Recipe: Royal Hawaiian's "Royal Mai Tai"

The August '09 issue of "Hawaii" magazine has a feature called "Contemporary Tropicals," with drink recipes created by Joey Gottesman of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel's Mai Tai Bar. Unfortunately, the story and recipes aren't online.

Here's the recipe for the "Royal Mai Tai," which as you'll see is definitely Island-style with fruit juices. So it's not a "classic" Mai Tai, but it's not bad, either.

1 oz silver rum
1/2 oz Amaretto Di Sarronno
1/2 oz Cointreau
1/2 tsp maraschino cherry & vanilla puree (***see recipe below)
1 oz orange juice
2 oz pineapple juice

Place ingredients in a 14 oz. rocks glass, and roll contents back and forth between a Boston shaker tin and the glass. Empty into the rocks glass.

Float 1/2 oz of dark rum, garnish with lime wedge and with a maraschino cherry skewered to a pineapple wedge.

(*** To make the maraschino puree, empty a 10 oz jar of stemless Maraschino cherries AND the juice into a blender, along with a tablespoon of vanilla puree (scooped from the interior of vanilla beans). (You can also substitute a teaspoon or less of natural vanilla extract for the vanilla puree.) Blend until smooth; store in refrigerator.

:drink:

A slightly different version of this recipe as an Imbibe magazine online bonus. This one uses a Whaler's Dark Rum Float, and the maraschino/vanilla puree includes cranberry juice (!):

http://www.imbibemagazine.com/Royal-Mai-Tai-Cocktail-Recipe

Is the Royal Hawaiian the actual birthplace of the Mai Tai?

No, Trader Vic and Don the Beachcomber fought about which one of them made the original. It was rumored to be Trader Vic trying to replicate one of Dons drinks called the QB cooler. I think one Hawaiian hotel also tried to claim rights to the Mai Tai. I am not sure if it was the Royal Hawaiian off the top of my head, but I think it was. I believe most people think it was Trader Vic, but it has been a topic of debate for a long time. I don't think anyone thinks the hotel invented the Mai Tai. I could be mistaken, but this is what I have gathered. I hope someone will correct me if I am wrong.

Good story. Mahalo.

Wikipedia's take:
It was purportedly invented at the Trader Vic's restaurant in Oakland, California in 1944. Trader Vic's rival, Don the Beachcomber, claimed to have created it in 1933 at his then-new bar named for himself (later a famous restaurant) in Hollywood. Don the Beachcomber's recipe is more complex than that of Vic's and tastes quite different.
Citation: Charles A. Coulombe (2005). Rum: The Epic Story Of The Drink That Conquered The World. Citadel Press. p. 258.

Here is another take:
Mai Tai History
The way you should know the Mai Tai was invented by Trader Vic in 1944 and it was awesome. The way you would like the Mai Tai more was adapted in 1954 by the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. Both of these were likely a combination of stolen/inspired drink called the QB Cooler invented by Don the Beachcomber in 1937. But the Mai Tai you know is likely mostly interpreted by bartenders following the R.A.L.T.P.M. recipe (I’ll explain later).

Which is right? Which is best? The answer is quite simple, the one you like the most is the most. To explain further would involve me quoting – verbatim – Jeff Berry’s recent book along with old interviews from Trader Vic and Don Beach that most people don’t care to hear. But If you DO CARE FOR SPECIFICS, I very strongly suggest that you purchase, for money, from your local book store, both, Sippin Safari, and, Beach Bum Berry Remixed. Remixed, is mostly a recipe book for any tiki enthusiast, but, Sippin Safari, is a truly fascinating account of the tiki craze that was arguably the most successful food and beverage trend of the last 100 years.

Seems like this recipe would be a little weak for my Mai Tai tastes. I'll give it a shot though, the vanilla puree sounds tasty!

BTW - My favorite Mai Tai is Don's.

Also Beachbum Berrys books are all really great! They are a must for anyone who wants to make their own tiki beverages. He also has a smartphone app called TIKI+ which I use almost everyday. I STRONGLY reccommend his books and app.

This is from the menu at Don the Beachcombers.

Sorry for being a bit off topic. I am sure that there must be a thread already for the Mai Tai history.

Interesting that they spell his name "Donn." Second, of course one will come back for their mai tai; TV's is awful now.

The Royal Hawaiian may indeed be responsible for the "Island Style" (Juice based) Mai Tai recipe
which one variation or another is what you will find in almost all Hawaiian Bars & restaurants.

On 2012-09-28 13:19, jingleheimerschmidt wrote:
Interesting that they spell his name "Donn." ...

I've always seen his name spelled as "Donn Beach" and the restaurants spelled as "Don the Beachcomber".