Mai Tai - The truth please.

After looking for information on the Mai Tai, of which there is little, it
became clear that "Mai Tai" simply means "Good" in Tahitian.

Anyone looking into old stories can find plenty of references to the word Mai
Tai. Mai Tai is a very common phrase in Tahitian:

"Maitai oe -- Are you well?"
"Maitai roa -- Very Well!"

So is it true to say that:

"Mai tai -- roa aee!" equals "Out of this world, the best!"?

I don't think it is.

Also after reveiwing some Trader Vic cocktail recipes, it became clear that
Trader Vic already had a Mai Tai recipe, from 1937, which is before he
"switched" to Tiki-dom.

Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktail.

2 ounces Barbados Rum,
3/4 ounce Fresh Lime juice,
2 dashes Cointreau
2 teaspoons Falernum

Shake with Ice, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

That is not a million miles away from Trader Vic's original Mai Tai.

• 2 oz 17-year-old J. Wray Nephew Jamaican rum
• 1/2 oz French Garnier Orgeat
• 1/2 oz Holland DeKuyper Orange Curacao
• 1/4 oz Rock Candy Syrup
• juice from one fresh lime

Shake with Ice, and then strain into Rocks Glass, which is filled with Crushed
Ice. Garnish with the half lime, and a Mint Sprig.

It seems that "Mai Tai" is all marketing, and hear-say.

Does anyone else have something to add to this?

Cheers!

George S.

g.sinclair[at]yahoo.co.uk

http://www.wiki.webtender.com/wiki/

Trader Vic would call you a Dirty Stinker for saying that.

As to the Tahitian translation part of the story, it is plausible. Some Haole back from the islands who knew enough of the language to get by, but not native speakers.... I buy it.

As to the recipe, I would agree. But, I would like to add the caveat that there are not a lot of 'original' drinks as there are only so many ingredients and only so many ways to put them together. My opinion is that the 'original' Mai-Tai was something put together to showcase a specific rum. You can test this theory yourself by making a Mai-Tai with only one rum. Obviously you would want to use a good rum... And I think you will find that the recipe for the Mai-Tai makes a great stage to showcase a good quality rum.

That is my two cents worth.....

OK I'll bite :wink:

Just looking at them, the two recipes you listed appear to be vastly different drinks. I would think that making them side by side, they would taste nothing like one another.
Cointreau is not the same as Curacao
Falernum is not the same as simple syrup+Orgeat
the amounts of the ingredients is completely different
Barbados rum is not the same as Jamaican

Beyond that, what Chip and Andy says rings very true to me. There are some key ingredients that seem to appear in Rum highlighting drinks. In fact, I understand that Edward Hamilton (Ministry of Rum) likes to use what he calls a Petite Punch to show off a good rum in a cocktail. His "punch" is simply Lime, Sugar Syrup and rum with a bit of ice.

On 2006-09-07 11:42, TofuJoe wrote:
His "punch" is simply Lime, Sugar Syrup and rum with a bit of ice.

So, basically a daiquiri.

It is strange how I always get the same sort of responses on Tiki Central. Every drink is lauded as being so very different when they are not really. A splash here, a splash there may change the nuances of the drink, but it doesn't change the basic structure.

Most good bartenders can see the similarities. orange curacao, triple sec, cointreau, are not that vastly different enough that it matters. The same for orgeat syrup and falernum syrup (yes, yes, I know all about the ginger and lime peel undertones).

My feeling is that Trader Vic just kept re-hashing the same ideas with whatever ingredients were available to him, depending on the stock in a particular bar or region.

The Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktail is just not catchy as names go, and does not evoke some tropical island bar, but it does sound like a drink at a yacht club!-)

Mai Tai is a triumph of branding and marketing. A mysterious, little understood exotic phrase, used to give mystique to a tried and tested combination of flavours.

Wayne Curtis, if I recall correctly, says that Don Beach probably created A Mai Tai before Trader Vic, but that TV deserves to be remembered because of his better recipe.

Does the Mai Tai name deserve to be remembered because it is a better name than Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktail? I think so.

