If you’re looking for a cocktail to whisk you away to a tropical paradise, the Mai Tai is the drink for you.

This cocktail was supposedly invented in 1944 at Trader Vic’s restaurant in Oakland, California. He created the drink one afternoon for friends who were visiting from Tahiti. Carrie Guild – one of Vic’s guests – tasted the cocktail and exclaimed “Maita’i roa ae”, which is translated literally as “very good” or figuratively as “out of this world! The best!”

Don the Beachcomber – Trader Vic’s rival – claimed creation of the cocktail in 1933 at his then-new bar named after himself (later a famous restaurant) in Hollywood. His recipe is more complicated than that of Vic’s and has a very different taste.

Ingredients:
50ml dark rum
15ml orange curacao
10ml fresh lime juice
60ml almond syrup
Ice
Wedge of lime and a chunk of pineapple to garnish.

Method:
1. Put the ice in a cocktail shaker and add rum, orange curacao, lime juice and almond syrup.

2. Shake well and strain the drink into a tall glass with fresh ice.

3. Garnish with a wedge of lime and a chunk of pineapple.

Why not have a Mocktail?
For a non-alcoholic alternative, mix 90ml orange juice, 25ml lime juice, 1 teaspoon fine sugar, 1 tablespoon almond syrup and 10ml grenadine. Strain over ice and garnish with lime and pineapple.

PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY