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Here’s how to make the original Mai Tai recipe! Gather the ingredients for this tropical rum drink that’s as complex as it is fruity. We’ve got loads of positive reviews that prove that this recipe is one worth making.
When someone says Mai Tai, you might picture those oversized hurricane glasses stuffed with pineapple wedges and paper umbrellas. But the original Mai Tai cocktail? It’s a sophisticated blend of aged rum, orange liqueur, and almond syrup. You get layers of vanilla and nutty notes, bright citrus, and a float of dark rum that makes the whole thing sing.
Alex and I became fans of this drink after we tasted the classic version. The Mai Tai in its original form just makes sense. It’s tropical, boozy, and zingy: nothing like the adult fruit juice you might be expecting. (I ordered a Mai Tai at at a bar recently that tasted like a Hawaiian punch juice box.) After hundreds of cocktail recipes, we’re here to tell you—a properly made Mai Tai might change your mind about what this rum cocktail can be!
What’s a Mai Tai?
The most accepted origin story of the Mai Tai cocktail is that it was invented in 1944 at Trader Vic’s restaurant in Oakland, California. It became very popular in the 1950’s and 60’s, especially at tiki restaurants (and since Tiki culture is built on appropriation, we won’t exalt the virtues of that phenomenon.)
Key ingredients
What are the Mai Tai ingredients? Despite what you might think, there’s no pineapple juice—which gives that fruit punch flair! The ingredients in a classic Mai Tai drink are:
- Aged rum: This type of rum is also referred to as golden rum, amber rum, or añejo rum (meaning “aged”). Aging gives it a complex flavor, more like a Cognac. It has undertones of vanilla, coconut, almond, citrus, or caramel. We like Brugal Añejo Rum, but there are many options.
- Orange liqueur: This balances the flavor of the rum and adds citrus notes. You can use either curaçao, Cointreau or Grand Marnier. Triple sec works in a pinch.
- Lime juice: Lime adds a zingy citrus acidity. Use only fresh lime juice, not a bottled substitute.
- Orgeat syrup: Orgeat is a sweet almond syrup, with flavor notes of orange flower water and rose. It’s what gives the Mai Tai its subtle nutty backbone, and it’s essential for the drink. It’s easy to find online: here’s the orgeat syrup we use.
- Simple syrup: A hint of syrup accentuates the flavor for a fruity, sweet tart Mai Tai; omitting it makes a more boozy, spirit-forward drink. I prefer adding the simple syrup so it’s more of a tropical drink, but Alex prefers the boozier version.
- Dark rum: Dark rum has a dark color and a rich flavor that’s smoky and sweet. Floating it on top of the drink adds complexity and a boozy intrigue.
What other cocktails use aged or dark rum? Use aged rum in an El Presidente or Pineapple Rum Cocktail, and dark rum in Rum Punch, Dark and Stormy, or a Jungle Bird.
Serving a Mai Tai
Making a Mai Tai is the easy part: shake up the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, strain into a glass, float the dark rum on top and garnish!
For the glass, we like using a low ball glass. Crushed ice is traditional with a Mai Tai, but you can use any type (including clear ice). We like to garnish with fresh mint and a cocktail cherry, but you can add extra garnishes like pineapple wedges or lime wheels.
Featured reader comments
Here are a few comments from readers who have made this recipe:
- “I thought your recipe was excellent. The flavors are amazing and I felt like I was back on Maui enjoying happy hour. I will definitely make this again.” -Rosemary
- “Wow, wow, wow! You guys hit this one on the head. Absolutely fantastic recipe. The moment I tasted this, the memories of when I first had this came back to me.” -Justin
Frequently asked questions
Orgeat is a nutty almond syrup with hints of citrus and flowers (pronounced or-ZHAAT). We do recommend buying it for this recipe: there’s no substitute for a proper Mai Tai. At around $10 a bottle, it’s worth adding to your bar.
It’s also great in other cocktails like the Japanese Cocktail and Trinidad Sour.
Two kinds of rum make the magic: aged rum (also called golden or añejo) for the base with those vanilla-caramel notes, and dark rum to float on top. The float adds serious depth to the drink, but it’s optional if you prefer a sweeter, less boozy experience.
Traditional recipes call for orange curaçao, but Grand Marnier or Cointreau work beautifully. Use Triple Sec in a pinch.