Does the Mai Tai name deserve to be remembered because it is a better name than Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktail? I think so.

No way. I'm gonna name my next kid 'Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktail'. That name rules.

On 2006-09-07 13:39, thinkingbartender wrote:
Most good bartenders can see the similarities. orange curacao, triple sec, cointreau, are not that vastly different enough that it matters. The same for orgeat syrup and falernum syrup (yes, yes, I know all about the ginger and lime peel undertones).

In my opinion a good bartender can discern differences between such ingredients and even between different brands of each ingredient. If a bartender can't tell the difference between triple sec and cointreau and doesn't seem to care if there is a difference then I don't expect him or her to be able to make me a good drink.

The more cocktails you learn to make, and make correctly using better quality ingredients and proper measures, the more you realize it does indeed matter.

I find the difference between orgeat and falernum to be very great.
And that recipe with the falernum at the top of this thread looks very appealing.

As far as the language issues are concerned, I've often wondered the same thing.
I'd like to hear from someone that speaks Tahitian lay down a judgement on that.

I've also heard that "Mai Kai" means "the best."
And I've heard it means "the sea."

On 2006-09-07 13:39, thinkingbartender wrote:
It is strange how I always get the same sort of responses on Tiki Central. Every drink is lauded as being so very different when they are not really. A splash here, a splash there may change the nuances of the drink, but it doesn't change the basic structure.

Most good bartenders can see the similarities. orange curacao, triple sec, cointreau, are not that vastly different enough that it matters. The same for orgeat syrup and falernum syrup (yes, yes, I know all about the ginger and lime peel undertones).

With that kind of attitude you wind up with a Mai Tai like this:

2 oz. dark rum
1/2 oz. Triple Sec
1/2 oz. almond syrup, clear
squeeze lime
1/4 oz. grenadine

or this

0.5 oz Amaretto
1.0 splash Lime juice
2.5 oz Orange juice
2.5 oz Pineapple Juice
0.5 oz Spiced Rum
0.5 oz White Rum
0.5 oz Triple sec

or this

1.5 oz Lemon Lime Soda
0.25 oz Apricot Brandy
1.0 tsp Grenadine
3.0 oz Pineapple Juice
1.0 oz Spiced Rum

You get the point. All of these are different drinks but they all are being called a Mai Tai. I blame the '70s.

On 2006-09-07 13:39, thinkingbartender wrote:
It is strange how I always get the same sort of responses on Tiki Central. Every drink is lauded as being so very different when they are not really. A splash here, a splash there may change the nuances of the drink, but it doesn't change the basic structure.

Ok, Lets do this again and I'll ignore the actual drink recipes and any possible bias on flavors, etc, and the fact that asking such a question on TC is basically pulling our collective chains. :)

On 2006-09-07 13:39, thinkingbartender wrote:
My feeling is that Trader Vic just kept re-hashing the same ideas with whatever ingredients were available to him, depending on the stock in a particular bar or region.

The Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktail is just not catchy as names go, and does not evoke some tropical island bar, but it does sound like a drink at a yacht club!-)

Mai Tai is a triumph of branding and marketing. A mysterious, little understood exotic phrase, used to give mystique to a tried and tested combination of flavours.

Wayne Curtis, if I recall correctly, says that Don Beach probably created A Mai Tai before Trader Vic, but that TV deserves to be remembered because of his better recipe.

Does the Mai Tai name deserve to be remembered because it is a better name than Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktail? I think so.

And I'll do it because you have some very good points.

I would say undoubtedly TV dipped back into some old ideas when trying to create new drinks. And very likely he did look for an exotic sounding name for a drink when he decided to go polynesian. The guy was a bigger than life personality who had a gift for flair and a way of making his ideas attractive and appealing. If he didn't, we probably wouldn't be talking about him today.

It is possible that he was sitting in his yacht club themed restaurant/bar looking over the old drink menu thinking "Gee I need to make these drinks sound more exotic if I'm going to rebrand this place as a polynesian paradise". Its possible he took the Bermuda Yacht Club, matched up the flavors and picked a nice bottle of rum to go with them.

