Trader Vic's original Mai Tai - Masterclass
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- čas přidán 7. 06. 2024
- As it’s inventor, Trader Vic supposedly said, ‘you have more fun with a flower behind your ear, a Mai Tai in your hand, and good friends’.
Building on the Make it Quick episode from last week, here is an in depth Mai Tai masterclass that delves into the historical background of the drink, what ingredients you want to make a great one and a few other tips and tricks to lift your tiki game!
Specs:
60ml (2oz) dark rum
25ml (5/6oz) fresh lime juice
15ml (1/2oz) triple sec or curacao
10ml (1/4oz) orgeat syrup*
5-10ml (1/4oz) rich demerara sugar syrup**
Spent lime husk
Mint sprig to garnish
Equipment:
A jigger
Shaker tins
A rocks glass (or something similar shaped and fun in the tiki spirit!)
A straw
Squeeze your lime juice, and keep one of the half husks. In to your shaker tin add all of the ingredients except the mint- you don’t want minty flavour in the cocktail, just the aroma from the garnish. Similarly, some people like to add the lime husk in to the tin while shaking, but I feel that the smell of the oils from the garnish is enough. Fill your tin with ice, seal and shake as hard as you can. I like to serve this drink as a ‘shake and dump’, that is with no strainers. It is a no fuss beach drink, after all! Just pour the entire contents of your shaker tin in to your rocks glass, garnish to look like a tropical island, and enjoy!
The Mai Tai - So now you know.
*
A great Orgeat recipe from Serious Eats
www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2...
**
Rich means that the syrup is made with 2 parts sugar to 1 part water, as opposed to the usual equal parts.
You may notice that, unusually, the ‘sweet’ elements of this drink add up to a little more than the ‘sour’ element, the lime juice. This is because if you are using good quality ingredients, the orgeat and curacao will both actually have a fairly dry finish, so the drink can be a little sweet and tropical up front but finishes really dry and refreshing. The demerara also adds another aspect to the drink, really supporting the rum rather than just being straight sugary sweetness. That said, you can definitely make this drink without it- just up the orgeat to 15ml and it will be a but nuttier!
***
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#MaiTai #masterclass #tiki #withcaradevine #booze #bar #bartending #behindthebar - Jak na to + styl
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Potentially my favorite drink. If you want to cheat at making orgeat, you can use one part unsweetened almond milk, two part sugar and then just add a bit of extra almond extract and a plash of brandy. Has served me well many times.
That’s a great hack! Do you mind if I pin this comment so people can see it?
@@BehindtheBar By all means, go ahead.
@@BehindtheBar What about Amaretto as you mentioned?
Jim Sannerud in a pinch for sure! Still bings that nutty dimension but commercial ones can tip over in to a sort of confectionary/cherry note that ruins the crispness of this drink so just go easy on it 😊
I tried using Frangelico to get the sweet and nutty notes. It worked!
"The magic of cocktails is.... about escapism."
Whoa. Truth bomb.
Got a bit deep for a second haha
"This is why I don't have time for bars or bartenders concentrate on the liquid then the experience" this exactly. I've been in hospitality for 14 years, and I feel as this is something that has been lost on alot of bartenders that refer to themselves as mixologists or cocktologist (Yes ive meet those people). I can craft esoteric classics and drone on about history and the nuance of spirits, but what it comes down to is your guest and what they want.
Its refreshing to hear it, especially now. Hopefully after lockdown is finished in the US some of that mentality will change!
Cheers! Keep up the good work.
Totally, I’ve been wondering that myself- hopefully one silver lining of the lockdowns could be the hospitality industry realising how important customers are and really concentrating on that level of service! So glad you’ve enjoyed 😊
That's a good reminder, to be sure.
Thanks. I always wondered how. My first trip to LA, we stayed at the Beverly Hilton, Trader Vic’s was in the lobby. Great memories…
A Polynesian decor bar serving Caribbean rum with Chinese food could only come from Hollywood. Awesome vid. 👍 👍
Yes to Don the Beachcomber drinks! They are mysterious and not enough people know about them!
