Lost Dishes: Trader Vic's

Trader Vic's: Mai Tai

Trader Vic's franchise was built on its cocktails. In 1944, after success with several exotic drinks, a bit of serendipity occurred that would earn founder Victor Bergeron a place in history. That day in Oakland, he pulled down a bottle of 17-year-old Jamaican rum, added a squeeze of lime, a dash of rock candy syrup, a splash of orange Curaçao, and some French orgeat, and poured the concoction over cracked ice. He handed it to a friend visiting from Tahiti who immediately exclaimed, "It’s mai tai roa ae!" (Tahitian for "out of this world, the best.") The first Mai Tai was born.


Trader Vic's Mai Tai	Trader Vic's Mai Tai

Mai Tai

Source: Trader Vic's, 1944

Yield: 1 servings

Ingredients

1 oz amber Martinique rum
1 oz dark Jamaican rum
1 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 oz orgeat syrup
1/2 oz of Cointreau
Floater of Dark Rum (optional)
Mint (optional garnish)
Lime (optional garnish)

Preparation

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker, except the garnish. Shake and strain into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with fresh mint and a lime if you fancy that. You can also float some dark rum on top of the cocktail.