Since I don't know, I'll choose to think that he found himself a fantastic bottle of rum and set out to mix a fantastic drink that showed of that rum to its fullest. If he leaned on some flavors that have worked well in the past, that's fine with me.

Sometimes ignorance is bliss. :wink:

I'm with Pablus on the first drink will have to be mixed tonight for a side-by-side comparison....

If I understand your original question, I think you are leaning toward the 'generality' in the name Mai-Tai. It does appear that the name of the cocktail is/has become 'branded' and can now be considered in the ranks of Coke, Kleenex, Q-tip, etc...... at least conceptually.

I, personally, don't like the name of a cocktail to become the generic de-facto standard for a class of cocktials. A martini glass does not a martini make. And besides, it is a cocktail glass with a Martini in it. But that is another rant all together.....

I hate to see the name of one of the better rum drinks out there get co-opted for something vaguely tropical because it is made with pineapple juice. And I really hate to see all of the 'other' things get put into a Mai-Tai. Use differrent rums, fine. Use Triple-Sec instead of Curacao. Or sub the Lime and Syrup with Sweet-n-Sour (blech, but I have seen it done)and you are still close enough to the recipe by intent to be called a Mai-Tai. Just don't shove a cocktail umbrella into a pineapple mix and say "Who wants a Mai-Tai?"

The Mai-Tai is a recipe first before it is a concept. Lets not let the folk-lore overtake the recipe because a really good Mai-Tai is a fine way to spend any evening.

Besides, look what happened to the Martini....

On 2006-09-07 13:39, thinkingbartender wrote:
...

Most good bartenders can see the similarities. orange curacao, triple sec, cointreau, are not that vastly different enough that it matters. The same for orgeat syrup and falernum syrup (yes, yes, I know all about the ginger and lime peel undertones)..

Huhh? I'm under the impression you've never tasted orgeat or falernum. Orgeat is basically an almond syrup and falernum tastes predominately of cloves. They are worlds apart.

George,
While I don't think the Yacht Club cocktail is anywhere near a Mai-Tai, and falernum is indeed very different from orgeat, I found much better evidence supporting the theory that trader vic had a few drinks and a lot of names.

Per the Trader Vic's Rum Cookery book

Tonga Punch:
2 Ounces Light puerto rican rum
1 dash grenadine
1/2 ounce curacao
juice of 1/2 lime
1 1/2 ounces orange
3/4 ounce Lemon Juice

P.B.2Y2
The drink for "The flyers" of WWII

1 1/2 ounces light puerto rican rum
1 ounce dark jamaican rum
1/4 ounce grenadine
1/2 ounce curacao
juice of 1/2 lime
1 1/2 ounces orange juice
3/4 ounce lemon juice

and listed right above that drink

Outrigger Tiara
1 ounce light puerto rican rum
1 ounce dark jamaican rum
one dash grenadine
1 dash curacao
1 ounce orange juice
1 ounce lemon juice

Sure, they have slight differences. The PB2Y2 and outrigger differ in one containing lime juice and the other not. The Tonga Punch is the same as the PB2Y2 but with 2 ounces light puerto rican, instead of one ounce light and one ounce jamaican. But c'mon...do we really need three different drinks this similar?

If you go through the recipes in this book, there are a lot more similarities than just these three. I makes me wonder if they were printed just for the sake of sheer volume rather than actual integrity

Hakalugi,

Yes I have tasted them all, why would I offer my opinion otherwise? With the 8 years of cocktail bartending I have under my belt I am qualified enough for the point I am making.

Orange Curacao in one drink is not that far from the Cointreau in the other, once again the same is true of the orgeat/ falernum.

Bartenders do not look at the differences in most products, but are usually more concerned with the similarities. If you focus on the similarities of ingredients it is easier to use them in other recipes, as you will have used them before, or at least something similar.

When bartenders start constructing recipes for new bar menus or cocktail competitions they always go for combinations/ recipes that they are comfortable with. Thats just how bartenders are, there is no use re-inventing the wheel. Or maybe its just laziness!-)

I believe that Trader Vic did this too. TV had his favourite combinations of flavours just like every other bartender.

