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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.

Mai Tai Recipe
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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.

Mai tai ingredients

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.

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

What is orgeat syrup?

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.

What rums do I need for this drink?

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.

Can I switch up the orange liqueur?

Traditional recipes call for orange curaçao, but Grand Marnier or Cointreau work beautifully. Use Triple Sec in a pinch.

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Mai Tai (Classic Recipe)

Mai Tai Recipe
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4.5 from 25 reviews

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.

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • 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

Scale
  • 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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.

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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.

About the authors

Alex & Sonja

Hi! We’re Alex & Sonja Overhiser, authors of the acclaimed cookbooks A Couple Cooks and Pretty Simple Cooking—and a real life couple who cooks together. We founded the A Couple Cooks website in 2010 to share seasonal recipes and the joy of home cooking. Now, we’ve got over 3,000 well-tested recipes, including Mediterranean diet, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, smoothies, cocktails, and more!

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53 Comments

  1. James Van Pelt says:

    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.






    1. 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!

  2. Joyce Cornwell says:

    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.






  3. "Dockside" Dave Fry says:

    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






  4. Michelle says:

    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.






  5. John says:

    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.

    1. Arby W says:

      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.

  6. Michael says:

    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.






  7. Jeanette says:

    I need the math for how many ounces of each ingredient for a gallon of mai tais for a party.

    1. Alex Overhiser says:

      The easiest is to just switch ounce with cup. This gives you an 8x recipe.

  8. Anonymous says:

    What about Don Beach (Of Don the beachcomber’s). He is credited for inventing the Mai Tai in 1933. Just saying!

  9. Richard Lee says:

    Merriman’s Monkey Pod Kitchen in Hawaii adds Lilykoi (passion fruit) foam.






    1. Alex Overhiser says:

      Yum

  10. lisa Zauratsky says:

    Mai tai turned out fabulous!






  11. Rene says:

    Wait a minute now. I wanted the REAL original recipe! Haha.

  12. Justin Collins says:

    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.
    Thanks so much for making my week!
    Ps, I didn’t change a thing, just stuck with your instructions.






    1. Alex Overhiser says:

      Thank you for making! Glad you enjoyed :)

  13. Dave l says:

    Incredible drink. Not to sweet like they are so often. I had to buy almost $95.00 worth of rum but this recipe is worth it






    1. Alex Overhiser says:

      So glad you enjoyed!

  14. Jim Doherty says:

    Used 15 year old Rhum Barbancourt from Haiti topped with Bacardi Black with Grand Marnier it came out very nice!

  15. James Frauel says:

    Thank you, thank you and thank you. I went to Hawaii for my honeymoon in 1986 and fell in love with this cocktail. I have been trying to recreate it ever since. This is the drink I remember. Did I say thank you, if not, thank you!

    1. Alex Overhiser says:

      You’re welcome!

  16. Rachel Buerger says:

    Great boozy recipe! Did a splash of pineapple juice.






  17. Brandy sue says:

    Way too sweet, I didn’t like it






  18. Carl says:

    If you don’t have orgeat you can use some frangelico. To ease back on the sweetness I use finely crushed ice and shake until dissolved. Pour over ice cubes for ease of drinking. And finally I use 15mm split of demerara sugar syrup and orgeat to add more complexity..






  19. JulieL says:

    I am obsessed with this Mai Tai! My husband and I went to Maui two months ago and we fell in love with these. The orgeat and real luxardo maraschino cherries make these so good! I sometimes add just a touch of lacroix if it is a bit sweet. 5 stars!
    One question, what is the nutritional value on this recipe for 1? Thanks!






    1. Alex Overhiser says:

      So glad you enjoyed! Our nutrition analyzer doesn’t do great with cocktails, but it would be ~250 calories.

  20. Mike Allen says:

    This isn’t quite the original version, but it’s closer than most. The biggest difference is your recipe calls for significantly more orgeat than the true one.






  21. Justin M says:

    Perfect! Didn’t have the syrup. Subbed simple syrup.






  22. Mike Medema says:

    Thanks Sonja and Alex for doing the hard work researching this great recipe. You’re right. I thought a Mai Tai was a sweet overly fruity drink, but your recipe goes back to the origins that I find so much better. Greatly appreciate all the details too!






    1. Alex Overhiser says:

      So glad you enjoyed!

  23. Ian Freeman says:

    My twist is using spiced rum instead of aged. I rub thr inside of glas with passion fruit (eases the sweetness for me) and 1/2 ounce of ovenproof over the pineapple/cherry garnish. Which can be lit for effect. Still no juice…yeay






  24. Rosemary McKean says:

    I thought your recipe was excellent. I added more lime juice than listed by accident, but is turned out fine. The flavors are amazing and I felt like I was back on Maui enjoying happy hour. It sure packs a punch! I will definitely make this again. Thanks!