I just realized your Aloha Tiki print shirt. Just lovely making Mai Tais, Aloha n Mahalo from Mililani, Hawaii.
After devouring Cate's Smuggler's Cove book on Tiki (movement, history, rum lore, and more), I really had a new appreciation for how these cocktails could be so wonderfully complex and balanced. Thanks for sharing that angle on them here, too, and please--unpack more of these Tiki topics!
I’ll need to dive in to that, it sounds like a great read!
Transportative is the right word for a proper Mai Tai like this! With the right music and one of these you can really forget you're stuck at home 😊🍹
Keep em coming. Love the quick facts and the drinks
Thanks pal, so glad you enjoyed 😊
This is a great history lesson and how to. Thank you.
Thanks pal, so glad you enjoyed!
Love the Mai Tai. Love tiki drinks. Love you. Keep em coming! The history is a great touch.
Thanks pal, so glad you’re enjoying 😊
Great vid on a classic, and one of my favorites. Well done!
Happy to have found this ‘classroom.’ Somewhere in this universe I owe you a drink for your work and effort in putting out a quality product. Cheers.
Hahaha be careful, a Scot will always take you up on a free drink 😜. So glad you’re enjoying!
I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at trader vic's
... and his hair was perfect 🎶
Awesome videos! Love the historical context.
I'd love to see more classic tiki recipes!
My grandmother would have been over the moon if I had brought a Scottish lass like you home to her. She was born in Kilmarnock in 1897 and lived in Ayr until 1896 when her family set off from Glasgow to New York in search of a better life. Pro Libertate. She was a proud Wallace.= and never lost her love of Scotland, the Scots and all things Scottish.
I am off to the shops so I can take a ‘vacation’ this weekend. Excellent video yet again!
🏝
I think what really sets your videos apart is the bit of historical trivia you add to appreciate the origins of the drinks as you make and drink them. The Mai Tai is the cocktail that motivated me to learn to mix drinks after I tried one at Mai Tai bar in Waikiki. I've always been fascinated by the history behind the drinks and I'm looking forward to seeing more of your videos!
Also, for my rum choice, I chose a boozy navy strength rum like Smith & Cross. It doesn't break the bank, and it's sure to let you know that it's there! Cheers :)
So glad you enjoyed!
I discovered Tiki drinks and culture in the late 70's at Trader Vic's in Houston's Shamrock Hilton (now long gone). It was a cheap vacation and escape from metropolitan mayhem. To this day probably the best bar memories I have. Thanks for sparking memories of the transportive recipes enjoyed at these iconic bars and please add more Tiki recipes to your channel. Love your accent, bar knowledge/skill and engaging smile.
Exactly what cocktails are for, right?
My favourite. Lovely! Thank you for this
So glad you enjoyed!
A mouthwatering one I have to say (& I love the generous & original glass) . Another one I often heard about but never tasted ! But "now I know", right ? Cheers & congrats for the quite knowledgeable historical background to this, it makes your cocktail presentations richeras I believe it is important to pay homage to its creator(s).
Great video and drink. Yes, please make videos of Don Beach’s complex drinks.
Yeah, love her stories
Great point about cocktails being about escaping the everyday. So true! Cheers
I love tiki drinks! Love to hear more about Don the Beachcomber and Trader VIc!
Wonderful video. Very concise
Thanks for the Mai Tai... Probably my favorite drink. It takes me back to my Saudi Arabia days, where I had to make ALL of the ingredients, including the orgeat, orange liquor, and of course the rum. It was quite the challenge to produce all the ingredients needed for this and the many other drinks during that time - thanks for taking me back
Whoa! That is commitment to a cocktail!
Love the drinks too
Thanks Billy!
Yes, please definitely make more tiki videos!!
We would love you to go deeper into Don the Beachcomber cocktails. You teach, we listen, then we do the play at home version. You make this fun!!