Rum= Babados/ Wray & Nephew 17 year old.
Orange Liqueur= Cointreau/ Orange Curacao.
Almond Syrup= Orgeat/ Falernum.
Lime Juice.
Rock Candy Syrup.

The Mai Tai needed to be sweeter to go with the crushed ice, whereas the B.Y.C, Cocktail had to be dryer as it was being served without ice.

Cheers!

George S.

g.sinclair[at]yahoo.co.uk

http://www.wiki.webtender.com/wiki/

On 2006-09-07 17:15, thinkingbartender wrote:

Bartenders do not look at the differences in most products, but are usually more concerned with the similarities. If you focus on the similarities of ingredients it is easier to use them in other recipes, as you will have used them before, or at least something similar.

When bartenders start constructing recipes for new bar menus or cocktail competitions they always go for combinations/ recipes that they are comfortable with.

Very true, because 99% of bartenders these days have a limited supply of ingredients (or just don't care), so half the time they just "fudge it" and throw anything in that is similar to the actual recipe's ingredients. I should know, I've been drinking in bars for 24 years. This is exactly the problem I have with most bartenders: they are lazy and they don't care.

Since you are a bartender you should know there is a new school of bartenders that is all about returning to the art form bartending used to be in the cocktail age (before the 1970s Screwdriver and Pina Colada age), a huge variety of quality ingredients, classic recipes, creative new cocktails, proper techniques over "flash", and precise measurements. It's a trend that's caught on big time in cities, especially London, New York, and San Francisco.

You will find that in this forum most of us prefer the latter type of bar and bartender over the former.

I firmly believe that Trader Vic, as a bartender, fits in the category of bartenders who considered it an artform and appreciated the sometimes subtle differences between rums from different countries, or between Falernum and orgeat, or between different juices. That's why he created so many drinks - because he could taste the differences and utilize them.

Your mass generalizations about bartenders are becoming less and less true, and I'm very happy about that.

[ Edited by: thejab 2006-09-07 18:06 ]

On 2006-09-07 17:15, thinkingbartender wrote:

Orange Curacao in one drink is not that far from the Cointreau in the other, once again the same is true of the orgeat/ falernum.

Sorry George, while I may agree with you on the cointreau/curacao issue, you are dead wrong about orgeat & falernum, and frankly to state this not once but twice makes your entire argument loose credibility. I don't know what brand of falernum or orgeat you are using, but frankly there is pretty much NO similarity whatsoever between the two, or in any that I have tasted. I would not be enthused if a bartender substituted one for the other on the basis that they are "basically similar". They simply aren't. Lime and clove flavors are not the same as almond and orange water.

And while on the surface I agree with you as well that many of these recipes seem quite similar, small ingredient differences can and do make a difference. I've not made too many Mai Tai's, say 20 or 30 total, most of those consumed by me too. Even though I'm doing the exact same process each time, I've had definite variations in the final product. So going back to your first drink the Bay yacht whatever one, even though it is similar, I would bet money that anyone could tell the difference (especially with the lack of orgeat, and the addition of falernum).

Chris

sigh

Yes but what KIND of Falernum?!!!!
Just kidding.

True, what kind of Falernum. Syrup or Liqueur?

I am not talking about Velvet Falernum Liqueur.

Speaking to the similarities and differences in cocktails.....

I am with The Jab and am very pleased that the Free-Pouring Flash and Dash of the 90's bar is giving way to skillfully crafted well-made cocktails.

May I suggest, Thinkingbartender, that if you haven't already you read Gary Reagan's book on cocktails. He very skillfully catagorizes just about every cocktail into easy to use families. Within those families you can see many of the same cocktails with only one ingredient substituion (my favorite being the Kamakazie is a Vodka margerita). Excellent book and I think every home bartender should have it.

Now, if I could just get a commission for promoting that book....

And then.... when is Happy Hour and who's pouring?

The good folks here at TC have likely had so many Mai Tais that we can discern every nuance. If I make thejab a Mai Tai at my bar, he'll know if it's top shelf or not, guaranteed. And he'll appreciate a good one! Not so of the average drinker, even in Trader Vic's.

