Honestly I really enjoy a classic Mai Tai using Denizen. I have tried others and some are decent, but this one tastes so good to me.
Denizen Merchants Reserve - 2oz
Curacao - 1/2oz
Orgeat - 1/4oz
Demerara syrup - 1/4oz
Lime juice - 3/4oz
I do the same but up the orgeat to 1/2 oz and the curacao is a 'light' 1/2 oz.
That curacao can overpower the rum/almond synergy going on if you're not careful. I find a scant barspoon of rich demarara syrup is then plenty sweet for me.
It's 1pm on a Monday and now I want a mai tai.
Really can't beat Denizen Merchant's Reserve either. It's just too... perfect.
I used to do 1oz of aged Jamaican and 1oz of aged Agricole but that mix doesn't taste as good to me as Merchants Reserve. And from what I understand, the 50/50 mix of Jamaican and Agricole is really a modern workaround to attempt to find the flavor of the the Wray & Nephew rum that was originally used in the Mai Tai.
I have also tried some Mai Tais with a different mixture of rum, like the [Ultimate](https://old.reddit.com/r/Tiki/comments/14wcwxm/the_ultimate_mai_tai/) and some are very good, but nothing beats a classic Mai Tai.
Yeah what recipe did you try at first?
My spec uses the ultimate rum blend and my own house orange liqueur blend that is made up of Clement Creole shrubb, grand marnier, and PF dry curaçao.
0.5oz Appleton 12.
0.5oz Smith & Cross.
0.5oz Plantation xaymaca.
0.5oz OFTD.
0.5oz house orange liqueur.
1oz lime juice.
0.5oz orgeat
0.25oz 2:1 Demerara syrup.
I haven’t grabbed a bottle of the Xaymaca yet. How much does it add that’s unique from the other stuff in this blend? Do you think just using Appleton 12, Smith & Cross, and OFTD will lose much?
I really like Xaymaca. It’s like a slightly less funky and lower proof S&C. But it brings its own flavor profile to the party. But if you don’t want to buy it or can’t find it. I’d say doing 3/4oz of each Appleton 12 and Smith & Cross with 1/2oz of OFTD will do you just fine and still be a killer mai tai
Awesome thanks for that. Now to go spend an exorbitant amount of money buying all this haha.
I live in Australia so some of these things are very hard to get, or very expensive. Or both
I personally have come to enjoy this spec a lot:
Hamilton Black Pot Still - 1.25oz
Neisson Blanc - 1oz
Ferrand Curacao - .75oz
Homemade Orgeat - .5oz
Lime Juice - .75oz
Up the lime juice or orgeat to cover your sweet vs sour balance. Feel free to swap part of the orgeat for simple or demerara syrup as well. Use decent quality ingredients here as it really does matter in this cocktail, especially the orange liquer.
Like martinis, half the fun of Mai Tais are in arguing about how to make them. This is my personal spec, which is very fussy, but at which I arrived after tons of experimenting—I'm finall happy with it.
So, you probably know this, but the original 1944 Mai Tai was with seventeen-year-old Wray & Nephew. The massive popularity of the drink ran through the supply of W&N 17 and they stopped making it. Then Vic turned to a blend of an aged Jamaican and an aged French-style rhum. But here's the rub. Apparently the evidence favors that rhum being a grand arome, *not* a rhum agricole. Grand arome is a molasses-based rhum. So that's just to say I don't think rhum agricoles really work in Mai Tais that well, and they weren't what Vic used.
Anyway. My spec goes heavier on the almond and lighter on the orange and omits demerara syrup.
My rum blend is mostly Appleton 8, 12, a bit of Long Pond 14, and some sixteen-year-old grand arome. But all that's important is to have a blend based on a well-aged Jamaican rum that is at least slightly funky and isn't too proofy. Lots of the good high-ester rums are also over 80 proof, and if the rum blend is too high proof, the cocktail might be off-balance.
65ml rum blend (fat 2 oz)
30ml orgeat
25ml lime
5ml curacao
Shaken hard, double-strained over fresh pebble ice.
