Post #758033 by mikehooker on Thu, Jan 28, 2016 1:00 PM

On 2016-01-27 14:03, Warboys wrote:
So I went and made my first Mai Tai. I used the Beachbum's recipe with RumDood's recommended mix of Appleton 12 (now Signature Blend iirc) and Clement VSOP.

...Unfortunately I screwed up the Curacao pour (measuring it over the glass + a very unsteady hand) so I guess I got an extra 10-15mls of Bols in there, but it was still pretty delicious.

Congrats on your first mai tai! It's my favorite drink to experiment with using different rums and proportions. Looks like what you thought was an Appleton 12/Clement VSOP blend (based on the photo of your new purchases in the other thread) was actually Appleton V/X and Clement 10 year, which surely gave you nice results. My two favorite mai tai's to make are Appleton 12 (now rare blend)/El Dorado 12 and Appleton 12/Clement VSOP. I personally don't have the Clement 10 year in my bar but was once made a mai tai with it and it was delicious.

My advice for a shaky hand, especially if you've already had one or two drinks, always pour the cheapest ingredients first, saving the rums for last, and always pour over a hard surface, not your glass. So if you totally screw up the curacao you can either start over without it hurting your wallet, or adjust the rest of the ingredients accordingly. Also, I often put pour spouts on my bottles, especially when they've just been opened and it's harder to keep a steady pour. They're cheap and I just toss em in the dishwasher after each use:

http://www.amazon.com/Update-International-Free-Flow-Liquor-Pourers/dp/B0037XA1OM/ref=sr_1_2?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1454014582&sr=1-2&keywords=pour+spouts

[ Edited by: mikehooker 2016-01-28 13:02 ]