As for names, isn't "Vicious Virgin" or "Navy Grog" a great name? I think so. It has just become the most called for drink. I am sure it was not a marketing scheme. Why? Because most of the serious tiki drinkers I know prefer the Navy Grog or the Test Pilot or other drink over the standard Mai Tai at Trader Vic's. He would have pushed the best drink, and likely the cheapest. It became the top because people liked it.

If having been a bartender for many years is enough to qualify you as an expert, there are many thousands of experts in my fair city and I would not drink a Mai Tai made by any of them! And, I would never order one at any bar in the state! Bartenders here are better at juggling bottles than mixing subtle and complex concoctions. 99.9999% of the drinks made are A) Hi-balls or B) Poured pre-mixed out of bottles like Bloody Marys or Pina Coladas. The most complex drink made is a Long Island Tea and that's not a complex drink. But, enough about good bartenders and the average drink...

Vic and Donn had their favorite pens to write with for sure. But the Mai Tai was not a marketing scheme. It evolved. As for the etymology of the name, I am comfortable with it meaning "the best" as it has been used in that context by many, many people for 60 years now. I have not heard otherwise until this point. There seems to be a lot of wiggle room on interpretation of many island phrases.

Today, yes, Trader Vic's has made the Mai Tai a marketing tool. They push the brand. They make it their out front name. But they are following a trend, not manufacturing it.

Agreed. Cheers to Swanky. Well stated.

[ Edited by: Coco Loco 2006-09-08 09:41 ]

A drink being similar is not proof of any drink lineage. Gary Regans book is an over simplification, and a lot of wishful thinking.

When several bartenders create similar drinks it is usually a simple case of convergence, but when one bartender creates similar drinks it usually means they like the combination and will keep trying it with whatever ingredients are available.

Cheers!

George

On 2006-09-08 14:27, thinkingbartender wrote:
... but when one bartender creates similar drinks it usually means they like the combination and will keep trying it with whatever ingredients are available....

Isn't that the very answer to your original question?

On 2006-09-07 14:15, pablus wrote:

I've also heard that "Mai Kai" means "the best."
And I've heard it means "the sea."

Mai Kai is not tahitian, as there is no "K" in Tahiti. But the hawaiian K is the tahitian T.
From my tahitian language class, I've learned that "Mai Tai" means good, nice... "Roa" means very, and "aè" is a superlative, meaning more.
So, I don't know exactly, but I guess we can translate it by "more than very good", wich is close to the best.

by the way, be careful : "oe" means you, but "aè" means more.

by the way, be careful : "oe" means you, but "aè" means more.

Dear Chip and Andy

"... but when one bartender creates similar drinks it usually means they like the combination and will keep trying it with whatever ingredients are available...."

"Isn't that the very answer to your original question?"

No, it isn't. But if it were, then everyone on this forum denied it. Because apparently the B.Y.C.C. is nothing like the Mai Tai. And apparently the ingredients aren't even similar, not at all apparently!-) According to most people on this forum they are two completely different drinks/ Recipes.

I guess this is the difference between hobbyist mixologists and professionals. A hobbyist dwells on the supposed differences, while the professional notices the similarities instinctively.

Cheers!

George

Long live the hobbyists.

martiki, I can't believe you don't get paid for what you do.
You must really love it.

I wish Doc Cocktail would weigh in on this thread.
And da Bum.

George, you seem to have two separate questions that are being muddled together a bit. 1) Do we believe that the legend of the creation of the Mai Tai is true, or is it marketing? and 2) Do we agree that the Royal BYCC is the drink that inspired the Mai Tai?

1): No, I don't believe the story that Vic just whipped up the mai tai on a whim and happened to have some haole friends from Tahiti who were the first to try it (and thus name it). Nor do I believe in the legend behind Donn's creation of the Zombie. I think most recognize that showmanship and BS played a large part in the style of both of these icons.