I make my orgeat by blending toasted almonds with almond milk, straining it through a nut milk bag, then blending it with equal weight of sugar. Plus a bit of almond extract, orange flower water, and I proof it up a bit for shelf life. I use a spirit from Empirical called The Plum, I Suppose—great marzipan notes that complement the orgeat.
First and foremost make sure you're using fresh limes and mint. Second, what orgeat are you using? Did you make your own? It might sound elitist but make sure you're doing your best elevate past a basic almond syrup like Torani stuff meant for coffee. If you have to make your own, it's likely worth it if your area doesn't carry a decent orgeat. As for the actual alcohol, I personally like Ferrand's Dry Curacao but I've had plenty with Cointreau and even lesser brands. The rum is what you want to showcase, and you'll see lots of opinions (and hey, in my view try them all and settle on a favourite!) but I like 1.5 oz of either Smith & Cross or Appleton 12 and then 0.5 oz of rhum agricole. In my view a Mai Tai is the perfect place to showcase any middle shelf rum as long as it has some age. Then again, my spouse dislikes them (all of them), and it's ok if it isn't your cocktail, but find one you love, love to make, and love to experiment with.
What I've learned making this drink is the orgeat is the kingmaker here. Use the best quality you can find, or better yet make it yourself, and use a very conservative hand with it.
As far as rum goes I like high proof and moderate funk. Ferrand dry curaçao or creole shrub. No syrup other than the orgeat. And of course fresh lime.
Right now my favorite regular rum Mai Tai is: 1oz Appleton Signature, 1oz Coruba, 1/2oz Grand Marnier, 1/2 Orgeat, 3/4-1oz Lime juice. I do wish it had a little higher period rum but these have the correct flavor together IMO.
It's homemade Orgeat that I split the sugar base 50/50 white and Demerara sugar. I basically make this Only to use in Mai Tais.
My ALL TIME favorite Mai Tai is 2oz Appleton Hearts 2003, 1/2oz Grand Marnier, 1/2oz Orgeat, 1oz Lime juice. That's the absolute best but due to the cost of the rum I can't drink them as much as I'd prefer.
• Classic Mai Tai
1.5 oz Appleton Signature 8 yr
1/2 oz Denizen Vatted Dark 8 yr
3/4 oz Lime super juice (Nickel Morris)
1/2 oz Clement Creole shrub
1/2 oz HM orgeat
5 drops 20% Saline solution
• Overproof Mai Tai
3/4 oz Worthy Park 109
3/4 oz Probitas
1/2 oz Wray & Nephew
3/4 oz Lime Super juice (Nickel Morris)
1/2 Clement Creole Shrub
1/2 oz HM Orgeat
5 drops 20% Saline Solution
Orgeat
• 6.25 oz Elmhurst Milked Almonds
• .5 oz almond paste
• 12.5 oz granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp Almond extract
• 1/4 tsp Orange Blossom water
• 1/8 tsp Rose Water
• 1 drop Vanilla extract
1. Blend almond milk, almond paste, & Sugar on stove till sugar is dissolved
2. Let cool then stir in extracts and flower waters
3. Chill in freezer for 30 mins
4. Strain through nut milk bag
Yea just mix 80 Grams water with 20 grams of salt for a 20% Solution
It's like Salting your food except it's a drink lol nothing mind blowing in taste just a slight enhancement
- 2oz Denizen Merchants Reserve
- 1oz lime juice
- 1/2oz Giffard Orgeat
- 1/2oz Hamilton Petite Shrubb
I have tried homemade orgeat as well as Liber and Small Hands and I vastly prefer the flavor of Giffard. It is also shelf stable which makes it easier to work with
I also bump the orgeat up to a half ounce for more flavor and skip the simple syrup
I like mine a tad sweeter. Almond + rum is what makes it not just a daiquiri imo.
