What is there left to say?:
Drink 50: Mai Tai (Trader Vic)
Ingredients I used:
Fresh lime juice
Pierre Ferrand Orange Curacao
Routin 1883 Orgeat
Simple syrup (1.5-1 sugar to water ratio)
Appleton 12 year dark Jamaican rum
Rhum Clement V.S.O.P.
I made it to #50 and what a great place to be - The classic Mai Tai.
This drink is nearly perfect for a few reasons.
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You truly taste the quality of all the ingredients you use. Try a different rum and you get a different drink. Use an inadequate lime, you will taste the difference. Use a cheaper orgeat or curaçao and you will not enjoy this as much.
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It's very well-balanced. All the ingredients blend together, combining to create a fantastic drink.
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It's refreshing. This will quench any thirst on a hot day. While the combination of sugar, lime, and rum is nothing new, this drink finds a way to distinguish itself from many other similar drinks.
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Anyone should be able to appreciate this drink. It's neither too tiki, nor is it too craft-cocktail. It appeals to those with a fine palate, just as easily as it can appeal to more pop culture tastes. Everyone likes this drink.
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It's not overly complicated; as this review should be.
My personal rating: ****1/2 (4.5) out of ***** (5)
SCORECARD:
4.5 ALMOST PERFECT - 3 drinks so far
Chief Lapu Lapu / Kikuya Lapu / Mai Tai (Trader Vic)
4 - EXCELLENT - 10 drinks and counting
Colonel Beach's Plantation Punch /Aurora Bora Borealis / Outrigger / Bourbon Special / Beachcomber's Gold (Hollywood and Palm Springs) / Hell in the Pacific / Krakatoa / La Florida / Tortuga / Mai Tai Swizzle
3.5 - VERY GOOD - 13 drinks and counting
Beachcomber's Punch / Coronado Luau Special / Hawaii Kai Treasure / Coconaut / Castaway (slightly modified) / Don's Special Daiquiri / Banana Daiquiri / Captain's Grog / Viking Fog Cutter / Navy Grog / Hurricane / Lani-Honi / Mariposa Fizz
3 - GOOD - 12 drinks and counting
Eastern Sour / Astro Aku Aku / Kapu Kai / Western Sour / Beachcomber's Gold (Waikiki) / Red Tide / Samoan Fog Cutter / Gold Cup / Headhunter / Fogg Cutter / Noa Noa / Aku Aku Lapu
2.5 - ABOVE AVERAGE - 4 drinks and counting
Jasper's Jamaican / Derby Daiquiri / Carioca Hawaiian Cocktail / Hawaiian Room
2 - AVERAGE - 6 drinks and counting
Beachcomber's Gold (Chicago) / Lychee Nut Daiquiri / Fog Cutter / Von Tiki / Planet of the Apes / Rum Runner
1.5 - BELOW AVERAGE - 2 drinks and hopefully not too many more
Boo Loo / Royal Daiquiri
