Trader Vic’s original recipe in all its sublime glory… five simple ingredients in perfect proportion with each other. Four of them in the smallest amounts needed to showcase the rum in the best way possible. Some might call it the perfect rum delivery system.
¼ozRock Candy Syrup - 2:1 ratio rich simple syrup, cold preparation (see recipe in the notes below)
1ozFresh Lime Juice
½a spent Lime Shell
1Sprig of Mint
Method
Pour all ingredients into a shaker, then add enough crushed ice to show above the surface of the liquid. Add in a couple of normal ice cubes that will act as 'agitators'.
Shake vigorously for around 15 seconds. You'll know when it's ready as there'll be a light frosting starting to form on the outside of the shaker. Pour unstrained into a Double Old Fashioned glass. Top up with more crushed ice if there's room.
Create your garnish by placing your spent lime shell flesh side down on the crushed ice (forming a little green dome). Give the mint a good slap to release the oils and work it into the side of the drink by the lime shell. It should look like a mini tropical island with a palm tree growing behind it. These two aromatic components are key to the taste of the drink.
Notes
If you're looking to re-create a similar flavor profile to Vic's 1944 original Mai Tai then we recommend using a pot-stilled Jamaican and a Rhum Agricole as per the ingredients above. Or for something closer still, you could try Denizen Merchants Reserve 8 year.However, these aren't strictly the ones that the Trader used in his original formula - mainly because he had limited supplies of the original Wray and Nephew 17 yr old rum and managed to rinse through them in no time! We cover this in more detail after the recipes, including what Vic called his 'First' and 'Second Adjusted Formulas'.One thing to note is that you may have been served a Mai Tai in the past with a dark rum float on the top. There’s nothing wrong with this, it’s just not the legit '44 Trader Vic method. According to Martin Cate (of Smuggler’s Cove fame), this variation arose from an elderly regular at the Bay Area Trader who consistently asked for the float. After a while, the staff started referring to it as the ‘Old Way’, not because it was the original way to serve it, rather because he was an older fellow!Rock Candy Syrup Recipe (or Rich Simple Syrup)
Add 2 cups of sugar (preferably super-fine) and 1 cup of cold (or slightly tepid) water to a large sterilized jar.
Seal the lid and shake until the sugar is completely dissolved.
If you're struggling to get it to liquefy, add it to a pan and put it on a very low heat, stirring every few minutes until the liquid is clear.
Allow to cool and then refrigerate. It should last a couple of weeks.