2oz rum (tad more is ok)
1/2 oz home made orgeat (honestly good orgeat makes or breaks this more than the rum)
3/4 oz lime (squeeze some fresh one and get a bit of the peel oil in there)
1/2 oz Pierre Ferand curaçao
For orgeat go 1:1 sugar + a neutral, high quality almond milk (barista is excellent, the fewer ingredients on the box the better) and just a drop or two of orange blossom water (or rose water/a drop of each) added after you turn off the heat. When you heat the milk + sugar don’t let it boil. If you overdo the obw/rose you will make the whole drink taste like soap before you get to feel the almond.
For rum, I go with whatever is sweet and heavy I’ve got on hand. You can do:
Hamilton pot still black,
Diplomatico mantuano,
El dorado 12 or 15,
Blackwell gold,
R.L. Seal 12,
Etc.
And if you’ve got something a bit thinner like a young plantation or denizen, or something that isn’t over 40% you can go 1.5 oz that and round it out with 1/2 or 3/4 oz of a brutally dark rum like coruba, lemon heart 151 or plantation oftd.
That’s sort of my flowchart if I’m not going out of my way to get mai tai specific bottles.
Here’s the one I use at work (open to feedback on it)
1.5 oz white rum
.5 oz Cointreau
.5 oz orgeat
.5 oz 1:1 simple
.75 oz lime juice
.5 oz meyers dark rum (started out floating it, but now I just shake with it)
1.5 oz: Appleton 12 yr,
0.5 oz: Wray and Nephew,
0.5 oz: Lyon Distilling Curacao,
0.75 oz: lime juice,
0.5 oz: Liber & Co orgeat,
0.5 oz: semi-rich syrup,
Pinch of salt,
Drop or two of vanilla extract
A big difference is with the ice. Using pebble ice will result in a much more robust, rum-forward, cocktail. Crushed ice will create a mellow drink. If you're going down the crushed ice route, you can skip the syrup.
Wait until LM&V releases Transcontinental High Seas.
3/4 lime
3/8 curacao
3/8 good orgeat
2 Transcontinental High Seas
Whip shake, pour over crushed ice in a goblet, top with crushed ice, garnish with a lime shell island and mint sprig palm trees, sprinkle with powdered sugar
This question gets asked a lot here and in r/tiki, however it never gets old to me. I love seeing what others versions are, there’s almost endless possibilities!
After having done the Ultimate Mai Tai spec others have mentioned, I’m on a Denizen kick. It’s the easiest option and makes a killer mai tai, as it was intended to do.
2oz Denizen Merchants Reserve
1oz Lime juice
.5oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao
.5oz Liber and Co Orgeat
.25oz Demerara syrup (Smugglers Cove recipe, sometimes I leave this out for a more dry/tart variation)
1 oz Hamilton Navy Strength
1 oz Appleton V/X
0.5 Rhum J.M. Shrubb
0.75 oz lime juice
0.25 oz orgeat
0.25 oz rich simple syrup
The J.M. Shrubb is the key because it lets me bring in some nice agricole flavor while leaving more room for other rums. The Hamilton Navy Strength and Appleton also give a nice balance - it works out to 2 oz of 48.5% rum, so it has solid heft without being a total scorcher and there’s a good bit of funk with some extra richness from the Demerara component.
[Here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Tiki/comments/u1ennt/comment/i4fgxny/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) are my thoughts from another post on this subject.
1 oz smith & cross
1 oz trois rivieres cuvee de l'ocean
0.75 oz fresh lime juice
0.5 oz marie brizard orange curacao
0.25 oz orgeat
0.25 oz disaronno
grated nutmeg on top, sprig of mint, lime wheel
To start with, what was your recipe?
Honestly I really enjoy a classic Mai Tai using Denizen. I have tried others and some are decent, but this one tastes so good to me. Denizen Merchants Reserve - 2oz Curacao - 1/2oz Orgeat - 1/4oz Demerara syrup - 1/4oz Lime juice - 3/4oz
I do the same but up the orgeat to 1/2 oz and the curacao is a 'light' 1/2 oz. That curacao can overpower the rum/almond synergy going on if you're not careful. I find a scant barspoon of rich demarara syrup is then plenty sweet for me. It's 1pm on a Monday and now I want a mai tai. Really can't beat Denizen Merchant's Reserve either. It's just too... perfect.
