Tested and Perfected by Food and Wine
Mai Tai
© Lucy Schaeffer

Mai Tai

Contributed by
  • ACTIVE:
  • TOTAL TIME:
  • SERVINGS: Makes 1 drink

The origin of this classic rum cocktail is one of the great debates in tikidom. Both Ernest Beaumont-Gantt (a.k.a. "Donn Beach," the father of tiki culture) and Trader Vic founder Victor Bergeron lay claim to its invention. This version borrows from Beaumont-Gantt's recipe, which adds dashes of Pernod and Angostura bitters for complexity.

  1. Pineapple wedge, cherry and mint sprig, for garnish
  2. 1 dash Pernod
  3. 1 cup cracked ice
  4. 1 1/2 ounces dark rum, such as Meyer's Plantation
  5. 1/2 ounce orange curaçao
  6. Ice cubes
  7. 3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
  8. 1 ounce white rum
  9. 2 dashes Angostura bitters
  1. Fill a shaker with ice cubes. Add 1 ounce of the dark rum and the white rum, lime juice, curaçao, bitters and Pernod; shake well. Strain into a rocks glass filled with cracked ice. Float the remaining dark rum on top. Garnish with the pineapple, cherry and mint sprig.