"the experience and feeling special" as you said Cara, is what it's all about and where that happens people I believe come back and the future of any bar is that. Keep up the good no the Great work and I look forward to the experience that is your bar.
Agrees! I'd even add it elevates that evening at home imbibing with friends and family!
Awesome show I would really like to see more tiki videos I'm really getting into the tiki culture would like to see how you make the cocktails cheers
Going to try making one! Love the shirt 😉
Haha thanks pal, helps to have a partner with a wardrobe full of tiki shirts!
Love your video Cara!!!
Thanks so much Peter!
Really good video and in my opinion the best Cockail in the World. My favourite Rum to be used in a Mai Tai is the Hampden 8 Years.
Yes !!! Deeper, love listening to her, love her accent, plus she is very beautiful
Love the format. And tiki drinks are just stupid fun and deceptively difficult :D A quote from another video: If you think you've garnished you tiki cocktail enough... You're almost there
That’s great!
Agree with the escapism/special sentiment. The drink is about the consumer's experience. Keep the history coming always enjoyable to have more knowledge.
Oh we will!
Can we please have a video about some of the most known Single Malt Scotchs?
Hey pal! We’ve done a brief overview here, but will definitely go in to more detail!
czcams.com/video/L8ssufXvzHs/video.html
You can also split the rum component (Appleton V/X & rhum blanc) and get a really funky-fresh drink.
Interested in further segments about Don the Beachcomber! We’ve been watching the videos on another subscription and loving them.
We do have one of his famous ones coming up! But I haven’t done a deep dive yet so will have to put it on the list 😉
Yes please
I like the way you present. Very nice. This is very close to my recipe. I haven't experimented too much but I've been pleased with 2 oz Appleton Estate Signature (mixes better than some that are better sippers). 3/4 oz lime juice, 1/2 oz Cointreau, 1/4 oz Giffard orgeat and lately I've added 1/2 oz pineapple juice and a small pinch of salt (barely noticeable but goes with the almond in the orgeat). It's all very well balanced.
Now we know the difference between Mai Tai and Muai Thai. This knowledge might save a life someday.
😂
When the thank you part began, I thought you’d tell me this is last video. 😖😖😖😖😖. Please keep on your good work , this channel has been my daily routine from last month I found it. So much to learn from.
Haha we plan on going for as long as possible!
Very kind, thank you
Thank you!
love your channel Keep going!!
Thanks pal, so lovely to hear 😊 cheers!
Made this tonight using your spec . It's the best version of the Mai Tai I've ever made. Had to split the base though. (running low on rum) 1 oz El Dorado 5 Yr. 1 oz J. Wray Gold Rum. It worked!
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it 😊
I came across your channel a couple of days ago...and I absolutely love it! I‘ve been fascinated by making drinks since I was a child and I like and share your passion for good drink! Have you tried a rhum agricole in a Mai Tai, like La Mauny Ambré? I personally think that‘s a nice little twist and it tastes somewhat different
So glad you like it pal? Agricole is a great twist- I haven’t actually used it in any videos yet but I will, I promise 😊
Nice!
You can talk about great home made ingredients, top shelf booze and getting the ratios perfectly balanced, but the thing everybody overlooks and what truly makes a Mai Tai an adult happy meal is the salad up top. In the 90's the Royal Hawaiian hotel still had marble bathrooms with bathroom attendants. They're all gone now, replaced with cheap Formica and no guy in an old suit basking in farts and dollar sprays of cologne. What's gone too is the exceptional garnishes they'd put on Mai Tai's. Each one, no matter how many Mai Tais deep you were, were presented with no less than a cherry and pineapple wedge skewered on a paper umbrella along with a mint sprig and the most beautiful orchid blossom ever. How I miss those days, picking people up at the airport, bringing them for a first pacific ocean experience with sandy feet and a perfect Mai Tai in hand trying to keep the new arrival awake until 10 pm so the jet lag wouldn't suck so much. Shout out to bathroom attendants everywhere if you still exist. You may bask in more farts than a returning flight from Cabo, but I miss you. The next Mai Tai's on me. Full salad.