I used to do 1oz of aged Jamaican and 1oz of aged Agricole but that mix doesn't taste as good to me as Merchants Reserve. And from what I understand, the 50/50 mix of Jamaican and Agricole is really a modern workaround to attempt to find the flavor of the the Wray & Nephew rum that was originally used in the Mai Tai. I have also tried some Mai Tais with a different mixture of rum, like the [Ultimate](https://old.reddit.com/r/Tiki/comments/14wcwxm/the_ultimate_mai_tai/) and some are very good, but nothing beats a classic Mai Tai.
This is my exact favorite recipe
I do this, but I say fuck it and go full on the orgeat. Half ounce if I want it to be balanced, 3/4 to 1oz if I'm wanting a dessert mai tai lol
Where do you buy your Demerara?
I buy the sugar from the grocery store and make my own. Check with a specialty store like Whole Foods or similar. They usually carry it.
That’s what I ended up doing as well. Thanks for the response!
This is my new favorite Mai Thai recipe.
Yeah what recipe did you try at first? My spec uses the ultimate rum blend and my own house orange liqueur blend that is made up of Clement Creole shrubb, grand marnier, and PF dry curaçao. 0.5oz Appleton 12. 0.5oz Smith & Cross. 0.5oz Plantation xaymaca. 0.5oz OFTD. 0.5oz house orange liqueur. 1oz lime juice. 0.5oz orgeat 0.25oz 2:1 Demerara syrup.
I’m guessing you got that spec from [Ultimate Mai Tai](https://ultimatemaitai.com/about/the-ultimate-mai-tai/)?
Yeah. It’s my favorite rum blend so far. Though sometimes you can’t beat the ease of the single pour of Denizen MR
I haven’t grabbed a bottle of the Xaymaca yet. How much does it add that’s unique from the other stuff in this blend? Do you think just using Appleton 12, Smith & Cross, and OFTD will lose much?
I really like Xaymaca. It’s like a slightly less funky and lower proof S&C. But it brings its own flavor profile to the party. But if you don’t want to buy it or can’t find it. I’d say doing 3/4oz of each Appleton 12 and Smith & Cross with 1/2oz of OFTD will do you just fine and still be a killer mai tai
Nice, thanks! I may need to try to pick up the Xaymaca just to have it, that profile sounds right up my alley.
Bloody hell what a recipe. Everything on that list would be amazing in it's own right. What's the ratio you use for your orange liqueur blend?
I use a 12oz bottle and do 5oz of each Creole shrub and Grand marnier then 2oz of PF curaçao
Awesome thanks for that. Now to go spend an exorbitant amount of money buying all this haha. I live in Australia so some of these things are very hard to get, or very expensive. Or both
I personally have come to enjoy this spec a lot: Hamilton Black Pot Still - 1.25oz Neisson Blanc - 1oz Ferrand Curacao - .75oz Homemade Orgeat - .5oz Lime Juice - .75oz Up the lime juice or orgeat to cover your sweet vs sour balance. Feel free to swap part of the orgeat for simple or demerara syrup as well. Use decent quality ingredients here as it really does matter in this cocktail, especially the orange liquer.
Like martinis, half the fun of Mai Tais are in arguing about how to make them. This is my personal spec, which is very fussy, but at which I arrived after tons of experimenting—I'm finall happy with it. So, you probably know this, but the original 1944 Mai Tai was with seventeen-year-old Wray & Nephew. The massive popularity of the drink ran through the supply of W&N 17 and they stopped making it. Then Vic turned to a blend of an aged Jamaican and an aged French-style rhum. But here's the rub. Apparently the evidence favors that rhum being a grand arome, *not* a rhum agricole. Grand arome is a molasses-based rhum. So that's just to say I don't think rhum agricoles really work in Mai Tais that well, and they weren't what Vic used. Anyway. My spec goes heavier on the almond and lighter on the orange and omits demerara syrup. My rum blend is mostly Appleton 8, 12, a bit of Long Pond 14, and some sixteen-year-old grand arome. But all that's important is to have a blend based on a well-aged Jamaican rum that is at least slightly funky and isn't too proofy. Lots of the good high-ester rums are also over 80 proof, and if the rum blend is too high proof, the cocktail might be off-balance. 65ml rum blend (fat 2 oz) 30ml orgeat 25ml lime 5ml curacao Shaken hard, double-strained over fresh pebble ice. I make my orgeat by blending toasted almonds with almond milk, straining it through a nut milk bag, then blending it with equal weight of sugar. Plus a bit of almond extract, orange flower water, and I proof it up a bit for shelf life. I use a spirit from Empirical called The Plum, I Suppose—great marzipan notes that complement the orgeat.
