Editing Mai Tai

{{Short description|Cocktail based on rum, Curaçao liqueur and lime juice}}
{{About|the cocktail}}
{{Not to be confused with|Muay Thai}}
{{Infobox cocktail
|iba         =yes
|name        =Mai Tai
|image       =Mai Tai at Trader Vic's Emeryville.jpg
|caption     =
| sourcelink = mai-tai
|type        =cocktail
|flaming     =
|rum =yes
|served      =shaved or crushed ice
|garnish     = pineapple spear, mint leaves, and lime peel
|drinkware   = old
|ingredients =
* 30&nbsp;ml [[rum|amber Jamaican rum]]
* 30&nbsp;ml Martinique molasses rhum
* 15&nbsp;ml orange [[Curaçao (liqueur)|curaçao]]
* 15&nbsp;ml [[orgeat syrup]] (almond)
* 30&nbsp;ml fresh [[lime juice]]
* 7.5&nbsp;ml [[simple syrup]]
|prep=Add all ingredients into a shaker with ice. Shake and pour into a double rocks glass or a highball glass.
|notes       = The Martinique molasses rum used by Trader Vic was not a [[Rhum Agricole]] but a type of "rummy" from molasses.
|footnotes   =
}}
The '''Mai Tai''' ({{IPAc-en|'|m|ai|_|'|t|ai}} {{respell|MYE|_|TYE}}) is a [[cocktail]] made of [[rum]], [[Curaçao (liqueur)|Curaçao liqueur]], [[orgeat syrup]], and [[lime juice]]. It is one of the characteristic cocktails in [[Tiki culture]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Curtis |first1=Wayne |title=And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails |date=2007 |publisher=Three Rivers Press |location=New York |page=227}}</ref>

==History==
Victor J. Bergeron claimed to have invented the Mai Tai in 1944 at his restaurant, [[Trader Vic's]], in Oakland, California, US.<ref>"The Origin of the Mai Tai", [https://web.archive.org/web/20100104142639/http://www.tradervics.com/mai-tai-1.html], tradervics.com via archive.org</ref> Trader Vic's forerunner, [[Don the Beachcomber|Donn Beach]], claimed to have instead first created it in 1933, although a longtime colleague said that Beach was actually just alleging that the Mai Tai was based on his [[Q.B. Cooler]] cocktail.<ref name="add citation">{{cite news |title=Anatomy of a Classic: The Mai Tai Turns 75 |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/anatomy-of-a-classic-the-mai-tai-turns-75 |newspaper=The Daily Beast |date=22 February 2019 |access-date=25 February 2019|last1=Curtis |first1=Wayne }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Mai Tai recipe history |url=https://www.eater.com/drinks/2016/11/10/13544698/mai-tai-recipe-history |website=eater.com |date=10 November 2016 |access-date=25 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Berry |first1=Jeff |title=Beachbum Berry Remixed |date=2010 |publisher=Slave Labor Graphics |location=San Jose |page=64}}</ref> Don the Beachcomber's recipe is more complex than Vic's and some believe it tastes quite different.<ref>{{cite book |first=Charles A. |last=Coulombe |title=Rum: The Epic Story of the Drink That Conquered the World |publisher=Citadel Press |year=2005 |page=258}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Ultimate Mai Tai |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2016/03/16/the-ultimate-mai-tai-in-both-hawaiian-and-trader-vics-styles/ |website=mercurynews.com |date=16 March 2016 |access-date=25 February 2019}}</ref> Others believe that, despite the difference in ingredients, the Q.B. Cooler tastes quite similar.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Berry |first1=Jeff |title=Beachbum Berry Remixed |date=2010 |publisher=Slave Labor Graphics |location=San Jose |page=69}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Mai Tai History |url=https://caskstrength.wordpress.com/2010/09/08/the-mai-tai-history-a-recipe-a-how-to-an-explanation-and-technique-followed-with-a-shopping-list/ |website=caskstrength.wordpress.com |date=8 September 2010 |access-date=25 February 2019}}</ref>