2. No way. I'd say its a much more reasonable assumption to think that they were both progeny of the old traditional daquiri. Rum, lime, sugar. The RBYCC added Cointreau and sub'd falernum for the sugar. The Mai Tai added curacao and added orgeat along with the sugar syrup. I think the best you could argue is that maybe the RBYCC influenced Vic to add an orange liqueur to the mix but that would be a stretch I think. You'd have to first show that there were no other cocktails (besides the RBYCC) prior to the Mai Tai to have rum, lime, sugar and an orange derived liqueur.

Vic had several variations on the Mai Tai, from the Honi Honi to the Menehune Juice to, a little further afield, the Potted Parrot or the London Sour. It seems more intuitive to me to think of a "family" of drinks that center around booze, citrus and orgeat as a natural grouping. The falernum just throws the RBYCC into a different genus. Like if it was made with tomato juice. Just a whole different animal.

As far as the "professional's instinct" in intuitively grouping drinks by similarity: make a drink with rum, lime, Cointreau and orgeat; one with rum, lime, curacao and falernum and one with rum, lime and tomato juice (just for the hell of it). Now make a Mai Tai and tell us which of the three it is most similar to. I think that in your thesis you're focusing too much on the likeness of Cointreau and curacao and too little on the huge difference between orgeat and falernum.

On 2006-09-08 16:44, thinkingbartender wrote:
...I guess this is the difference between hobbyist mixologists and professionals. A hobbyist dwells on the supposed differences, while the professional notices the similarities instinctively....

Sort of.... That makes sense while at the same time is a broad generalization.

Allow me to go in a completely different direction and put on my Alton Brown voice and take this drink comparison to an elemental level:

Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktail.

2 ounces Barbados Rum,
3/4 ounce Fresh Lime juice,
2 dashes Cointreau
2 teaspoons Falernum

Shake with Ice, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

This recipe is credited to Trader Vic at the very beginning of his Trader Persona, but it is much older than that. The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club was a real place and was probably drinking this recipe for many years before Trader Vic published it in his book. But, the origin is less important to this conversation than the supposed lineage it shares with the Mai Tai. So, lets make one!

Rum: I used a Mount Gay Eclipse Barbados Rum which is a wonderful golden color with an aroma that reminds of you of soft breezes over the cane fields and tastes about the same.

Lime Juice: Nothing but fresh squeezed here.

Cointreau: A dash is bit hard to measure with a bottle like this so I actually measured out 1/2 teaspoon into the drink. While most would agree that a dash is about 1/8 of a teaspoon, I really like Cointreau so I went a bit higher.

Falernum: I used John Taylor's Velvet Falernum which has the highest note on the lime. I know this is the Liqueur and not 'the good stuff' but it is all I have on the bar at the moment.

Shake and strain leaving a surprisingly clear cocktail in the glass, considering the wonderful golden color of the rum. The aroma of the drink has hints of spice and orange, very little of which comes across on the palette. The drink is smooth and refreshing and a good way to spend an afternoon on the lanai. Overall, the drink is a bit watery as none of the ingredients really stand out on their own. It actually makes you think of a bunch of old British Ex-Patriates sitting around on the veranda reading the papers and chatting about how bad things have gotten back home...

Now, to compare a Mai-Tai you are going to have to read this thread. The actual pull together is on page 6.

The R.B.Y.C. Cocktail, in my opinion, shares more flavor likenesses with the Daiquiri than it does with the Mai Tai. The Mai Tai is a much bolder, stronger drink that really stands up and makes demands of the taste buds. The R.B.Y.C. Cocktail is simpler, smaller, softer, like an old friend you meet in the library (if the library had a bar).

So, to sum it up.... In my tasting opinion, as a home bartender and amateur mixologist, I would credit the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktail as having more in common with the Daiquiris that were to come. It is an excellent drink worthy of regular rotation on most bars, home or otherwise. Mix a couple and sit out on your lanai and watch the world go by while you sip your cares away with this cocktail. And, it is a smaller cocktail so you don't have to feel bad about wasting the day away while you sit on your lanai.

