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A double old fashioned glass filled with the mai tai with a cherry and orange slice on a pick
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Mai Tai Cocktail

A potent but delicious fruity cocktail that can be enjoyeds any time of the year! It's refreshing and great to serve at parties.
Course Cocktail
Cuisine Cocktails
Keyword fruit cocktail, mai tai, mai tai cocktail
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 2 cocktails
Calories 348kcal

Ingredients

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

Garnish

Instructions

  • Fill a shaker halfway with ice
  • Add all the ingredients above, one after the other
    4 ounce dark rum, 2 ounce Cointreau, 1 ounce amaretto, 1 ounce simple syrup, 1 ounce fresh lime juice, 4 ounces orange juice, .50 ounce Grenadine syrup
  • Cover shaker and shake for 15 seconds
  • Add fresh ice to the glasses and divide the contents of shaker between them. Add garnish
    2 orange wheels, 2 maraschino cherries
  • Sip
  • Smile
  • 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
Helpful tips
  • Be aware this cocktail is mostly booze so it is "potent," as my grandmother liked to say.
  • I prefer a premium orange liqueur like Cointreau but you can also use triple sec or orange curacao.
  • When I make these for my family, I make them in bulk as there are usually between 14 - 20 people to imbibe this tasty cocktail. In that case, I'll use triple sec to economize.
  • This recipe is for two mai tais, but in the notes section, I tell you how to modify the recipe to make a pitcher.
  • Make your own simple syrup as it is so easy - Boil equal amounts of water and sugar - Add one cup of water and one cup of sugar to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the temperature and simmer for five minutes. Let it cool before using it in a cocktail.
  • Mai tais are usually served with crushed ice, but I prefer ice cubes. Use what you prefer.
  • For garnish you can either just add a lime wedge, maraschino cherry or if you want to get fancy like me, cut a thin wheel from an orange, fold it in half and spear the orange slice and a cherry on a martini pick.
  • Amaretto is an almond flavored liqueur. Orgeat syrup is a non-alcoholic almond syrup and is usually in the mai tai that you get in restaurants, but it's not as easy to obtain from a store. So, I have replaced the orgeat flavor with an easier to find liqueur, hence the Amaretto. And truthfully, I enjoy it just as much as if I used the syrup.
  • Using Amaretto will increase the alcohol content. (See the first point in the helpful tips.)

Nutrition

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