Mai Tai Variations

13 drinks · Updated October 2026

The Mai Tai combines rum, lime juice, orange curaçao and orgeat, usually with a little additional sugar syrup. Trader Vic created his version in Oakland in 1944; the recipe became a defining drink of American tiki bars. This page lists the namesake drinks first, then close structural riffs. Alongside the Mai Tai, examples include Bitter Mai Tai and Tia Mia. Changing the spirits or introducing a bitter ingredient can reshape the drink while preserving its citrus-and-almond framework. The useful comparison is the role of each ingredient: base spirit, sweetener, aromatic modifier or citrus, rather than the name alone.

The Mai Tai

• Mai Tai

  Trader Vic Bergeron, Oakland (1944)

  1 Lime wedge 1 oz Aged Demerara rum 1 oz Jamaican rum 0.25 oz Rhum agricole blanc 0.5 oz Orange curaçao 1 oz Lime juice 0.75 oz Orgeat 1 dash Angostura bitters

• Mai Tai Spritz

  Martin Cate, Smuggler's Cove, San Francisco (2017)

  1 oz Aged rum 0.5 oz Orange curaçao 0.5 oz Orgeat 0.5 oz Lime juice 4 oz Champagne

• Kentucky Mai Tai

  Dan Sabo, Pali Society, Los Angeles

  1 oz Bourbon 1 oz Mezcal 0.5 oz Cynar 0.5 oz Peach liqueur 0.5 oz Lemon juice 0.5 oz Orgeat

• Lost Lake's Mai Tai

  Paul McGee, Lost Lake, Chicago (2018)

  1 oz Rhum agricole 0.5 oz Overproof Jamaican rum 0.5 oz Jamaican rum 1 oz Lime juice 0.75 oz Orgeat 0.5 oz Orange curaçao 0.25 oz Demerara syrup

• Martin Cate's Mai Tai

  Martin Cate, Smuggler's Cove, San Francisco

  2 oz Aged rum 0.75 oz Lime juice 0.5 oz Orange curaçao 0.5 oz Rich orgeat 0.25 oz Vanilla demerara syrup

• Cayo Coco's Mai Tai

  Josh Schaff, Cayo Coco, Birmingham (2025)

  1.5 oz Jamaican rum 0.5 oz Black rum 1 oz Lime juice 0.5 oz Orange curaçao 0.5 oz Almond milk orgeat 0.25 oz Demerara syrup

• Garret Richard's Mai Tai

  Garret Richard, New York (2019)

  1.5 oz Aged rum 0.75 oz Black rum 1 oz Lime juice 0.75 oz Orgeat 0.5 oz Orange curaçao 0.25 oz Orange liqueur 5 drops Saline solution

• Disgruntled Mai Tai

  Sam Ross, Attaboy, New York (2023)

  1 oz Overproof Jamaican rum 1 oz Aperol 1 oz Lime juice 0.5 oz Orgeat 0.5 oz Orange curaçao 1 bottle Underberg, to float

• Mai Tai Soda

  Ben Hopkins-Prager, Pitt's, Brooklyn (2025)

  3.75 oz Mai Tai milk punch 1.25 oz Highly carbonated soda water 0.5 cup aged Jamaican rum 0.5 cup orgeat 0.5 cup lime juice 0.33 cup dry curaçao 0.25 cup cachaça 0.25 cup clairin 0.33 cup coconut milk 0.33 cup half-and-half plus 1 tsp

• Premiere Mai Tai

  Will Elliott, Maison Premiere, Brooklyn (2019)

  1 oz Rhum agricole vieux 0.5 oz Aged rum 0.5 oz Dry curaçao 0.25 oz Blackstrap rum 0.25 oz Overproof Jamaican rum 0.75 oz Orgeat 1 oz Lime juice

• Bitter Mai Tai

  Jeremy Oertel, Dram, Brooklyn (2010s)

  1.5 oz Campari 0.75 oz Jamaican rum 0.5 oz Orange curaçao 0.75 oz Lime juice 0.5 oz Orgeat

Riffs

• Maggie Smith

  Joaquín Simó, Death & Co, New York (2009)

  1 oz Pisco 1 oz White rum 0.5 oz Orange liqueur 0.75 oz Lime juice 0.25 oz Orgeat 1 tsp Honey syrup (2:1)

• Tia Mia

  Ivy Mix, New York (c. 2010)

  1 oz Mezcal 1 oz Aged rum 0.5 oz Orange curaçao 0.5 oz Orgeat 0.75 oz Lime juice