Trader Vic's original mai tai
Cocktails always make you dream of exotic destinations. Think of the Jamaican planter's punch or the daiquiri from Havana. It is no different with the mai tai, invented by Trader Vic and inextricably linked to Polynesia. Let me tell you all about it!
The story of the mai tai
During the 1920s and 1930s, a pop culture around everything exotic and Polynesian emerged in the U.S.. In nightclubs, decorated with fake palm trees and rattan furniture, elegantly dressed celebs danced to the notes of Hawaiian music. A few ambitious entrepreneurs went even further and created a trend, linked to the cult of the tiki. The word tiki comes from the Marquesas Islands and refers to an image of the gods.
One of those entrepreneurs was Victor Bergeron, also known as Trader Vic. He built a worldwide empire of restaurants and bars in Polynesian style. Despite his wooden leg and TB attacks, he evolved from a poor immigrant child to a respected businessman. In other words, a true self-made man!
Trader Vic and Polynesia
In 1944, Vic had a conversation with one of his bartenders. Together they decided to create a new rum cocktail. "This will be the best rum cocktail in the world," Vic exclaimed. As he was about to taste his concoction, his Tahitian friends Ham and Carrie Guild stepped in. Carrie was so excited about the cocktail that she shouted "mai tai rao ae," which means as much as "it's fantastic, out of this world." For Vic, the name of his new cocktail was sealed. The mai tai quickly conquered the world!
Trader Vic's around the world
As the mai tai conquered the world, so did Trader Vic’s restaurants. My first experience with Trader Vic's was in San Francisco. It was like stepping into a mysterious world dominated by tiki statues, tribal drums and canoes, fishing nets and bamboo. In this tropical setting, you get a tasting of international cuisine, a kind of fusion avant la lettre. Chinese stir-fries, Indian curries, French classics ... strangely enough, they all find their place here.
But the real highlight at Trader Vic's is surely the bar where immense cocktails are served. Not just in a glass, but in ceramics in the form of rum barrels, kava bowls, tiki statues and even skulls. You used to be able to buy those bowls and cups at the restaurants, but due to issues with supply, that is no longer possible. Unfortunately, some customers think you can take the cups for free....
Craving such a tiki experience? To find a Trader Vic's in Europe, you have to go to Munich. However, there are numerous Trader Vic’s in the Middle East.
Make a Trader Vic's original mai tai!
Today the mai tai is one of the most famous, as well as the most copied cocktails in the world. The original mai tai is made with lime, almond, sugar syrup, orange Curaçao and a 17-year-old rum that you can't find anymore. Still, many bars give you a mixture of all kinds of fruit juices and rum, or the bartender serves you a float of rum with it. But those have nothing to do with Trader Vic's mai tai.
You only get the authentic mai tai at Trader Vic's. Luckily, I picked up the recipe for you!
Ingredients
For 1 cocktail
- 30 ml rum, Appleton Gold or St James
- 30 ml rum, Appleton Dark or Negrita
- 15 ml lime juice, you will need the squeezed half for the finishing touch
- 15 ml liqueur orange Curaçao
- 7 ml sugar syrup
- 7 ml orgeat syrup
- A handful of ice cubes
- 1 sprig mint
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Recipe mai tai
Place the rums, lime juice, liqueur and syrups with the ice cubes in a shaker. Shake vigorously and pour without straining into an old-fashioned glass. Place the squeezed lime upside down on the ice and put the sprig of mint next to it. Together they should resemble an island with a palm tree. Manuai! Cheers!
![SG Mai Tai 14]()