Love it!
Thank you so much for this one, so brillant content as always ;)
Cheers from Berlin
So glad you enjoyed 😊 I love Berlin, can’t wait to get back!
"This cocktail is meant to be boozy. You are on holiday, after all." Amen.
Love Tiki!
Gift of the gab !
Could listen to that accent all day!
Love this one, my favorite cocktail! I hate the ones made with a Meyers float, here in the US.
So glad to have found your channel. You're knowledgeable, charismatic, and entertaining. Thanks for doing this!
Thanks so much pal!
Cocktail channel that gives both historical backgrounds, alternatives for spirits, and has the philosophy of not focusing too much on the minutiae of molecular biology? That's a given sub
New Year’s Eve is just around the corner and I left my cocktail shopping to the last minute so I couldn’t order a bottle of Orgeat in time. So I am settling for what you suggested being Amaretto. I got the Luxardo brand because I wasn’t sure what brand would be best. After giving it a taste after buying it, I definitely need to dial back either the Demerara syrup or the Cointreau, or perhaps both due to the sweet cherry notes the Amaretto has. It’s going to be interesting to seeing how this goes. 🙂
I’m also making the classic daiquiri and Mr Bali Hai for my friends on New Years Eve too. 😁
Hope it all worked out!
Yo the little history lesson is mad fantastic.
Word
Hahaha this is honestly one of my favourite comments ever. So glad you enjoyed it!
Mmmm, I made my first homemade Mai Tai this evening based off this. Went for just regular simple syrup and some Disaronno, put a float of Diplomatico on top. It was delicious!
Sounds delicious! My go to is always Appleton or Worthy Park (my favorite Jamaican rums)
I've been playing with making Mai Tais recently, chasing the 'choirs of angels' moment when I taste it. I think I found the perfect rum combination after many, many tries. It's no longer a simple drink by any means, but well worth the extra effort, IMO. 1 oz of Clement VSOP (aged rhum agricole), 1/2 oz of Smith & Cross (because you really need to get slapped in the face occasionally), 1/2 oz of Appleton Estate 12 yo rare. Then 1 oz lime juice, 1/2 oz dry curacao, 1/2 oz orgeat, and 1/4 oz of sugarcane syrup (which goes amazingly well w/ the Clement VSOP). Oh, and I heartily second the comment about homemade orgeat. Nothing commercial comes close, and using unsweetened almond milk as a starting point makes the whole thing easy as can be. And delicious. It actually tastes like almonds, unlike the overly-floral stuff I've bought before. Cheers.
Wow love the vibe of your channel. And looks like so does everyone else. Your subscriber count keeps doubling every time i check back. Nice work!
Haha I know it’s been a big few weeks 😅! Thank you for the support pal.
It's a miracle! The thing is that on last Sunday I sipped first Mai Tai in my life, and then I decided that I gotta know how I could make it at home. Then today I suddenly saw video about what you should have in your bar, and I'm like okay, it's interesting aaaand in the end there was recomendation from your channel with Mai Tai. (btw sorry for my English :P)
Miracles do come true! Your English is great and so glad you enjoyed 😊
Don't know if it was mentioned in the video or somewhere in the comments, but the glassware is beautiful.
Any hints as where to acquire these glasses?
This one is from Libbey, we can get it in our local hospitality supplier 😊
Gorgeous vid. When you come round to doing the mojito vid please don’t skimp on the backstory either... the education bit is just as fantastic as the making bit 🍹😃👍🏻 love what ur doing
I think this is a good recipe. I have seen some Mai Tai drinks with two or three rums. This one makes sense. I have to wait until I leave Kuwait to make this because there is NO alcohol in Kuwait.
Your videos are incredible. You and Greg from How To Drink should do a collab sometime!!
I'm calling it now - years before it happens. This channel is going places!
Haha fingers crossed pal! We love his channel 😊 thank you for the support!
💯 This! What a great idea for a collaboration.
Great video! Probably my favourite cocktail! Could you perhaps make a video about brandy cocktails or good brandies for cocktail making? A video on milk based cocktails would be really interesting too!
