I borrowed from a few recipes for proportions, but mainly followed the one on liquor.com.

light rum, dark rum, orange curaçao, lime juice, orgeat syrup, simple syrup
traditional garnishes: lime “shell”, mint

Mai Tai is called “the stuff of tiki legends” on liquor.com, but it hasn’t always been a great drink. Over the years bartenders have taken shortcuts (looking at you, 1980s) and substituted poor ingredients – or straight-up changed it by adding pineapple juice, orange juice, passionfruit syrup, etc etc etc. I think most people now think of a Mai Tai as a very sweet cocktail that is a guaranteed hangover. Or diabetes. Or cavities.

It isn’t supposed to be like that! Just like Amaretto Sour, it is a great drink if you follow the original recipe and use good ingredients. Mai Tais are supposed to be boozy and crisp, and that is exactly how I’d describe it. It is a delicious. I totally see why this is a tiki classic.

The traditional garnishes, as I’ve listed above, are a lime shell and a mint sprig. The lime shell is meant to look like an island in the South Pacific. But this is one of those that you can garnish to high heaven. Cut up all the fruit in the house, skewer it, stick it in there. Delightful.