Victor "Trader Vic" Bergeron claimed to have invented the Mai Tai in Oakland in 1944, handing it to friends from Tahiti who pronounced it maita'i — good. Stripped of the fruit-juice excess that later tiki bars piled on, the original is a refined, rum-forward sour, and one of the great cocktails of the twentieth century.
Not a Fruit Punch
The Mai Tai's reputation suffered through decades of cheap imitations — pineapple, grenadine, anything red. The real thing contains no pineapple and no orange juice at all.
It is rum, fresh lime, orange curacao, and orgeat — an almond syrup that gives the drink its nutty, faintly floral roundness. That is the whole structure, and it is a sour, not a punch.
Rum and Crushed Ice
The drink was built to show off aged rum; a rich, characterful rum — or a blend of two — is the point. The curacao and orgeat support it without burying it.
Shake briefly and pour unstrained over crushed ice, which keeps it cold and gently dilutes it as you drink. Garnish with a spent lime shell and a sprig of mint for the unmistakable aroma.