Mai Tai abomonation

On 2019-05-31 07:26, kevincrossman wrote:
The IBA's version of a Mai Tai is also somewhat lacking
http://www.iba-world.com/english/cocktails/mai-tai

4 cl White Rum
2 cl Dark Rum
1.5 cl Orange Curaćao
1.5 cl Orgeat syrup
1 cl Fresh lime juice
Shake and strain into highball glass.
Garnish with pineapple spear, mint leaves and lime peel.
Serve with straw.

More "white rum" than "dark rum"? Hmmmmm

The fact that the IBA calls that a Mai Tai makes me question their judgement on everything.

Went with the family on a Carnival cruise last month. While we went in with a skeptical view of their bars, said view was not skeptical enough. Checking out the menu, the Mai Tai description indicated it was a mix of rum, curacao, almond syrup... well, okay. That's not too far off the actual recipe, right? How bad could it be?

Honestly, I've never had a cocktail of any type that tasted more unlike a Mai Tai. This tasted, I kid you not, like the sickly-sweet barium sulfate one has to gag down prior to certain medical scans. Seriously, it was diabetes in a glass. It left me longing for a pineapple-and-rum "Mai Tai." I doubt anyone could come up with a worse Mai Tai if they tried.

Their Hurricane and Painkiller were undrinkable as well.

Another variation of a Mai Tai -- from O'Charley's Restaurant. I couldn't bring myself to try it when I know what a REAL Mai Tai tastes like. But despite being "another one of millions of fast and loose variations" on the Mai Tai they typically serve decent drinks at O'Charley's. While THIS IS IN NO WAY A MAI TAI, it likely has a decent taste. The drink should have a completely different name.

On 2019-07-15 18:38, AceExplorer wrote:
Another variation of a Mai Tai -- from O'Charley's Restaurant. I couldn't bring myself to try it when I know what a REAL Mai Tai tastes like. But despite being "another one of millions of fast and loose variations" on the Mai Tai they typically serve decent drinks at O'Charley's. While THIS IS IN NO WAY A MAI TAI, it likely has a decent taste. The drink should have a completely different name.

That's not a mai tai - that's a bourbon sour that has given up on life.

Back in the day, Bradstreet Crafthouse in Minneapolis used to serve a Mai Tai that used Lazzaroni amaretto instead of orgeat and a splash of fresh squeezed orange juice instead of orange Curaçao. I can't remember exactly what the rum mix was, but I think it may have been Mangoustan's and Appleton 12. While the ingredient list is in no way a proper Mai Tai, the drink tasted really really good and exactly like a Mai Tai should taste.

Applebee's $1 drink of the month - Mai Tai!

The 75th Anniversary of the Mai Tai is being celebrated this month, and I can’t think of a better way than to head to your local Applebee’s for this wonderful $1 drink of the month.

Applebee’s says: "Meet our $1 Mai Tai, a new tiki drink featuring rum, pineapple, passion fruit, orange, black cherry, and lime”

Now, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, this cocktail in no way shape or form should be called a Mai Tai. Because a Mai Tai should at the very least have Orgeat and some sort of Orange Liqueur in it. So, for the newbies being introduced to a “Mai Tai” this is not really representative. Even for only a dollar.

That said, this isn’t a bad drink for a place like Applebee's. The black cherry is a really nice touch and this thing tastes great. Now, there’s probably not more than an ounce of rum in this thing, so you’re gonna need to drink at least "a couple dollars worth" to get a buzz. And, this most certainly isn't a “craft cocktail” so if that’s your thing you can keep on moving.

Mrs. Mai Tai and I did Friday Night in the suburbs up right last night. We came into Applebee’s during their evening happy hour (after 9 pm) and had the “Mai Tai”, a Captain’s Bahama Mama, and their wonderful Brewpub Pretzels and cheese dip. All-in $14! That’s eatin’ good in the neighborhood!

https://www.instagram.com/p/B0tdIm7g6Mr/

I can only imagine getting sick off all the other liqueurs and mixers before getting drunk off 10 of those. Tiki's been making 2 steps forward, 1 step back lately, and it's unfortunate that the parties responsible (Applebees, GeekyTiki etc) have so many eyes on them.

On 2019-08-03 10:39, kevincrossman wrote:
Applebee's $1 drink of the month - Mai Tai!

The 75th Anniversary of the Mai Tai is being celebrated this month, and I can’t think of a better way than to head to your local Applebee’s for this wonderful $1 drink of the month.

Applebee’s says: "Meet our $1 Mai Tai, a new tiki drink featuring rum, pineapple, passion fruit, orange, black cherry, and lime”

Now, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, this cocktail in no way shape or form should be called a Mai Tai. Because a Mai Tai should at the very least have Orgeat and some sort of Orange Liqueur in it. So, for the newbies being introduced to a “Mai Tai” this is not really representative. Even for only a dollar.

That said, this isn’t a bad drink for a place like Applebee's. The black cherry is a really nice touch and this thing tastes great. Now, there’s probably not more than an ounce of rum in this thing, so you’re gonna need to drink at least "a couple dollars worth" to get a buzz. And, this most certainly isn't a “craft cocktail” so if that’s your thing you can keep on moving.

Mrs. Mai Tai and I did Friday Night in the suburbs up right last night. We came into Applebee’s during their evening happy hour (after 9 pm) and had the “Mai Tai”, a Captain’s Bahama Mama, and their wonderful Brewpub Pretzels and cheese dip. All-in $14! That’s eatin’ good in the neighborhood!

https://www.instagram.com/p/B0tdIm7g6Mr/

It's crap like this that killed Tiki in the 1970's.

I have learned that nowadays a genuine Mai Tai is not so much about what's in it as what is NOT! There is no other fruit juice other than LIME, and that's freshly squeezed from the actual citrus fruit! NOT concentrate! NO pineapple, Orange or anything else. Just plain LIME. There is absolutely NO grenadine whatsoever, ...EVER! It is NEVER made with any of those sinister "Mai Tai Mixes"! The orgeat MUST have a little orange flower water and rose water listed in the ingredients. NOT just plain almond syrup. The garnish will NOT have a maraschino cherry, nor enough flowers for a botanical garden!

The IBA updated their Mai Tai recipe to something pretty standard.

30 ml Amber Jamaican Rum
30 ml Martinique Molasses Rhum*
15 ml Orange Curacao
15 ml Orgeat Syrup (Almond)
30 ml Fresh Lime Juice
7.5 ml Simple Syrup

https://iba-world.com/mai-tai/

[ Edited by kevincrossman on 2022-09-18 09:55:04 ]

Wow -- progress!

Take your two rums*, your FRESHLY squeezed lime juice, orgeat (must contain orange flower water and rose water, NOT just plain almond syrup), and orange curaçao, add ice and shake. Ditch that damned sugary syrup! It just spoils everything by making the drink overly sweet. Add your lime shells and a sprig of mint. NO OTHER GARNISH. Please! Any other juices other than lime and you're in wacko territory.

• the rums of course may vary according to what's available in whatever location. Now it IS meant to be a STRONG drink, and I have at times seen it diluted with a little soda upon request. The thought of which you may have varying ideas?

I was playing around with one of those online AI image generators and wondered what our future robot overlords thought a Mai Tai looks like.