Since, watching Bourdain’s most recent episode of No Reservations I have become once again nostalgic for Hawaiian breezes and frankly everything to do with paradise.Â* Of course, I must admit, me and my husband border on being a little carried away with Island Fever anyway.Â* I mean…my husband erected a Tiki Hut in our back yard.
Well, I am now craving a Mai Tai.Â* That is all we drank during our honeymoon and there is nothing like drinking a really good Mai Tai out of a Tiki head.Â* We have a friend of ours who has a great recipe, but it is a secret.Â* So, until I can pry that recipe from “Ranger Rick”, I will have to be happy with the original, which is actually incredible too.
The Mai Tai was created in 1944.Â* Its inventor, Victor J. Bergeron, aka Trader Vic.Â* From Wikipedia:
The Mai Tai is a well-known alcoholic cocktail purportedly invented at the Trader Vic’s “Polynesian-style” restaurant in Oakland, California in 1944. Trader Vic’s amicable rival, Don the Beachcomber, claimed to have created it first in 1933 at his own newly opened little bar (later a famous restaurant) in Hollywood. The Beachcomber’s recipe is far more complicated than that of the Trader’s and tastes quite different.
“Maita’i” is the Tahitian word for “good.” The spelling of the drink, however, is two words.[1][2][3]
The Trader Vic story of its invention is that the Trader (Victor J. Bergeron) created it one afternoon for some friends who were visiting from Tahiti. One of them tasted it and cried out: “Maita’i roa!” (Literally “good very!”, figuratively “Out of this world!”) — hence the name.
Bergeron exported it to Hawaii in 1953.Â* Sharing it with the Royal Hawaiian, Moana and Surfrider Hotels.Â* So what is the best recipe?Â* John Fischer, about.com guide, suggests what is considered the original:
INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 oz. Dark Rum
  • 1 oz Light Rum
  • 1 oz Orange Curacao
  • 2 oz Orange Juice
  • 1/2 oz Lime Juice
  • Dash Orgeat
  • Dash Simple syrup (bar syrup)
PREPARATION:

Combine all of the ingredients in the order listed in a Old Fashioned style glass over shaved ice. Stir with a swizzle stick. Garnish with a slice of pineapple and a cherry.
If you want to have a little Mai Tai experiment read more and discover 7 varied recipes from Trader Vic and Don the Beachcomer.

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