For decades, Vic Bergeron swore up and down that the Mai Tai was invented in 1944 at his Northern California restaurant, Trader Vicās. And that was that. Unless it wasnāt. You see, thereās also a case to be made that Bergeronās good friend and business rival Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt, better known as Don the Beachcomber, invented it in 1933. Bergeron and Gantt have both long since moved on to the Great Tiki Bar in the Sky, leaving the matter unsettled for all eternity. But we actually find that fitting. The Mai Tai is the granddaddy of Polynesian-style cocktails, and an enduring symbol of the carefree island spirit. And nothing says ārelaxā like a story you canāt fact-check.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 oz Jamaican Rum
- 1 oz Rhum Agricole
- .75 oz lime juice
- .5 oz CuraƧao
- .5 oz Orgeat
- Crushed Ice
- mint
INSTRUCTIONS
Step one
Shake all ingredients in a shaker tin.
Step two
Strain with a Hawthorne strainer into a rocks glass.
Step three
Garnish with a pressed lime hull (from juicing a lime) and a large bouquet of mint.
Contributed by Supercall
