• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
My Creative Manner
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Recipes
    • Appetizer Recipes
      • Cold Appetizers
      • Delicious Dips
      • Warm Appetizers
    • Breads and Muffins
    • Breakfast Recipes
    • Cookie and Brownie Recipes
    • Dessert Recipes
    • Drink and Cocktail Recipes
    • Lunch Recipes
    • Instant Pot Recipes
    • Main Dish Recipes
      • Beef Recipes
      • Pork Recipes
      • Poultry Recipes
    • Sauce Recipes
    • Side Dishes
  • Tips and Tools
  • Outside The Kitchen
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Me
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Recipes
    • Appetizer Recipes
      • Cold Appetizers
      • Delicious Dips
      • Warm Appetizers
    • Breads and Muffins
    • Breakfast Recipes
    • Cookie and Brownie Recipes
    • Dessert Recipes
    • Drink and Cocktail Recipes
    • Lunch Recipes
    • Instant Pot Recipes
    • Main Dish Recipes
      • Beef Recipes
      • Pork Recipes
      • Poultry Recipes
    • Sauce Recipes
    • Side Dishes
  • Tips and Tools
  • Outside The Kitchen
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Me
×
Home » Drink and Cocktail Recipes

Original Mai Tai Recipe

June 28, 2022 by Jennifer 2 Comments

Jump to Recipe
A glass that is filled with the cocktail recipe for a mai tai.

This original mai tai cocktail recipe has a flavorful balance between fresh lime juice, orange liqueur, and aged rum. With a slight nuttiness from the orgeat syrup and a touch of sweetness from the simple syrup.

A glass filled with the original mai tai recipe with a straw, mint springs, and a half lime shell.

When you think of tropical cocktails, Hawaiian cocktails, or tiki cocktails the mai tai is a favorite that is sure to come to mind. My first dive into the tiki cocktails culture was the mai tai and it certainly did not disappoint.

History Of The Original Mai Tai

The mai tai cocktail originated in Oakland California in 1944 by a barman Victor "Trader Vic" Bergeron. When Trader Vic took 17 year old Jamaican Rum, rock candy syrup, orange liqueur, lime juice, and orgeat syrup, shook it together in a cocktail shaker and served over cracked ice, the Mai Tai cocktail was born.

And when a friend from Tahiti exclaimed "Mai Tai!" after taking a drink the name of this cocktail was born as well.

A small glass with filled with the original mai tai cocktail recipe. A lime and mint springs are the garnish for this cocktail recipe.

The mai tai was one of the hardest cocktail recipes I've had to research. Brutalized for decades many variations exist. Including using white rum, multiple rums, varying juices, and the addition of "floating" dark rum on top of the drink.

It seemed everyone had a slightly different way to make the Mai Tai. Needless to say, there are hundreds of recipes for this famous cocktail and I've tried to stay closer to the roots of the original Mai Tai recipe itself.

Ingredients

One is reminded of tropical drinks when the name Mai Tai is heard. But the cocktail doesn't have that typical tropical drink look with various layers of bright colored juices and syrups.

The original Mai Tai recipe is a fairly drab looking cocktail. Don't let the look fool you, that taste is outstanding. I wasn't out for a flashy version, I wanted to taste something closer to the original. So using ingredients that anyone can acquire simply, I put this cocktail recipe together.

The ingredients I use to make this cocktail are Anejo (aged) rum, Cointreau, orgeat syrup, simple syrup, and fresh-squeezed lime juice.

Drink recipe that is garnished with mint and half of lime in a glass with a straw.

Questions

What rum is best for the Mai Tai?

When it comes to rum, the base for our cocktail. The original used a 17 year old aged Jamaican rum. Needless to say, you probably won't be using that in your Mai Tai.

When I started experimenting with trying to figure out a close version of the original Mai Tai recipe. I was using a fairly inexpensive aged rum and I liked what I had come up with. After nailing down my recipe I started trying it with some more expensive higher quality blended aged rums. That are typically drunk neat or on the rocks.

These rums brought even more to the flavor profile of the drink. I have definitely found a new favorite rum cocktail recipe in the Mai Tai that is worthy of a high quality rum!

What orange liqueur is best for the Mai Tai?

As for the other ingredients, their quality is important as well. The original Mai Tai recipe used orange curacao for the orange liqueur portion. I am typically fine with using triple sec, an inexpensive orange liqueur, for most recipes.

But this one I broke out the higher quality more flavorful Cointreau and was glad I did. For it added a little more to the citrus flavor of the drink. Instead of using rock candy syrup like the original, I stayed with simple syrup. Something I readily have on hand.

What Is Orgeat?

Orgeat is pronounced "or-zhaat" and is a syrup for flavoring that is typically made with almonds. Not normally an ingredient that most home bars have on hand. But a necessity for that slightly nutty flavor it brings to the Mai Tai and it's not difficult to find.

