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      "api": "/posts/the-mai-tai-is-not-a-fruit-punch/index.json",
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      "date": "2024-08-22T09:00:00-07:00",
      "description": "Five ingredients, no pineapple juice, and a decades-long argument about who invented it.",
      "draft": false,
      "fields": {
        "author": "Martin Cate",
        "date": "2024-08-22T09:00:00-07:00",
        "description": "Five ingredients, no pineapple juice, and a decades-long argument about who invented it.",
        "draft": false,
        "image": "",
        "lastmod": "2025-06-04T10:15:00-07:00",
        "publishdate": "2024-08-22T09:00:00-07:00",
        "tags": [
          "cocktails",
          "mai-tai",
          "history"
        ],
        "title": "The Mai Tai Is Not a Fruit Punch"
      },
      "html": "\u003cp\u003eOrder a Mai Tai in most of the world and you\u0026rsquo;ll get something red, sweet, and\nfull of pineapple and orange juice, usually with a float of dark rum on top for\ndrama. That drink has a right to exist. It is not a Mai Tai.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"the-actual-drink\"\u003eThe actual drink\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTrader Vic\u0026rsquo;s 1944 original is a rum sour with almond and orange:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAged rum — originally a 17-year Jamaican that no longer exists\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFresh lime juice\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOrange curaçao\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOrgeat\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA small amount of rock candy syrup\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat\u0026rsquo;s it. No fruit juice beyond the lime. Served over crushed ice with a spent\nlime shell and a mint sprig.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat you get is dry, complex, and rum-forward — the almond and orange sitting\nunderneath rather than on top. People who think they don\u0026rsquo;t like Mai Tais have\nusually never had one.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"the-rum-problem\"\u003eThe rum problem\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVic\u0026rsquo;s original called for J. Wray \u0026amp; Nephew 17 Year, which was gone within a few\nyears of the drink\u0026rsquo;s invention. He reformulated with a blend, and every serious\nversion since has been a blend of some kind. This is not a compromise — the\ndrink genuinely wants two rums. A rich, funky Jamaican for the top notes and\nsomething with more body and age underneath.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe modern convention of building it from a blended aged rum plus a Jamaican\npot still component gets you very close to what the drink is supposed to do.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"the-other-claim\"\u003eThe other claim\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDonn Beach maintained he\u0026rsquo;d created a Mai Tai in 1933, more than a decade before\nVic. His version is a different drink entirely — closer to a rum swizzle with\ngrapefruit and falernum — and the two have almost nothing in common beyond the\nname.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBoth men were relentless self-mythologizers, and neither was above rewriting a\ntimeline. The dispute is unresolvable and mostly beside the point. The drink\nthat conquered the world is Vic\u0026rsquo;s, and it\u0026rsquo;s the one worth defending.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"why-it-matters\"\u003eWhy it matters\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Mai Tai is the argument for the whole category compressed into one glass. It\nis not sweet, it is not simple, and it rewards good ingredients enormously. Get\nsomeone to try a properly made one and you\u0026rsquo;ve usually converted them — not to\nthe Mai Tai, but to the idea that tropical drinks can be serious.\u003c/p\u003e\n",
      "id": "posts/the-mai-tai-is-not-a-fruit-punch",
      "lastmod": "2025-06-04T10:15:00-07:00",
      "markdown": "\nOrder a Mai Tai in most of the world and you'll get something red, sweet, and\nfull of pineapple and orange juice, usually with a float of dark rum on top for\ndrama. That drink has a right to exist. It is not a Mai Tai.\n\n## The actual drink\n\nTrader Vic's 1944 original is a rum sour with almond and orange:\n\n- Aged rum — originally a 17-year Jamaican that no longer exists\n- Fresh lime juice\n- Orange curaçao\n- Orgeat\n- A small amount of rock candy syrup\n\nThat's it. No fruit juice beyond the lime. Served over crushed ice with a spent\nlime shell and a mint sprig.\n\nWhat you get is dry, complex, and rum-forward — the almond and orange sitting\nunderneath rather than on top. People who think they don't like Mai Tais have\nusually never had one.\n\n## The rum problem\n\nVic's original called for J. Wray \u0026 Nephew 17 Year, which was gone within a few\nyears of the drink's invention. He reformulated with a blend, and every serious\nversion since has been a blend of some kind. This is not a compromise — the\ndrink genuinely wants two rums. A rich, funky Jamaican for the top notes and\nsomething with more body and age underneath.\n\nThe modern convention of building it from a blended aged rum plus a Jamaican\npot still component gets you very close to what the drink is supposed to do.\n\n## The other claim\n\nDonn Beach maintained he'd created a Mai Tai in 1933, more than a decade before\nVic. His version is a different drink entirely — closer to a rum swizzle with\ngrapefruit and falernum — and the two have almost nothing in common beyond the\nname.\n\nBoth men were relentless self-mythologizers, and neither was above rewriting a\ntimeline. The dispute is unresolvable and mostly beside the point. The drink\nthat conquered the world is Vic's, and it's the one worth defending.\n\n## Why it matters\n\nThe Mai Tai is the argument for the whole category compressed into one glass. It\nis not sweet, it is not simple, and it rewards good ingredients enormously. Get\nsomeone to try a properly made one and you've usually converted them — not to\nthe Mai Tai, but to the idea that tropical drinks can be serious.\n",
      "readingTime": 2,
      "slug": "the-mai-tai-is-not-a-fruit-punch",
      "summary": "Order a Mai Tai in most of the world and you’ll get something red, sweet, and full of pineapple and orange juice, usually with a float of dark rum on top for drama. That drink has a right to exist. It is not a Mai Tai.\nThe actual drink Trader Vic’s 1944 original is a rum sour with almond and orange:\nAged rum — originally a 17-year Jamaican that no longer exists Fresh lime juice Orange curaçao Orgeat A small amount of rock candy syrup That’s it. No fruit juice beyond the lime. Served over crushed ice with a spent lime shell and a mint sprig.",
      "title": "The Mai Tai Is Not a Fruit Punch",
      "url": "/posts/the-mai-tai-is-not-a-fruit-punch/",
      "weight": 0,
      "wordCount": 379
    }
  ],
  "slug": "mai-tai",
  "taxonomy": "tags",
  "term": "Mai-Tai"
}