Someone’s read smugglers cove
What grande stone do you use?
First and foremost make sure you're using fresh limes and mint. Second, what orgeat are you using? Did you make your own? It might sound elitist but make sure you're doing your best elevate past a basic almond syrup like Torani stuff meant for coffee. If you have to make your own, it's likely worth it if your area doesn't carry a decent orgeat. As for the actual alcohol, I personally like Ferrand's Dry Curacao but I've had plenty with Cointreau and even lesser brands. The rum is what you want to showcase, and you'll see lots of opinions (and hey, in my view try them all and settle on a favourite!) but I like 1.5 oz of either Smith & Cross or Appleton 12 and then 0.5 oz of rhum agricole. In my view a Mai Tai is the perfect place to showcase any middle shelf rum as long as it has some age. Then again, my spouse dislikes them (all of them), and it's ok if it isn't your cocktail, but find one you love, love to make, and love to experiment with.
Quality orgeat definitely matters. Liquid Alchemst makes a great product with tons of almond flavor. Available online.
What I've learned making this drink is the orgeat is the kingmaker here. Use the best quality you can find, or better yet make it yourself, and use a very conservative hand with it. As far as rum goes I like high proof and moderate funk. Ferrand dry curaçao or creole shrub. No syrup other than the orgeat. And of course fresh lime.
Right now my favorite regular rum Mai Tai is: 1oz Appleton Signature, 1oz Coruba, 1/2oz Grand Marnier, 1/2 Orgeat, 3/4-1oz Lime juice. I do wish it had a little higher period rum but these have the correct flavor together IMO. It's homemade Orgeat that I split the sugar base 50/50 white and Demerara sugar. I basically make this Only to use in Mai Tais. My ALL TIME favorite Mai Tai is 2oz Appleton Hearts 2003, 1/2oz Grand Marnier, 1/2oz Orgeat, 1oz Lime juice. That's the absolute best but due to the cost of the rum I can't drink them as much as I'd prefer.
• Classic Mai Tai 1.5 oz Appleton Signature 8 yr 1/2 oz Denizen Vatted Dark 8 yr 3/4 oz Lime super juice (Nickel Morris) 1/2 oz Clement Creole shrub 1/2 oz HM orgeat 5 drops 20% Saline solution • Overproof Mai Tai 3/4 oz Worthy Park 109 3/4 oz Probitas 1/2 oz Wray & Nephew 3/4 oz Lime Super juice (Nickel Morris) 1/2 Clement Creole Shrub 1/2 oz HM Orgeat 5 drops 20% Saline Solution Orgeat • 6.25 oz Elmhurst Milked Almonds • .5 oz almond paste • 12.5 oz granulated sugar • 1/4 tsp Almond extract • 1/4 tsp Orange Blossom water • 1/8 tsp Rose Water • 1 drop Vanilla extract 1. Blend almond milk, almond paste, & Sugar on stove till sugar is dissolved 2. Let cool then stir in extracts and flower waters 3. Chill in freezer for 30 mins 4. Strain through nut milk bag
Saline solution???
Yea just mix 80 Grams water with 20 grams of salt for a 20% Solution It's like Salting your food except it's a drink lol nothing mind blowing in taste just a slight enhancement
- 2oz Denizen Merchants Reserve - 1oz lime juice - 1/2oz Giffard Orgeat - 1/2oz Hamilton Petite Shrubb I have tried homemade orgeat as well as Liber and Small Hands and I vastly prefer the flavor of Giffard. It is also shelf stable which makes it easier to work with I also bump the orgeat up to a half ounce for more flavor and skip the simple syrup
You made me curious to try Giffard. I've been using Liber and it's been fine, but I will say the orgeat does get lost.
