Mai Tai
1 oz dark Jamaican rum
1 oz amber Martinique rum
½ oz orgeat
½ oz orange liqueur
¾ oz lime juice
¼ oz simple syrup

Shake and serve over rocks and garnish with mint.

I got this recipe from Matt Robold who knows a lot more about rum than anyone else I know. I started using Coruba for the dark rum, but of course you can use a more premium product like Appleton 12 or Smith & Cross. (And if you want to get really messed up, use Wray & Nephew Overproof. Make it at home, find the closest couch, and wave goodbye to everyone for the evening.)

For the Martinique rum, I use Clement VSOP, and I also use Clement creole shrubb for the orange liquer, but curaçao will do.

Trader Vic’s recipe calls for it to be garnished with mint as well as the spent lime.

Related to the Mai Tai is this contribution of mine to TDN: Scaffa

Smith & Scaffa
1 oz Smith & Cross
1 oz Novo Fogo aged cachaça
½ oz Cointreau
¼ oz orgeat
¼ oz vanilla syrup

Combine all ingredients together and stir with no ice. Serve up.

This is clearly an homage to ice-less stirred scaffas, normally using brandy. I love a good mai tai, and I’m always on the hunt for new mai tai variants. The Smith & Cross and Novo Fogo play well together to give a strong and interesting backbone to the drink, and are all good enough to be drunk on their own. The sweet elements provide the mai tai structure to the cocktail.