Good suggestions! We do have a couple of well known brandy cocktails and THE milk/cream based one coming up in our next shoot day so stay tuned 😊
@@BehindtheBar looking forward to it 😃
Hi Cara! Great videos as always!! Where can find those glass tiki glasses you used in the video? Thanks!!
I got it at Chef’s Hat which is our local hospitality supplier but Libbey is the brand and fairly widely available:
www.chefshat.com.au/product/13559-glass-tumbler-split-470ml-libbey-tiki
@@BehindtheBar Awesome! Thanks for getting back to me! ☺️
I like Don the Beachcomber and I had a Tiki Summer last year.
Sounds like a great summer!
Just found your channel and became a subscriber. I love my Scotch Single malts but refuse to make a cocktail with a $100 single malt. Monkey Shoulder & Naked Grouse are two excellent blended malts. Could you suggest the best cocktail to make using each of those? Love the content and the channel.
Totally fair enough pal, and they’re both great choices. The Black Grouse (slightly Smokey expression) was actually the original base for the Artists Special, but Naked would definitely work too:
czcams.com/video/6KK5CiNCIAI/video.html
Or the Penicillin is a great one:
czcams.com/video/PpkIwygbvgg/video.html
Made this last night with great results. Hoping you'll do a video (if you haven't already, and I'm just too dim to find it!) on a Mojito. I wonder about your quantity of mint, your method of muddling/not muddling, your preference on sugar vs simple syrup, etc. I like your approach on many cocktails, and want to see how you weigh in on that. I have a large mint plant awaiting your opinions :)
Stay tuned pal, it may just be in the pipeline...
"I saw a werewolf drinking a Piña Colada at Trader Vic's: and his hair was perfect." Warren Zevon, Werewolves of London, 1978. Also in the movie "The color of money", Tom Cruise pool (billiard) scen; same movie, starts with Paul Newman talking about bourbon...
Every time I see your channel you have a few thousand more subs! 100k coming soon.
Getting there haha, thank you for the support!
you are a dream girl youll have 100k in no time......
Now I want to go to Honolulu again, soooo many fun nights with one of these in my hand!
Remember travel? That’s was great haha
Jamaican🇯🇲 here Appleton is my fav drink to have mixed with cranberry or grapefruit juice👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾
I really like to float a little blackstrap rum on top as it ads a pretty color gradient and the earthy aroma of molasses that works well with the almond. But not everyone likes molasses, so I am sure many people would prefer it without. Cheers.
Definitely, it’s a great addition if you like something fuller flavoured.
Made my first Mai Tai recently with Appleton 12 and damiseau agricole (60ml total) and it was fantastic. I really love the agricole flavour and it wasn't too sweet
Yum!
Sent a friend to the liquor store to pick up several items for a party (last summer) including curacao; he returns with blue curacao. All of my Mai Tai's are now blue.
Blue draaanks!
Just made one for the first time, used a blend of 1/2oz Smith & Cross, 1/2oz El Dorado 5 and 1oz of Gosling's 151, turned out really funky and delicious. Next time I make one I wanna switch Gosling with some mint infused light rum and get rid of the mint sprig, instead I'll just use inverted lime husk, put a candied cherry inside, pour a bit of 151 in there and set it on fire ^^
The original was made with rock candy syrup. I wonder how different the drink would be compared to the modern demarara syrup version. I wish rock candy syrup was readily available so I could try.
Please don’t get offended! But your voice has this special rhythm, every time I learn something new while watching and also getting high, if not drunk by your vocal presentation 😄 You are knowledgeable and equally attractive 🌹😘 Thank u and cheers ... ...🥃
Love the tiki glass. Link to where we can get it from?
www.chefshat.com.au/product/13559-glass-tumbler-split-470ml-libbey-tiki
I’m a regular customer of Trader vics in Bahrain. I tried their original Mai Tai but their most requested drink there for sure is Tukka pukka (not sure of the spelling though)
Great video, I always add a floater of 151 proof Demerara Rum (Lemon Hart) for some extra flavor. You should make a video on the Zombie. It's my favorite Tiki Drink but never seems to be as good as it should be when made at home.