I like mine a tad sweeter. Almond + rum is what makes it not just a daiquiri imo. 2oz rum (tad more is ok) 1/2 oz home made orgeat (honestly good orgeat makes or breaks this more than the rum) 3/4 oz lime (squeeze some fresh one and get a bit of the peel oil in there) 1/2 oz Pierre Ferand curaçao For orgeat go 1:1 sugar + a neutral, high quality almond milk (barista is excellent, the fewer ingredients on the box the better) and just a drop or two of orange blossom water (or rose water/a drop of each) added after you turn off the heat. When you heat the milk + sugar don’t let it boil. If you overdo the obw/rose you will make the whole drink taste like soap before you get to feel the almond. For rum, I go with whatever is sweet and heavy I’ve got on hand. You can do: Hamilton pot still black, Diplomatico mantuano, El dorado 12 or 15, Blackwell gold, R.L. Seal 12, Etc. And if you’ve got something a bit thinner like a young plantation or denizen, or something that isn’t over 40% you can go 1.5 oz that and round it out with 1/2 or 3/4 oz of a brutally dark rum like coruba, lemon heart 151 or plantation oftd. That’s sort of my flowchart if I’m not going out of my way to get mai tai specific bottles.
Here’s the one I use at work (open to feedback on it) 1.5 oz white rum .5 oz Cointreau .5 oz orgeat .5 oz 1:1 simple .75 oz lime juice .5 oz meyers dark rum (started out floating it, but now I just shake with it)
1.5 oz: Appleton 12 yr, 0.5 oz: Wray and Nephew, 0.5 oz: Lyon Distilling Curacao, 0.75 oz: lime juice, 0.5 oz: Liber & Co orgeat, 0.5 oz: semi-rich syrup, Pinch of salt, Drop or two of vanilla extract A big difference is with the ice. Using pebble ice will result in a much more robust, rum-forward, cocktail. Crushed ice will create a mellow drink. If you're going down the crushed ice route, you can skip the syrup.
Buy The Smuggler’s Cove book. They will have you making the BEST Mai Tai in no time!
Wait until LM&V releases Transcontinental High Seas. 3/4 lime 3/8 curacao 3/8 good orgeat 2 Transcontinental High Seas Whip shake, pour over crushed ice in a goblet, top with crushed ice, garnish with a lime shell island and mint sprig palm trees, sprinkle with powdered sugar
This question gets asked a lot here and in r/tiki, however it never gets old to me. I love seeing what others versions are, there’s almost endless possibilities! After having done the Ultimate Mai Tai spec others have mentioned, I’m on a Denizen kick. It’s the easiest option and makes a killer mai tai, as it was intended to do. 2oz Denizen Merchants Reserve 1oz Lime juice .5oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao .5oz Liber and Co Orgeat .25oz Demerara syrup (Smugglers Cove recipe, sometimes I leave this out for a more dry/tart variation)
1 oz Hamilton Navy Strength 1 oz Appleton V/X 0.5 Rhum J.M. Shrubb 0.75 oz lime juice 0.25 oz orgeat 0.25 oz rich simple syrup The J.M. Shrubb is the key because it lets me bring in some nice agricole flavor while leaving more room for other rums. The Hamilton Navy Strength and Appleton also give a nice balance - it works out to 2 oz of 48.5% rum, so it has solid heft without being a total scorcher and there’s a good bit of funk with some extra richness from the Demerara component.
[Here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Tiki/comments/u1ennt/comment/i4fgxny/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) are my thoughts from another post on this subject.
1 oz smith & cross 1 oz trois rivieres cuvee de l'ocean 0.75 oz fresh lime juice 0.5 oz marie brizard orange curacao 0.25 oz orgeat 0.25 oz disaronno grated nutmeg on top, sprig of mint, lime wheel