Tiki Drinks and Food

I IslandSpy Member Los Angeles Joined: Jan 31, 2011 Posts: 5	I IslandSpy Posted posted on Mon, Jan 31, 2011 3:36 PM Hello everyone! I am very confused about mai tais and thought some of the experts could help me out. Last winter, my fiance and I went to Kauai'i, HI for an engagement trip. There we had mai tais at every restaurant we went (about a dozen different places). The best one was at St. Regis at Princeville. The worst one was at the Smith Family Luau. However, the best and worst still tasted related in flavor, as though they'd been made with similar types of ingredients. So in Hawaii I caught the 'Tiki bug', and when we got home tried a Trader Vicks pre-made mix, but it was a little strange tasting. I thought maybe I messed something up at home, so we went to Trader Vics a few months ago for dinner & mai tais (we live in Los Angeles). The Trader Vics mai tai seemed worse than the pre-made mix. It was very, very bitter- It tasted strongly of lime, and was not sweet at all (as if regular limes/juice rather than key limes/juice were used). The color was dark tan with a green tinge. My fiance also thought it was undrinkably bitter (and he usually likes beer). The mai tais from Kauai'i were sweet, tasted like a mixture of rums and juices, thought not syrupy or too sweet. Many (but not all) had the dark rum floating on top, and all of them, when mixed, were a sort of golden brownish color. Can anyone explain why the mai tais from Kauai'i were so utterly different? Has anyone else tried a Trader Vicks mai tai and found it to be too limey? Also, what is a good recipe for the Kauai'i type mai tais? A google search for mai tai recipes is so vast, and every recipe is different- There's no way to tell which one would be like that St. Regis mai tai we're looking for. Thank you:)

Hello everyone!
I am very confused about mai tais and thought some of the experts could help me out.

Last winter, my fiance and I went to Kauai'i, HI for an engagement trip. There we had mai tais at every restaurant we went (about a dozen different places). The best one was at St. Regis at Princeville. The worst one was at the Smith Family Luau. However, the best and worst still tasted related in flavor, as though they'd been made with similar types of ingredients.

So in Hawaii I caught the 'Tiki bug', and when we got home tried a Trader Vicks pre-made mix, but it was a little strange tasting. I thought maybe I messed something up at home, so we went to Trader Vics a few months ago for dinner & mai tais (we live in Los Angeles).

The Trader Vics mai tai seemed worse than the pre-made mix. It was very, very bitter- It tasted strongly of lime, and was not sweet at all (as if regular limes/juice rather than key limes/juice were used). The color was dark tan with a green tinge. My fiance also thought it was undrinkably bitter (and he usually likes beer).

The mai tais from Kauai'i were sweet, tasted like a mixture of rums and juices, thought not syrupy or too sweet. Many (but not all) had the dark rum floating on top, and all of them, when mixed, were a sort of golden brownish color.

Can anyone explain why the mai tais from Kauai'i were so utterly different? Has anyone else tried a Trader Vicks mai tai and found it to be too limey?
Also, what is a good recipe for the Kauai'i type mai tais? A google search for mai tai recipes is so vast, and every recipe is different- There's no way to tell which one would be like that St. Regis mai tai we're looking for.
Thank you:)

Post #574018 by IslandSpy on Mon, Jan 31, 2011 3:36 PM