Name: Mai Tai (Difford's recipe)
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 30 ml Aged rum (6-10yr); 30 ml Pineapple rum; 15 ml Orange Curaçao; 22.5 ml Lime juice; 7.5 ml Orgeat syrup; 7.5 ml Amaretto liqueur; 7.5 ml Falernum liqueur; 2.5 ml White crème de menthe; 2 dash Absinthe; 2 drop Saline solution 4:1

Ingredients

1 fl oz

Caribbean blended rum aged 6-10 years

1 fl oz

Pineapple rum

¹⁄₂ fl oz

Ferrand Dry Curaçao liqueur

³⁄₄ fl oz

Lime juice (freshly squeezed)

¹⁄₄ fl oz

Monin Almond (Orgeat) Syrup

¹⁄₄ fl oz

Adriatico Amaretto Liqueur

¹⁄₄ fl oz

Falernum liqueur

¹⁄₁₂ fl oz

Giffard Menthe Pastille white crème de menthe

2 dash

La Fée Parisienne absinthe

2 drop

Saline solution (20g sea salt to 80g water) or merest pinch of s

How to make

Glassware

Prepare

Select and pre-chill an OLD-FASHIONED GLASS.

Prepare garnish of half lime shell, mint sprigs and fruit stick (skewered pineapple cubes and Luxardo Maraschino Cherry).

Method

SHAKE all ingredients with ice.

STRAIN into glass filled with crushed ice.

Garnish

Garnish with lime shell, mint sprigs bouquet and fruit stick.

Flavour Profile

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

Health & Nutrition

Nutrition:

One serving of Mai Tai (Difford's recipe) contains 271 calories

Alcohol content:

1.9 standard drinks
20.27% alc./vol. (40.53° proof)
26.8 grams of pure alcohol

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Orgeat (almond) sugar syrup (2:1) — Nuts

Comments & Discussion

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Steven Jepson Premium Member 50w

Seems this is quite a controversial version - all I can say is every one I give it to loves it and I rather like it too.

JAY HURON 1y

I don't think any of the "It's not a mai tai" people are saying this is a bad drink; they're just saying it shouldn't be classified as just Mai Tai (even if qualified by a personal recipe).
As I wouldn't call a Sazerac an "Old Fashioned," I wouldn't call this a Mai Tai of any sort personally, but if you must, Pineapple Mai Tai or maybe a Deconstructed Mai Tai? The added ingredients mimic some of the standard ingredients. I think it is divergent enough to have it's own name or a more descriptive Mai Tai variant name.

Gareth Hives Premium Member 1y

Love this version, I'd probably still go with the original if I had to choose but this really works. I vibed off the original slightly differently and swapped the sugar syrup for Monin green tea syrup to make the Mai Chai - https://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/36108/mai-chai

John CARR Premium Member 1y

Clearly a few afficiandos not happy with this but, given the vexed nature of the origins of the drink historically and politically, good to maintain a focus on the creative and evolutionary nature of the beverage and avoid the prescriptive imo. Room for loads of experimentation here. Very drinkable indeed 😊

Avery Garnett 2y

Ooh, no. This ain't it chief. Sorry. The OTT nature of a Mai Tai is to flex on your selection of rums, not to add random liqueurs (creme de menthe? really?) you find. The complete lack of any jamaican rum to begin with should disqualify it.

Mark Messingham 2y

Avery, I think you’ll find that Appleton Estate 8 Reserve is a Single Estate Jamaica Rum.
Personally I don’t add the Crème de menthe as I don’t have any, but use the rest of the ingredients. So far I’ve not had any complaints.

Avery Garnett 1y

"Caribbean aged rum" is as vague of a term as "whiskey".

John CARR Premium Member 1y

Good call. The full body and 43% abv is great here. I cut the the Creme de menthe to a generous dash (approx. quarter of a spoon?) and it all integrates beautifully.

JAY HURON 1y

When I clicked "Caribbean Aged Rum," it showed me Don Q 7-year. Does it show you Appleton?

Simon Sedgley Premium Member 2y

To those commenters here not happy with the inclusion of white creme de menthe, we used, instead, Acqua Bianca. We thought it worked a treat.

Mark 2y

Subbed amaretto with an increased portion of orgeat and substituted crème de menthe for fernet. Omitted the absinthe since I don’t have it, still incredibly good cocktail, complex and tasty.

Daniel Hetherwick 2y

Much for sophisticated cocktail compared to a regular menu item. This recipe would be perfect 5 if the type of rum was more specific. Pineapple rum ranges from sweet syrup to just a hint of pineapple. I think this version requires a more neutral rum like Plantation Pineapple Rum. Any sweetened rum will ruin this version.

Simon Difford Verified User Premium Member 2y

If you click on the ingredient name, I link you to the rum.

Павло Топський 2y

I like Mai tais, but this one was ruined for me by the crème de menthe, 2 mls of which completely overshadowed everything. Will need to try again without the menthe and absinthe