    1. Alex Overhiser says:

      Thank you for making!

  25. Don G Ayala says:

    So your method of making mai tai is incorrect. You want to know how I know It’s because I met and became friends with one of the 11 soldiers that were stranded on one of the Midway Islands during world war II with nothing but one of the first half semis that was refrigerated generator and gas had plenty of that and that half semi I was filled with fresh fruit all liquors and it was going to be for MacArthur and headquarters as a small bar setup so these soldiers were stranded on this island for 2 weeks and all of them were cooks and bartenders so they had nothing better to do than eat get rested and eventually they started inventing drinks One of them was the Mai Tai and I met this bartender when he was in his ’90s during the ’90s at a restaurant in San Diego called the Bali hai his name was Fernando and when he made my tie not only did one of them get you thoroughly wasted lol but it was delicious but it was packing as well So finally before he retired I asked him hey Fernando how do you make this my tie cuz I noticed you put your back to us every time you do your wizardry with this drink and he wrote it on a napkin for me and so yeah nice try you’re close but it’s still wrong You’re missing a key elemental step in preparation and one major ingredient so yeah which is why I gave your recipe rating a two






    1. RJ Perez says:

      Thanks for your input… nobody cares






    2. S says:

      would throw rotten tomatoes if i could 🍅🍅🍅, at this point make your own blog post except wait— you don’t even want to explain what the missing parts are.

      as for the recipe, makes a nice drink if a bit too sweet for my tastes.






    3. Yirg Kenya says:

      No chance the old vet might have been feeding you one of his many war stories? You know, beyond “How I won the war.”

      Victor J. Bergeron is generally credited as the creator of the Mai Tai in his Trader Vic’s restaurant in Oakland, CA in 1944.

    4. Chris says:

      I added a little Liber & Co Tropical passion fruit syrup. Less tart and overall great flavor.

    5. S. HUNT says:

      I liked this story! Interesting.

    6. Rene says:

      Wait a minute now. I wanted the REAL original recipe! Haha.

    7. Tyler says:

      Actually this is not how the mai tai was invented






    8. Brenda says:

      Ok, you went to so much trouble to say you know something about make a Mai Tai yet if that were true you would post your version to prove your point.

    9. Sanjay Vasu says:

      Fun Fact: the Mai Tai is NOT from San Diego, the Bali Hai or from the Pacific Islands. It was invented by the owner of Trader Vics. While the recipe above is incorrect in the sense that the original used Wray and Nephew’s 14 year old rum (which is no longer in existence), it is otherwise authentic to the original Trader Vic’s recipe. For an in depth examination of the original recipe, see the mai tai episode of Tasting History by Max Miller on Youtube.

    10. Christopher says:

      That was the longest sentence I have ever read in my entire life !

    11. Rocko says:

      At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

  26. Rob Horner says:

    Great recipe, but found adding a 1/2oz of pineapple juice brightens it up just a touch.






    1. Tony Arbeuil says:

      I agree. Purists will say it oversweetens maybe, but I think many will prefer it this way. I think you could also try fresh squeezed navel orange juice.






  27. Ron Green says:

    This is my favorite go-to recipe, without a doubt… but I might suggest, at the very end, you don’t strain the drink… tiki drinks go into the glass with the ice they got mixed with… add more as needed!






  28. BG Gray says:

    Love your dedication to “Original Recipes”. Do you by chance have the original recipe for Brass Monkey? Used to be able to get at liqueur stores but that ended in the 1980’s. It was sold in premixed bottle, had Bacardi 151 Rum, vodka, tropical juices. What the bar guide mixology has as recipe is Not anything like the original. It’s like expecting a full flavored beer and getting a near-beer instead! Very disappointing. I believe Brass Monkey was bottled in Cuba or Jamaica, definitely a Caribbean source.

    1. Alex Overhiser says:

      Thanks for the comment! It’s already on our list of recipes to start working on.

  29. Thatch says:

    This is a really good recipe. I wanted to rate it but I can’t find the option to do that on this page? Let me know if I’m missing something.

    Anyway, it’s a great drink, but mine came out pretty sweet, although that could be the ingredients I’m using, including a homemade orgeat syrup, etc. if yours also comes out sweet, up the like content to a full ounce per drink, and your cocktail will have a bit more bite!

    Overall, an excellent recipe.

    1. Alex Overhiser says:

      So glad you enjoyed it!

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