Mai Tai Recipe – A Taste of Hawaii
I love Hawaiian vacations, and a great tropical drink served on the islands is the Mai Tai. Every time I go to Hawaii (and I’ve been there a lot), I head straight for a bar and ask them to shake up their best Mai Tai recipe.
The Mai Tai is one of the best tropical rum drinks. Problem is, bars and restaurants tend to water it down with juice. I prefer my Mai Tai recipe made with just rum and mixers.
Best Mai Tai Recipe
2 parts dark rum
2 parts gold rum
1 part Cointreau (or triple sec as a more affordable option)
1 part Amaretto (or Torani almond syrup, but that can be hard to find)
juice of 1 lime
2 or 3 dashes of Grenadine
Shake sharply, then strain the Mai Tai cocktail over crushed ice in a highball glass. Garnish with a flower, or an umbrella, or a wedge of pineapple. Or just drink it! This Mai Tai recipe is meant to be enjoyed.
Down one of these rum drinks, and you’ll feel like you’re back in the islands. Speaking of which… (pardon me while I traipse down memory lane, Mai Tai in hand)
I proposed on Kaanapali beach
I swam with sea turtles at Napili Point
I watched the sun set at “Bali Hai” on Kauai
I watched the sun rise at Haleakala crater
I stood near flowing lava at Kilauea volcano
I saw Pearl Jam and U2 in Honolulu
And I drank a ton of Mai Tais every step of the way.
- Frozen Tropical Alcoholic Drinks – Bushwacker
- Dark and Stormy – Rum, Ginger Beer, and Lime
- Mojito Cocktail Recipe – Hemingway’s Favorite
- Vodka Martini Recipe with a Lemon Twist
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Comment by justrun
| June 4th, 2009
Is it wrong that this sounds good to me even at 7:00 a.m.?
justrun´s last blog post..Goodbye, welcome, and moving forward
Comment by T
| June 4th, 2009
UUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
Now I’m craving some of that Aloha spirit!
This mai tai recipe sounds wonderful David. Many years ago, I went scuba diving off the coast of Kauai when the whales were migrating. I simply sat on the bottom, sea turtles swimming around me and listened to the giants of the sea singing to each other.
That is still one of the most awesome experiences of my life.
*sigh*
I wanna go back.
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Comment by MindyMom
| June 4th, 2009
Yeah dude, you’re not supposed to do this!! – Make me long to be in Hawaii drinking a mai tai on the beach without a care in the world…
I’ve been to Kauai and Maui, but it’s been WAYYYY too long since my last visit.
Maybe your Mai tai recipe will have to do for now.
MindyMom´s last blog post..Why Does Life Have to be so Hard?
Comment by Sandy
| June 4th, 2009
I had no idea they were so easy to make! Heading right to the bar to check inventory……..
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Comment by Just Me...
| June 4th, 2009
While the song says it’s five o’clock somewhere, I have never been bound by such time restrictions (but I still won’t wear white shoes after Labor Day)…
Sounds wonderful!!
Pour me one!!
I’ll be right over!! :) :) :)
Comment by katherine.
| June 4th, 2009
juice of one lime to six parts of alcohol and a couple dashes of grenadine?
alo-HA
(it does sound like the perfect cocktail for sunrise and sunsets)
katherine.´s last blog post..watch out for the wave
Comment by krn
| June 4th, 2009
Mahalo nui loa, Dad’s, for taking me down memory lane, also. You did your research well before your trips as those are some of the best of the best of the Islands.
Here are some of my favorite memories:
~making flower leis from the pickings in my Upcountry yard
~skinny dipping at Red Sand beach, Hana, Maui
~seeing a moonbow at night from the far cabin in Haleakala, above Kaupo gap
~long kisses on Makena beach at sunset after a hand-in-hand snorkel with my sweetie
~ swimming with the dolphins at Manele Bay, Lana’i
Eh brah, one of your Mai Tais and this haole girl maybe go all kinds of lolo aloha for you. Just thinking about it makes me type “all Pigin.” ;)
Comment by dadshouse
| June 4th, 2009
Isn’t aloha spirit great? Mai Tai or no, I always have a great time in Hawaii.
Katherine – alo-HA for sure! When I test drove this Mai Tai recipe the other night, one of these rum drinks did me in.
Krn – isn’t it funny how a simple mai tai recipe can unleash a flood of beautiful memories? Worked that way for both of us.
Comment by notasoccermom
| June 4th, 2009
ahhh I want to see the places you describe!
As close as I have been is to have a mai tai or blue hawaiian.
Someday.
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Comment by MommaSunshine
| June 4th, 2009
Sounds….intoxicating.
I suddenly find myself wishing that I liked rum….
MommaSunshine´s last blog post..Simple Joys: monkey bars, bald guys, and dinosaur turds
Comment by SweetPeaSurry
| June 4th, 2009
I generally prefer wine as my adult beverage of choice, but this mai tai recipe does sound super duper yummy!
Comment by Tanya
| June 4th, 2009
Oh that sounds yummm!! I think I’ll give this mai tai recipe a try at our next Book club! (we dont actually read much..bwhahaha)
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Comment by Sandra
| June 4th, 2009
Aloha to you too !
Sounds yummy, may you make more memories in Hawaii with Mai Tais.
Sandra´s last blog post..Douche of the Day
Comment by ilinap
| June 8th, 2009
Boy am I dying to go to Hawaii. Never been. Sigh…
Comment by JenC
| June 14th, 2009
Was looking for a Mai Tai Recipe and saw your U2/Pearl Jam link from Hawaii – I was front row on the Larry/Adam side. You made me cry – I don’t have Chicago tix. :-(
Comment by Cynthia
| August 6th, 2009
Why oh why doesn’t this web site have an option that lets me email or easily print this mai tai recipe???
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Comment by Theresa
| August 18th, 2009
Have you had a Mai Tai at the Moana Surfrider on Waikiki Beach? One of the best! We’ll try your recipe on 2nd day celebration of my daughter’s wedding in September – they will be honeymooning on Maui.
Comment by David
| August 23rd, 2009
You have to be kidding me. That’s 4 times the rum needed for 1 Mai Tai. 4 parts rum? Just for laughs and giggles I made this recipe and I could have started a fire with this brew. Where’s the pineapple juice? It should be 1 jigger rum, 1/4 oz almond syrup, 1/2 oz pineapple juice, 1/2 oz lime juice, and 1/4 oz Grenadine syrup. Done. Shake and pour over ice in a hurricane glass.
Comment by dadshouse
| August 23rd, 2009
David, for my mai tai recipe, I don’t use one shot per part. Four shots of rum in a drink would be insane, like you say. I probably should have given an exact measure. My bad. I assume your jigger is 1.5 oz. Then your mai tai recipe calls for 6 parts rum and 1 part almond syrup. That’s a larger rum ratio than my 4 to 1 mai tai recipe. I imagine you’d need juice to dilute yours a bit.
I hate dealing with oz., and I usually just make drinks by ratio, not by actually measuring ounces, hence my use of “parts”. (For instance, a classic martini has 5 parts gin to 1 part vermouth.) But clearly, a measurement for the mai tai recipe would be useful. 1/3 oz works well as a “part” for this drink.
Here’s the mai tai recipe using ounces:
2/3 oz. dark rum
2/3 oz. gold rum
1/3 oz. Cointreau (or triple sec as a more affordable option)
1/3 oz. Amaretto (or Torani almond syrup, but that can be hard to find)
juice of 1 lime
2 or 3 dashes of Grenadine
Hang loose. Aloha.