The first big vacation that The Beloved and I ever took together was a trip to Kaua’i. It was truly wonderful and spectacular. One of our favorite things was after a day of sightseeing, or a day of sitting on the lanai reading was to make a pitcher of mai-tais.
Mai tais
In fact, those mai-tais were important, because they were really the first cocktails that we made together.
Since we decided that we might feature rum drinks this summer, I thought it was time to break out the mai-tai again. Now, there are probably as many mai-tai recipes as there are bartenders out there (you can find the most standard recipe here), but here is mine*:
- 1.5 oz light rum
- 1 oz lime juice
- 0.5 oz orgeat syrup (only non-negotiable ingredient besides rum)
- 0.5 oz citronage (or triple sec)
- 1 oz orange juice
Mix together in a (large) tumbler, add ice. Top with a 1 oz floater of your favorite dark rum. Garnish with pineapple, citrus wedges or just plain-old cherries… the more celebratory, the better :)
Mai-tai
The Aerie might not have the views of that house in Kaua’i, but they’ll do in a pinch and this drink always takes me back there a little bit.
Here’s to summer!
*I choose to switch out the simple syrup for orange juice, which makes the drink less sweet and more full-bodied.
Stevil 
Sounds delicious…and looks…just perfect! I’ve never tried making them, but I think I could handle it!
Go for it — the hardest part is probably tracking down the orgeat syrup — though you can get it at BevMo (if you have them) or any decently stocked liquor store.
We have some good stores around so I’ll bet I can find it! The hardest thing will be remembering the name! (I put it on a list!)
Gosh, this looks delish, and I don’t drink.
SS — if you don’t drink, then I’ll have yours. :)
Mmmmm . . . sounds better than fabulous. :-)
The second one is even better… :)
I’d like one please but only if it comes in a glass the same size as the one in this post. ;-)
Photos are real size. We don’t make tiny drinks at The Aerie. The little ones are for the kids.