Post #770459 by CosmoReverb on Sun, Nov 20, 2016 6:50 PM

Trying to narrow down my preferred blend for a low-carb, almost sugar-free Mai Tai. ("Almost" because I can't seem to give up on the real curacao. I know there are sugar-free syrups to approximate this but… y'know.)

Here are my current thoughts (if anyone is interested.) Basing it off Beachbum Berry's '44 Trader Vic recipe, I had been using both the Monin Sugar-Free Simple Syrup (which is great stuff for lo-carb folks) and their sugar-free Orgeat, but I have now switched to using the Torani Sugar-Free Orgeat. The Torani just seems to have a fuller flavor than the Monin which helps to fill up the hollowness that comes with sugar-free options and it also hlps mask that sucralose aftertaste. In that same train of thought I have also started cutting the fresh lime juice in half and making up the difference with Nellie & Joe's Key Lime Juice. Sacrlege I know, but it also seems to help fill in some of that "hollowness."

Now for the fun stuff. I had been using Meyers for the dark option but as my tastes matured a wee bit, I made the switch to Coruba. Strangely enough, I have recently started using Skipper's and I must confess that I am pleasantly surprised by how well it works. I had previously tried it in a non-sugar-free Mai Tai and didn't care for it that much, but it really seems to add something to the low-carb version.

So now my question. I have been using the Clement VSOP and was fairly happy with it, but lately I have been feeling that it adds too much of a medicine-y/antiseptic type flavor which gets really pronounced when you take away the sugar. So my question is, is this a flavor profile typical in all Martinique Rhums, or more specific to this particular one? Any recommendations before I blindly open my wallet?