Tips And Tricks

I have found that fresh lime juice is best in most cocktail recipes. For this original Mai Tai recipe, it is definitely worth the extra effort. I squeeze about a half of lime for this cocktail then use the spent shell for part of the garnish.

A close up of a glass that is filled with the drink recipe.

Making this original Mai Tai recipe is fairly simple. Combine the rum, Cointreau, orgeat syrup, simple syrup, and fresh lime juice in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake the ingredients together, then strain into a rocks glass over fresh crushed ice.

Garnish with the half spent lime shell and a sprig of fresh mint to give it that tropical island effect. This original Mai Tai recipe has a great flavor balance from the fresh zesty citrus. To the slight nutty orgeat and the deeper flavors of the aged rum of your choosing.

My Creative Manner is answering the question "what's there to drink" with an easy cocktail recipe ~ Steve

A glass that is filled with the cocktail recipe for a mai tai.
  • Frozen Mudslide Drink Recipe
  • Bahama Mama Cocktail
  • Bacardi Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri
  • Classic Margarita With Fresh Lime Juice
A close up of a glass that has the original recipe for a mai tai in it. The cocktail recipe is garnished with a half of lime and a spring of mint.
5 from 1 vote
Print

Mai Tai Cocktail Recipe

This Mai Tai cocktail recipe is a flavorful balance between fresh lime juice, orange liqueur, and aged rum. Orgeat syrup brings in a touch of nuttiness while simple syrup brings in a but of sweetness.

Course Drinks
Cuisine American
Keyword Mai Tai, Mai Tai Cocktail, Mai Tai Cocktail Recipe, Mai Tai Drink, Original Mai Tai Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 1 Servings
Calories 291 kcal
Author Jennifer

Ingredients

  • 2 Ounce Anejo Rum
  • ½ Ounce Cointreau
  • ¼ Ounce Orgeat Syrup
  • ¼ Ounce Simple Syrup
  • ¾ Ounce Lime Juice fresh squeezed
  • ½ Cup Ice crushed for glass
  • ½ Cup Ice for shaker
  • ½ Small Spent Lime for garnish
  • 1 small Mint Spring for garnish

Instructions

  1. Into a cocktail shaker half filled with ice add the rum, Cointreau, orgeat syrup, simple syrup, and lime juice.

  2. Shake the ingredients together for 10-15 seconds.

  3. Strain into a rocks glass (short 8-ounce glass) filled with crushed ice.

  4. Garnish with half spent lime shell and mint spring for a tropical Island effect.

Recipe Notes

The nutritional value may vary depending on the ingredients used. 

Thank you for visiting My Creative Manner. We hope that you enjoy this and many more of our recipes. My Creative Manner is not responsible for the outcome of any of our recipes found on our website. Or that may be linked from or to other websites. The desired outcome of these recipes may not be achieved due to several factors, including ingredients, equipment, errors/typos, or the reader's individual cooking skills.

Nutrition Facts
Mai Tai Cocktail Recipe
Serving Size
 
1 Servings
Amount per Serving
Calories
291
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
0.01
g
0
%
Sodium
 
10
mg
0
%
Potassium
 
29
mg
1
%
Carbohydrates
 
7
g
2
%
Fiber
 
0.1
g
0
%
Sugar
 
6
g
7
%
Protein
 
0.1
g
0
%
Vitamin A
 
11
IU
0
%
Vitamin C
 
6
mg
7
%
Calcium
 
7
mg
1
%
Iron
 
0.3
mg
2
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

« Peanut Butter Cup Cookies With Reese's
Homemade Alfredo Sauce With Heavy Cream »
  • Share
  • Tweet

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Steve

    August 24, 2024 at 3:03 am

    5 stars
    A delicious take on the classic. Excellent recipe!

    Reply
    • Jennifer

      August 24, 2024 at 2:50 pm

      Thank you happy that you enjoyed this cocktail recipe.

      Reply
5 from 1 vote

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Jennifer - My Creative Manner
Welcome to My Creative Manner, I’m so happy to have you here! My name is Jennifer but my friends and family call me Jen. I’m from Michigan where my high school sweetheart and I are raising our three wonderful kids. Life can get busy but our goal is family first, so meals together are a must in our home.
Find out more about me

Stay updated!

Get a free list of Instant Pot terms when you sign up to receive our emails.

Categories

Most Popular

Looking down into a bowl with all the spices that make up homemade old bay seasoning.

Homemade Old Bay Seasoning Recipe

Looking down on a slice of the minty dump cake recipe that has a fork with some on it.

Easy Grasshopper Mint Dump Cake

Looking down on a slice of the chocolate cake on a plate with more of the German dump cake in a baking dish.

German Chocolate Dump Cake

Looking down onto a platter of pumpkin muffins with crumb topping.

Pumpkin Muffins With Streusel Topping

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • About Me
  • Privacy Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact

We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned on this site.

I earn commissions from qualifying purchases as an Amazon associate

All images on this site belong to My Creative Manner

Copyright © 2017- 2025 My Creative Manner

Green Woods Formulations, LLC

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.