Post #58827 by Kono on Thu, Nov 6, 2003 7:39 PM

On 2003-11-04 00:39, Rattiki wrote:
In the Philippines I was showing the locals (that thought a Mai Tai was made with pineapple juice and grenadine YUK!) how to make a 'real' Mai Tai. I used 2 shots of the local 12 year old Tanduay gold rum, 1/2 a shot of triple sec, a shot of Amaretto, 1/2 shot of simple syrup and the juice of 2 calamansi 'limes' (they are even smaller and seedier than key limes, but a bit orange in color and awesome!). They were surprised by what a heady, dry, sophisticated drink this was, compared to the goop they were used to making.

Psssst...hey...c'mere. I wanna tell ya sumthin. OK...believe it or not...I actually like those sweet Mai Tais made with pineapple juice and grenadine! Yup. Now before you all start screaming "heretic!" and hurling stones at my melon, let me offer a concession. I don't understand why all of these exotic drinks have such a huge variation in recipes. Zombies, Mai Tais...there are dozens of different recipes and some are so different from the original as to be pretty much unrecognizable. I'd be more than willing to call my favorite Mai Tai by a different name. I think that's where the problem lies, not in the drink but in the name.

I've tried several different Mai Tai recipes including the "original" one from Trader Vic's Bartenders Guide. I guess I'm just not crazy about lime juice all that much. My favorite's a personal variation of the recipe on my SUCK EM UP! HAWAII monster rocks glasses:
A big ol' SUCK EM UP! glass full to the brim with shaved ice
2 oz of pineapple juice
2oz of orange juice
a dash of almond extract
a dash of vanilla syrup
1/2oz of orange curacao
juice of one half lime
2oz dark rum (Meyers)
2oz light rum (Bacardi - hey I'm not rich)
don't care about garnishes

Sophisticated? Maybe not. Goop? Perhaps. But I like it! I shall, henceforth call this drink "Mai Goop." :D