Mai Tai Cocktail | Merry Merry

What doesn’t scream Christmas like a Merry Merry Mai Tai cocktail?  I know it calls very loudly to me!  This merry merry Mai Tai is absolutely the best Mai Tai recipe I’ve come across!!

Why merry, merry?

On Christmas eve, when my maternal grandparents were alive, we would all get bundled up, pile into the sleigh, oops, I mean car, and go to their house in the town nearby. We would converge with my mother’s brother and his family, as well as many aunts and uncles.

It was very magical for us children; we would wait patiently for Santa to arrive with presents for each of us.  I remember one year, he came downstairs from the second floor and we were all delighted.  How the heck did he get up there?  I’m sure whoever was Santa that year just went up the stairs without us catching him, but it was so mysterious and fun! For our Christmas Eve feast, we would have seven fishes, with delicacies like squid and calamari!

Once my grandparents passed, we started spending Christmas Eve at home with just our immediate family.  I’m not sure who thought of having Chinese food for our feast instead of the fishes. It was probably my mom, who didn’t want to cook all that food for dinner and then wake up the next day to cook another big meal.  So, we started ordering Chinese food on Christmas Eve and we’ve never looked back.

And so it continues

One of my sisters and I carry on that tradition, although we’ve added something special to our take out fun!

A few hours before the heaps of Chinese food are going to be ready for pick up and added to our plates, we all pile into our cars and go to the restaurant’s bar to drink Mai Tais while we wait for the food to be cooked.

Clearly, many other people have the same idea as the bar is always packed Christmas Eve.  And as my sister’s kids have gotten older, our table keeps getting bigger and it’s become more difficult to fit us all into the crowded bar.

A few years ago, we started a NEW tradition.  Instead of ordering take out, my sister cooks the Chinese food herself at home.  I, of course, being the official drink maker, supply the Mai Tais beforehand.  WOO HOO!

But I’m not finished talking about cocktails!

Here are some other lovely creations you can get at a Chinese restaurant near you (Tip: And you don’t have to wait for Christmas Eve).

• Pirate’s booty
• Scorpion bowl
• Sweet poison cocktail

How to mix a mai tai cocktail

I posted this Mai Tai cocktail recipe two years ago but I decided to re-publish with a few adjustments because I’m always tweaking my recipes.  I also wanted to re-publish because this recipe is superb and yet it didn’t get the attention it deserves.

Truly, it is outstanding!

As you probably know, the Mai Tai cocktail is basically all booze.  They do contain a little juice, but not much!  This makes them very potent!  Can you say Yeehaw!!??

We have gold rum, Cointreau, Amaretto, simple syrup, lime and orange juice.

When I make these for my family, I make them in bulk as there are usually anywhere between 14 – 20 people to imbibe this tasty cocktail.

But notice that this recipe is for ONE Mai Tai only.  In the notes section, I include the recipe for a pitcher of Mai Tais. Yes, I said a pitcher!

Let’s get started.

First, I get my trusty shaker and fill it halfway with ice.

Rum

I measure out 2 ounce of gold rum.

See my glass jigger?  I love that thing!  My mom gave it to me.  The top measures both 3/4 and 2 ounces, the bottom measures 1/2 of an ounce and an ounce.

I pour the rum in the shaker.

Now, for the Cointreau.  If you don’t have that delicious orange liqueur, you can use triple sec.  But Cointreau is much better.

I measure out 1 ounce!

Into the shaker it goes!

Next up is the Amaretto!  I measure out 1 ounce.

Pour it into the shaker!

Now for the simple syrup.  You can either buy it at a liquor store or you can make it at home.

I prefer to make it as it is super easy. What you do is boil equal amounts of water and sugar – so one cup of water to one cup of sugar. Boil it for five minutes – by then the sugar will be dissolved – then let it cool.

My simple syrup was made with raw cane sugar so it’s a little darker than syrup made with white sugar.

What are you waiting for?  Pour it into the shaker.

Boy, that shaker is filling up!

Lime

Next up is 1/2 ounce of freshly squeezed lime juice.  I find that equates to about 1/2 a lime.

It is time to start salivating and squealing.

Next up, 2 ounces of orange juice.

See how dark the liquid in the shaker has gotten?  The orange juice is going to lighten it up again.

I cap the shaker and shake for at least 30 seconds.  Then I pour the contents of the shaker into a glass.  I also gather some Grenadine and a lime wedge and maraschino cherry for garnish.

I pour 1/4 ounce of Grenadine into the glass and stir it up.  Finally, I add the lime wedge and maraschino cherry.

Here’s the old photo when I first published this post.

I hope you enjoyed this Mai Tai recipe!  I know I did.  Burp!

And as always, may all your dishes/drinkies be delish!

If you’ve tried this Mai Tai cocktail or any other recipe on the blog, I’d love the hear what you thought about it in the comments below.  I love hearing from you!  You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST  to see more of my delicious food and delightful cocktails!

Mai Tai Cocktail

A simply stupendous cocktail for any time of the year!  But extra yummy at the holidays!

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Cocktail

Cuisine: Cocktails

Keyword: mai tai cocktail

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Servings: 1 cocktail

Calories: 348kcal

Author: Elaine Benoit

Ingredients

• 2 ounce dark rum
• 1 ounce Cointreau or triple sec
• 1/2 ounce amaretto
• 1/2 ounce simple syrup
• 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
• 2 ounces orange juice
• 1/4 ounce Grenadine syrup

Tools, Garnish and Glassware

• cocktail shaker
• lime wedge
• maraschino cherry
• rocks glass

Instructions

• Fill a shaker halfway with ice
• Measure and add all the ingredients above, one after the other.
• Cover shaker and shake for 30 seconds
• Pour contents of shaker into glass
• Add Grenadine and stir
• Plop garnish into glass
• Smile
• Squeal
• Sip
• Enjoy

Notes

You can adjust recipe to serve as many people you want.  To make a pitcher:  Serves many!

• 3 cups gold rum
• 1.5 cup Cointreau
• 1 cup Amaretto
• 1 cup simple syrup
• 8 – 10 limes juiced
• 1/2 gallon orange juice

Nutrition

Serving: 1cocktail | Calories: 348kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Sodium: 14mg | Potassium: 113mg | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 115IU | Vitamin C: 32.6mg | Iron: 0.5mg

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