The Mai Tai was introduced in Hawaii in 1953 when Bergeron created a cocktail menu for the Matson Company hotels the [[Royal Hawaiian Hotel]] and [[Moana Hotel]]. The cocktail became a hit and was called the "top tourist tantalizer" in 1959.<ref>''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'', February 7, 1959, p. 38</ref> In the years thereafter, pineapple juice, orange juice, and a dark rum float became commonly used in Mai Tais produced in Hawaii.<ref>''Exotica Moderne'', Issue 15, 2022, p. 19</ref>

The name was allegedly taken from ''maitaʻi'', the [[Tahitian language|Tahitian]] word for "good" or "excellence", although the drink is usually spelled as two words, sometimes hyphenated or capitalized.<ref>''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', third edition, ''s.v.'' [http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/00299965 mai tai]</ref><ref>[http://www.webster.com/dictionary/maitai "maitai"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202044658/http://www.webster.com/dictionary/maitai |date=2008-12-02 }}, ''Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary''</ref>

==Recipe==
Most current recipes for Mai Tais based on Trader Vic's 1944 recipe include [[rum]], [[lime juice]], [[orgeat syrup]], and orange liqueur (typically [[orange curaçao]]). Variants may include the addition of [[amaretto]], [[falernum]], [[bitters]], [[grenadine]], orange, pineapple and grapefruit juices, and so on. This wide variance in ingredients used exists because Trader Vic's kept the recipe unpublished for nearly 30 years, forcing some competitors to guess at the ingredients to satisfy customers,<ref>{{cite book |last=Berry |first=Jeff |date=2010 |title=Beachbum Berry Remixed |location=San Jose, CA |publisher=Club Tiki Press |page=65 |isbn=978-1-59362-139-1}}</ref> though various recipes published in newspapers in the 1950s and 1960s did include key ingredients such as orgeat, orange curaçao, and rock candy syrup.<ref>Exotica Moderne, Issue 15, 2022, p. 19</ref>

Various books from Victor Bergeron described using rum from Jamaica as well as from Martinique, which in modern usage is a {{lang|fr|[[rhum agricole]]}}, being a rum made from [[sugarcane juice]] rather than molasses. As noted in ''Smuggler's Cove'' by Martin Cate and Rebecca Cate, the Martinique rums used by Bergeron in the 1950s were most certainly not agricole rums.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cate |first=Martin |date=2016 |title=Smuggler's Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum, and the Cult of Tiki |location=Berkeley, CA |publisher=[[Ten Speed Press]] |page=264 |isbn=978-1-60774-732-1}}</ref> Overproof rums are sometimes added to make stronger versions,<ref>{{cite web |title=Inside LA's Tiki Underground |url=https://punchdrink.com/articles/inside-las-tiki-underground/ |website=punchdrink.com |access-date=2019-01-30|date=2014-05-21|author=Cacicio, Jennifer}}</ref> but Cate says references to such use as being from "the old way" was only because a 151 proof (75%) [[demerara]] float was the preferred variation of a frequent elderly customer.<ref>{{cite web |title=You deserve a real Mai-Tai |url=https://www.eater.com/drinks/2016/11/10/13544698/mai-tai-recipe-history |website=eater.com |access-date=2019-01-30|date=2016-11-10|author=Pardilla, Caroline}}</ref>

==Culture==
The Mai Tai became a popular cocktail in the 1950s–60s and many restaurants, particularly [[Tiki culture|tiki-themed]] restaurants or bars, served them. The Mai Tai was also prominently featured in the 1961 [[Elvis Presley]] film ''[[Blue Hawaii]]''.

The Mai Tai was named the official cocktail of the city by the [[Oakland, California]] city council.<ref>https://oakland.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=M&ID=1229120&GUID=8A4E5F00-8DEF-4485-B669-A0DC57001EA0</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
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{{Sister project links|Mai Tai}}

{{Cocktails|IBA=y}}
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[[Category:Californian cuisine]]
[[Category:Cocktails with fruit liqueur]]
[[Category:Cocktails with lime juice]]
[[Category:Cocktails with rum]]
[[Category:Cocktails with triple sec or curaçao]]
[[Category:Cuisine of the Western United States]]
[[Category:Hawaiian alcoholic drinks]]
[[Category:Tiki culture]]
[[Category:Tiki drinks]]