We haven’t got there yet but there are a plenty more rum drinks coming up 😊
I have a lot of trouble with zombies myself but love them and would like to get them down
Classic 🍹👍😎 cheers 🍹
Great! My ticket to the beach today! 🏖️
Pls make more tiki tutorials!!!
Everybody loves tiki!
First Love your video! Second.. When you say jamaican rum in cocktails recipe will Captain Morgan spice gold will do? Or preferably something like Bacardi 8 will be better? Since that what i have right now..
I would tend to stick with non spiced if possible, Bacardi Ocho won’t have the same body as Jamaican rum but will still work well 😊
@@BehindtheBar
Thank you so much! You're the best!!😘
Urdu language (spoken in India and Pakistan) has a rich tradition of poetry. We have a character in that poetry called "Saki" which means "the bartender" - i wont explain the traits of that character - but you seem like one. Love all your videos. Keep um coming - a fan from Pakistan
That’s so lovely! Thank you for that information.
With little time to shop last week, but wanting to make a Mai Tai, I couldn't find orgeat ANYWHERE. I think I'd have had to go to Cost Plus or BevMo, neither of which I had time to get to.
I pinned a great easy orgeat recipe someone suggested in the comments if you’d rather do that!
Hi Cara, going through Cara withdrawals! Haven't seen a video of yours pop up in a while. One question about the Mai Tai. Is it possible to premix a big batch of Mai Tais in a pitcher with top quality ingredients and keep it in the fridge until serving time? Or will the ingredients degrade and should be made right before imbibing? I'm going to try the Death and Co. specs. They use Rhum Clement Creole Shrubb for the orange liqueur, El Dorado 15, Appleton Estate V/X, La Favorite Rhum Blanc and their own orgeat made with toasted almonds, superfine cane sugar, with a touch of of rose water and amaretto. Interested to see what it tastes like. Only problem is Appleton V/X is almost extinct. Is there another Jamaican rum you'd recommend? Thanks and hope all is well.
omg that accent (chefs Kiss) beautiful
Hey! Found the channel this weekend, and I'm really enjoying all the content! Really well made!
Also, just to let you know that the links for Reddit, Pinterest and Instagram are not working!
Cheers!
Thank you for letting us know. We'll try and work out why they're not working!
Should be fixed now - the danger of copying and pasting links! Thanks again, glad you found us and glad you're liking the channel.
Made my first Mai tai yesterday with equal parts smith and cross and plantation 3. It was so delicious, I didn't notice the drink was quite a sledgehammer 😂. Quick question what brand is the citrus press? It looks like it could easily fit an orange😮
Haha they are tricksy like that! The citrus press is an orange one, it comes in a set with a smaller yellow one for lemons and even smaller green one for limes haha, but Aussie citrus is often really big so I usually use the size up! Its Davis & Waddell:
www.chefshat.com.au/product/1974-squeezer-citrus-orang-90mm-cup-d-w-fresh
just done my first, YES
Have had really good mai this and kool-aid punch like alcohol. Yours looks good. If possible, what about the Zombie? One of the first nar drinks I had years ago.
Ooh that’s definitely on the list!
Thanks Cara! You are an awesome, very knowledgeable bartender/mixologist. I enjoy your videos and I love Mai Tai's and both Classic and Tiki cocktails. I just have one small favor/suggestion.
Could you please include the "translation" of the ingredient quantities in ounces??
I'm an American (a proud Midwesterner from Illinois),!and I'm sorry, but I'm not familiar with metric system measurements. They never taught us the metric system in school when I was George up
I think that that the Metric system is great, but unfortunately they never taught us your system at schools here in the U.S.A. when I was growing up.
Could you please include the measurements on ounces?
For sure, sorry we usually do but this was an earlier video 😊 1oz = 30ml = 1 shot if that helps!