Mai Tai (Classic Recipe)
Here’s how to make the original Mai Tai recipe! Gather the ingredients for this tropical rum drink that’s as complex as it is fruity.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 drink 1x
- Category: Drink
- Method: Shaken
- Cuisine: Cocktails
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 ½ ounces* aged rum
- ½ ounce orange liqueur: Curaçao, Cointreau or Grand Marnier
- ¾ ounce lime juice
- 1 ounce orgeat syrup
- ½ teaspoon simple syrup (optional**)
- ½ ounce dark rum, to float (optional)
- For serving: Crushed ice or clear ice, fresh mint, cocktail cherry, lime wedge
Instructions
- Place the aged rum, orange liqueur, lime juice, orgeat syrup, and simple syrup (if using**) in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake until cold.
- Strain the drink into an ice-filled glass. Top with the dark rum. Garnish with fresh mint, a lime wedge, cocktail cherry and pineapple slice.
Notes
Here’s a link to these fluted lowball glasses.
*To convert to tablespoons, 1 ounce = 2 tablespoons.
**A hint of simple syrup accentuates the flavor for a fruity, sweet tart Mai Tai. Omit it for a more boozy, spirit-forward Mai Tai.
A few more rum cocktails
The Mai Tai is on our list of the top 50 Most Popular Cocktails. Some of our favorite rum cocktails are the Mojito, Rum Punch, the classic Daiquiri, and the Hurricane.
Easily my favorite mai tai recipe and overall drink. I’ll use Brugal 1888, if I don’t mix the rums, and then a topper of Kraken. Fresh mint from my garden adds a bunch. Also, the orgeat is critical. There are plenty of terrible, cheap orgeats out there. I haven’t made my own, but I really like either Liquid Alchemist’s version or Liber & Co. I find lime overpowers the drink, so only a half ounce.
SO so glad you enjoy this one! Thank you for this orgeat recommendation, we do find there is a lot of variation in orgeat. We’ll check those out: thank you!
Lovely! Delicious! Made it exactly as written with the smidgen of simple syrup and floated dark rum at the end. I decanted into a coupe and felt like a golden age Hollywood film star.
What an adorable young couple!
Warms my heart to see that you honor the traditional; bookmarking your page.
I’d like to add that you have an attractive look with the typography and graphic design.
Highest regards
This is really good and very easy. I’m drinking it right now, or should I say them, because I made a double. I use gold rum and aged rum and squeezed my own lime juice. It’s very refreshing with just the right amount of sweetness.
Who cares if a drink or culture is ‘appropriated’? That’s the entire point of different people getting together and learning about each other, take a bit of this, take a bit of that. Imagine thinking your doing good by virtue signaling in a drink recipe. Enjoy your drink and be glad Tiki appropriated whatever led to a drink you like.
AMEN. All of America is appropriated, so unless you renounce your citizenship, chill out.
BTW, since you couldn’t easily get imported ingredients back when Tiki culture was created by GIs returning from the Pacific in WWII, it was adapted in the same way that Italian-American food is not Italian, and Greek-American food is not Greek.
Close, but not quite the original recipe.
Your proportions are off, you’re not using 2 rums, and you don’t float the rum.
Also, Grand Marnier is -not- “your best bet.’ It’s made with brandy, and that will influence the flavor of the drink. Most tiki bartenders will use Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao, and since a Mai Tai is a Tiki drink, I’ll defer to them.
The original 1944 Trader Vic Mai Tai recipe:
1 oz -fresh- lime juice
1/2 oz orange curaçao (e.g. Pierre Ferrand, Clement Créole Shrubb, or Cointreau)
1/4 oz orgeat (e.g. Small Hand, Liber, Liquid Alchemist)
1/4 oz simple syrup
1 oz Jamaican rum (e.g. Appleton, Coruba, Hamilton)
1 oz Martinique rum (e.g. Clement, Rhum JM, Neisson, St. James)
Shake well with crushed ice, pour unstrained into a large old fashioned glass. Sink your lime shell and garnish with a freshly slapped mint sprig. Enjoy.
I need the math for how many ounces of each ingredient for a gallon of mai tais for a party.
The easiest is to just switch ounce with cup. This gives you an 8x recipe.
What about Don Beach (Of Don the beachcomber’s). He is credited for inventing the Mai Tai in 1933. Just saying!
Merriman’s Monkey Pod Kitchen in Hawaii adds Lilykoi (passion fruit) foam.
Yum