So to you, Thinkingbartnder, am I focusing on the similarites or the differences. Consider this the gauntlet being thrown for a cocktail showdown, Amateur -vs- Professional. Lets us a build an Iron Chef Bar Stadium and meet head-to-head in the Battle of the Yacht Club Cocktail. "And in the immortal words of my second cousin I say to you Bottoms Up." {Can you tell I watch too much Food TV?)

This is my opinion of the drinks in question, convince us differently.

I have never made a Mai Tai and wanted to try my hand at one soon. I think that I have some of the indigents but I'm not actually sure what, cause I'm not home to check.

I wanted to make a sort of true tasting drink but at a poor mans budget and from the items that I could get at a local store, say a Meijer(Supermarket).

If someone could write the indigents and what their names may be. Now is their a dark and light rum? And would Spiced Rum be a light rum or would the spice part ruin the taste?

Ladies and gentlemen, here is the reply from the great Beachbum Berry, after asking him to come on that thread :

Aloha Virani and Fellow Alcohologists!

I apologize for not posting officially in my own name, but Tiki Central is like heroin -- if I start I would never be able to stop! Then I'd never be able to finish my new book, Sippin' Safari ... which, by the way, has an 8 page chapter about the roots of the Mai Tai, called "Who's Your Daddy? A Mai Tai Paternity Test."

Basically, the gist of the chapter is this: James Michener claims the Mai Tai was invented on Bora Bora and made its way to Hawaii. The Royal Hawaiian Hotel claims its bartenders invented the Mai Tai. Bandleader Harry Owens ("Sweet Leilani") claims he invented the Mai Tai. Trader Vic claims he invented the Mai Tai, and in 1970 he won a court case to prove it. Court case aside, Donn Beach's third wife Phoebe and assorted journalists still claim Donn invented the Mai Tai. Donn himself never claimed he invented the Mai Tai -- what HE said was that his drink, the Q.B. Cooler, was stolen by Trader Vic, who RE-NAMED it the Mai Tai. Ever the gentleman, Donn refused to argue the point in public. Whenever Trader Vic's name came up, he always said, "I am pleased to ignore him."

In my humble opinion: 1) The Q.B. Cooler doesn't taste all that much like Vic's Mai Tai. 2) With all due respect to the gentleman posting from Norway, the country that gave us Thor Heyerdahl, the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktail doesn't taste like a Mai Tai. The difference is orgeat: Vic pioneered the use of this ingredient in tropicals. Donn never used orgeat. And orgeat is NOT interchangable with falernum. Orgeat tastes like almonds, falernum like ginger and lime. If we were in the kitchen instead of the bar, would we be arguing that sole almondine tastes like ginger-lime glazed sole?

So I think it's time to give the Trader a break: Literature professors tell us that every novel ever written is derived from one of seven basic plots. Similarly, a case can be made that any given cocktail is derived from any other given cocktail. A Margarita is a Sidecar with tequila instead of cognac ... a Sidecar is a Daiquiri with cognac and lemon instead of rum and lime ... where does it end? Yes, the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktail has lime and citrus and orange liqueur and sugar in it. So do about 100 other rum drinks. My feeling is, whatever Vic based the Mai Tai on, the Mai Tai is his original mixture.

Again, I apologize in advance for not being able to follow this up with any more posts for a while: I'm sure others will disagree at least part of the above, which is fine -- that's what makes TC so great -- but as a Bum I must conserve what little energy I have to finish the new book! (It will be published in June.)

Mahalo to you all for keeping the legacy of Vic and Donn alive in your hearts (and palates!), Beachbum Berry

Is there room on Mount Rushmore for the Bum? :)

For what it's worth, from Bartender's Guide, by Trader Vic, 1947, 1st Ed., page 231:
Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktail
1-1/2 Barbados rum 1/4 oz. Falernum
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice 1 dash cointreau
Shake well with cracked ice; strain into chilled cocktail glass.

The 1972 Revised Edition, in addition to changing to ice cubes, clears up the 25 year mystery of "1-1/2 Barbados rum". Cups? Bottles? Alas, it's only ounces.

(Also, no Mai Tai, yet, in the 1947 book.)

[ Edited by: Limbo Lizard 2006-09-21 15:26 ]