Tiki Max

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (43 ratings)

Serve in an Old-fashioned glass

Ingredients:
1 oz Navy rum (ideally 54.5% alc./vol.)
1 oz Light white rum (charcoal-filtered 1-4 years old)
12 oz Grand Marnier or other cognac orange liqueur
12 oz Luxardo Apricot Albicocca Liqueur
34 oz Monin Almond (Orgeat) Syrup
34 oz Lime juice (freshly squeezed)
1 12 oz Pineapple juice
12 oz Orange juice (freshly squeezed)
6 dash Angostura Aromatic Bitters
12 oz Navy rum (ideally 54.5% alc./vol.)
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill an Old-fashioned glass.
  2. Prepare garnish of mint sprigs and lime wedge.
  3. SHAKE first 9 ingredients with ice.
  4. STRAIN into glass filled with crushed ice.
  5. FLOAT Navy rum.
  6. Garnish with lime wedge and mint sprigs bouquet.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

  • Orgeat (almond) sugar syrup (2:1) - Nuts

Review:

This drink breaks the golden rule - simple is beautiful. However, it's tasty and packs a punch.

View readers' comments

History:

Created in 2008 by yours truly at the Cabinet Room, London, England.

The inspiration for this drink came not from the similarly named discount clothing retailer but the venerable Tiki cocktail itself. Tiki drinks, otherwise known as 'exotics' originated in 1934 when Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt, a Louisiana native who had made some money bootlegging rum during Prohibition, opened a bar called Don's Beachcomber in Hollywood and began serving rum based, fruity cocktails. Soon after, Victor 'Trader Vic' Bergeron transformed his restaurant Hinky Dinks into a similar faux Polynesian style. These founding fathers spawned many Tiki imitators and despite a dip in popularity from the 1970s, happily the noughties saw a revival in the fortunes of Tiki.

Nutrition:

One serving of Tiki Max contains 374 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 2.5 standard drinks
  • 16.61% alc./vol. (16.61° proof)
  • 35.2 grams of pure alcohol

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Jose Cruz’s Avatar Jose Cruz
28th May 2024 at 04:16
Well that was pretty amazing, probably in my top 5. I did do 20 ML apricot and 10 Grand M, but i would say a minor deviation. Cheers ! I used a unaged Agricole blank and a Jamaican navy strength
18th May 2024 at 14:48
I have tried a lot of tiki style cocktails but keep coming back to this one. It’s become a bit of a tradition in our house to have one on a Friday night after the work is done. Gets the weekend off on the right foot. Thanks Simon.
Nathalie O'Flynn’s Avatar Nathalie O'Flynn
24th March 2024 at 18:13
I have Pusser‘s but for the Woods Rum I’ll throw in an over proof one.
Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
24th March 2024 at 19:32
Hi Nathalie. I use Pusser's. If Woods is showing for you as the Navy rum, this is only because you have added Woods to Your Ingredients.
Nathalie O'Flynn’s Avatar Nathalie O'Flynn
24th March 2024 at 14:07
Being a big Tiki fan, I may just try your creation tonight, in our home party bar
John Hinojos’ Avatar John Hinojos
17th May 2022 at 01:12
Being big rum drinkers and having tiki recipes back to the 1960s and 1970s of tiki drinks, this was great. It is slightly sweet as a tiki drink should be, but still able to taste the rum. Thank you Simon for a wonderful cocktail. We used our vintage 1960s tiki mugs for this one.
David Selle’s Avatar David Selle
6th January 2021 at 01:29
Poison Dart - Best Tiki Drink Ever!

INGREDIENTS
2 oz Bourbon
.5 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
.5 oz Orgeat (Try El Guapo Creole Orgeat)
.25 oz Cinnamon Syrup
.25 oz Cynar
1 dash Orange BItters
1 dash Allspice Dram
Orange twist (for garnish)
INSTRUCTIONS
Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a coupe glass.
Garnish the edge of the glass with an orange twist.
Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
19th November 2021 at 10:32
The Poison Dart is now live. Many thanks David.
Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
7th January 2021 at 10:22
Thanks David. I look forward to trying and will look to add to the site.
2nd October 2020 at 16:18
Love this cocktail. My go to favourite
Mary Strimel’s Avatar Mary Strimel
13th September 2020 at 00:51
Highly recommend. Angostura, orgeat and pineapple make a dense flavor profile. I did not have fresh pressed pineapple juice, but it was quite delicious with canned (other juices fresh).
R T’s Avatar R T
12th September 2020 at 23:20
A perfectly balanced Tiki drink! This is my go to when my friends ask for something fruity and rum filled.