There is only one Mai Tai recipe--that which Trader Vic created in 1944 whilst attempting to reverse-engineer Donn Beach's Q.B. Cooler cocktail. Since then, the Mai Tai has become the standard by which all tiki bars are judged. Even though the base recipe allows a great deal of flexibility without turning the drink into an abomination by adding pineapple and cherries, one of the keys to serving a good Mai Tai is to use quality orgeat. I'm not going to lie--I didn't much like the first Mai Tais I ever drank, mainly because they used mediocre, mass-produced commercial orgeats that tasted more like a chemical spill than an almond-flavored syrup. Thankfully, the craft cocktail renaissance means that there are now quality craft orgeats on the market, but sadly, these are not available in every city. The solution is to go the homemade route. Making orgeat at home is not complicated, but it is a bit time consuming. In episode 17 of A MOMENT OF TIKI, I walk you through the steps. My recipe--adapted from several different approaches I found online--is as follows:

ORGEAT
3 cups ground almonds
3 cups filtered water
~2.6 cups demerara sugar
.25 tbsp. orange flower water
.25 tbsp. rose water
3 drops all-natural almond extract

Soak ground almonds in water for a minimum of 4 hours. Use nut milk bag to strain out resulting almond milk. Measure out the almond milk (it should be around 2.5-2.75 cups). Heat almond milk to a simmer, and whisk in an amount of demerara or turbinado sugar equal to the amount of almond milk (ie 2.5-2.75 cups). Let cool, skimming off the foam that forms. Once cool, stir in orange flower water, rose water and almond extract. Do not over do it with these add-ins, as too much could overwhelm the syrup. Add potassium sorbate and 1 oz. of light rum or vodka as preservatives, if desired. Bottle and refrigerate. Makes a little less than 1 quart of syrup. Keeps at least a month.

MAI TAI (as served in the Lagoon of Mystery)
1 oz. Appleton Signature rum
.5 oz. Clement VSOP rhum
.5 oz. Rum Fire
.5 oz. Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao
.75 oz. Lime juice
.25 oz. Orgeat
.25 oz. Demerara syrup

Combine ingredients in shaker tin with crushed ice. Shake vigorously until frost forms on shaker. Strain into double old fashioned glass and top with crushed ice. Garnish with one-half lime shell and sprig of mint.

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