My take on the Hundred Dollar Mai Tai...with video :)

Beach Bum Berry's is great, but I made a few changes...very minor, but suits my taste :) Here's a little video I made, hope ya'll like it.

http://vimeo.com/2220914

[ Edited by: Deckhand_Davy 2008-11-11 22:12 ]

Beachbum Berry might cringe if he sees your video.

This is how drink recipes can go awry. You changed the recipe but kept the name. Somebody else watching and reading the recipe on Vimeo might make further changes, pass it on, and also not change the name. Eventually the recipe will be so out of whack to not even resemble Beachbum Berry's carefully calculated masterpiece. People tasting these down the road bastardized versions will wonder what the big deal was with the so called "Hundred Dollar" Mai Tai.

I'm sure your Mai Tai tastes fine, but you really should remove "Hundred Dollar" from the name of it!

Well done vid BTW.

Damn, you're right...I didn't even think about that (I'm usually ahead of the game). It is now listed on as the "vintage mai tai"

Thanks for the comments :)

Very nice!

And a great version for the music, who is that?

Two questions for you....

How does the mint flavor and, more importantly, aroma work out by adding the mint to the shaker? Obviously you like it because that is how you do it, but tell us more about the finished flavor with this method.

Second question, have you tried making your own Orgeat? Finest Call is OK, but I can guarantee that once you start making your own you will never use anything else.

^^ Thanks for the comments :) Music is "Mas Que Nada" by Jorge Ben...really good stuff.

For me, the mint completes the Mai Tai. It gives the finish a really refreshing taste which does it for me. When I'm outside, I'll also add a sprig on top next to the cherry to bring it out even more. Cherries are a must for me because their sweet aroma really brings out the flavor when drinking. When everything is mixed just right, I tend to drink a little too quickly... :) One thing that can easily break the drink is too much lime. I usually keep the lime between 1/2 - 3/4 oz and let the other ingredients do the rest.

If you have an orgeat recipe or references online that you're happy with, I'd love to give it a try. Sounds like fun.

-dave

[ Edited by: Deckhand_Davy 2008-11-12 07:33 ]

On 2008-11-12 07:27, Deckhand_Davy wrote:
For me, the mint completes the Mai Tai. {/quote]

I concur! But I find it becomes too much when dropped in the shaker. I grab a big full sprig of mint, bruise it slightly and then use short straws so you have to get your nose right into the glass, and therefore the mint, so you get the full aroma with every drink. But, that is just me and mint as a flavor is not high on my list.

If you have an orgeat recipe or references online that you're happy with, I'd love to give it a try. Sounds like fun.

Start here.

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=21769&forum=10

KuKuAhu and Scottes have then best two recipes. KuKuAhu's has a slight edge in ease of preparation, but both are worthy of being on your bar. And, like I said, once you start making your own you will never go back.

Nice! I really appreciate that. Looks like I'll be adding this project to my list :) How long does it keep?

Cool video Deckhand Davy. I use mint in my shaker too and muddle the leaves first. When I use premium rum I omit the muddled mint but for everyday use I like the mint as a drink ingredient.

On 2008-11-12 08:02, Deckhand_Davy wrote:
ow long does it keep?

Does it keep? Or WILL it keep........

In the fridge it should keep about a month (ish). Once you get a taste it may not last so long.

You can take most any of the recipes and stabilize them by adding between four and eight ounces of white rum or vodka to a standard Fifth bottle. (or three to six ounces of Overproof or 151) You will have to do a bit of math, your goal is to get the proof to be near 30, or if you prefer you need to get to about 15% ABV. That is a low enough alcoholic content to not effect your drink much, but high enough to make it shelf-stable so you can keep it on the bar instead of the Fridge.

Like I said, once you make your first batch your only real issue is going to be when can you make the next batch.

hehe, wow, now you've got me itchin to make a batch!

On 2008-11-12 09:24, Ojaitimo wrote:
Cool video Deckhand Davy. I use mint in my shaker too and muddle the leaves first. When I use premium rum I omit the muddled mint but for everyday use I like the mint as a drink ingredient.

Glad you liked it and thanks :)

I have tried using mint in the cocktail shaker and the results are good in terms of taste but I use a Boston shaker and a hawthorne strainer and the mint can break up and end up in the drink which is not attractive.

So I find it more effective to put a dash of mint bitters in the shaker and then use fresh mint for garnish.

-Rev

hmm, the mint bitters sounds like a good alternative - I'll give it a try.

In my experiments I've found that I could use the best rum or the kind that comes in a plastic bottle and the drink killer usually ends up being the ratio between lime and syrup. Too much syrup makes it sickeningly sweet and the wrong amount of lime sours the mix. So I usually end up mixing it in a separate glass to my liking and add it to the high octane potion later. A good mai tai is not taken for granted.

Also, you've selected some fine rums. Using fresher syrups, made with cane sugar instead of corn syrup, and without added citric acid or preservatives, will yield you a truly incredible drink, worth $100, but costing a lot less. Make your own simple (bar) syrup. That's the easiest thing to make, just heat water and add sugar until it won't dissolve any more. Orgeat is a great thing to make too, as is grenadine, cinnamon syrup, etc, but if you're not into that, or don't have time, there are many threads here which elucidate which are the better brands to buy. If you can find it, the Clement Creole Shrubb is the finest orange liquer you can find. It makes the drink!

That video looks great, BTW! Very well edited, and nice fades. Image and lighting are great, looks good enough to be a ad for a mai tai somewhere.

Thanks for all of the awesome suggestions! I'm gonna fiddle around with a lot of them and see what I come up with. Thanks for the comments on the video :) The footage was also posted for testing purposes...we are working on a super secret tiki show and doing a bit of testing with our hardware, post editing, lenses etc before we start shooting the episodes.

I'll post more details on the show later.

-dave

Davy, if you have trouble finding mint bitters then I recommend KegWorks.com as a good source of a number of bitters.

-Rev

Forget the $100 mai tai, how about a $1267 mai tai
http://www.chacha.com/gallery/4444/10-most-expensive-bar-drinks/42102
hope they don't use grenadine.