Jeff Berry, aka Beachbum Berry, is the author of several cocktail books, including Potions of the Caribbean: 500 Years of Tropical Drinks and the People Behind Them, and owner of Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29 in New Orleans. On his beachbumberry.com website he writes, “A proper Mai Tai has a deep amber hue, because it’s the liquor that should dominate the drink, not the sweeteners.”
Adapted from beachbumberry.com
Makes 1 serving
1 ounce fresh lime juice
1 ounce Rhum Clément VSOP Martinique rum
1 ounce Appleton Estate Extra dark Jamaican rum
½ ounce orange curacao
½ ounce Latitude 29 Formula Orgeat
¼ ounce simple syrup
2 cups crushed ice, or more as needed
spent lime (used for fresh lime juice)
mint sprig
In a shaker combine lime juice, both rums, curacao, orgeat, and simple syrup. Add crushed ice and shake well for around 10 seconds. Pour unstrained into a double old-fashioned glass. Sink the spent lime shell in the drink, and garnish with a mint sprig.