Two mai tai cocktails topped with fresh mint

Mai tai

Name: Mai tai
Total time: 5 min
Yield: Serves 1
Ingredients: 30ml white rum; 30ml dark rum; 1 tbsp Orange curacao or Cointreau; ½ tbsp orgeat or almond syrup; 30ml lime juice; ½ tbsp sugar syrup; mint leaves to garnish; lime wheel to garnish; pineapple wedge to garnish

Hannah Guinness

Published: April 27, 2021 at 1:20 PM

Save recipe

Serves 1

Easy

Total time: 5 mins

A star rating of 5 out of 5.2 ratingsRate

loading...

Get 5 months for £5 when you subscribe today

This totally tropical cocktail is a heady mix of two types of rum, orange curacao, almond syrup and lime juice. Perfect with a pineapple wedge

Skip to ingredients

Alternatives

Complete the dish

Try these fruity mai tai cocktails, then check out our piña colada, frozen strawberry daiquiri, long island iced tea, strawberry mojito, sidecar cocktail and more refreshing rum cocktails. Also learn how to make your own sugar syrup to use in this cocktail.

Make your own homemade sugar syrup using our step-by-step recipe, it’s super easy!

Our drinks expert, Hannah Guinness, shares her at-home bar tips to help you take your mai tai to the next level.

What is a mai tai?

One of the world’s most famous tiki cocktails, the mai tai is thought to have emerged in the 1940s, and was created as a way to showcase premium rum. It’s a brilliantly balanced and fresh – if potent – cocktail, showcasing a blend of different rums.

Mai tai ingredients

As rum is the star here make sure you use the best white and dark rums you can find. We’ve tried and tested the best premium rums – check out the results. Use freshly squeezed juices to ensure the vibrancy of the cocktail.

Bar hacks and garnishes

To save on time, make a big batch of sugar syrup using our recipe. For an extra tropical twist, try swapping the white rum for a golden pineapple rum – we love Two Drifters Spiced Overproof Pineapple Rum. As the cocktail is served with plenty of ice use a generous tumbler in this recipe.

Take your skills to the next level with this handy cocktail kit from the olive shop. Completed with easy-to-use cobbler shaker, double jigger, fine mesh strainer and bar spoon, it has everything you need to make next-level drinks at home. Buy here.

Make it a non-alcoholic mai tai

For a convincing alternative to rum, try mixing 3-4 tbsp of apple juice with a dash of almond extract.

Mai tai recipe

Ingredients

30ml white rum
30ml dark rum
1 tbsp Orange curacao or Cointreau
½ tbsp orgeat or almond syrup
30ml lime juice
½ tbsp sugar syrup
mint leaves

to garnish
lime wheel

to garnish
pineapple wedge

to garnish

Method

step 1

Put all of the ingredients except the garnishes in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a tumbler filled with ice and garnish with the lime, mint and pineapple.

Discover more of our easy cocktail recipes

Piña Colada Recipe

Authors

Hannah GuinnessSenior sub editor and drinks writer

Comments, questions and tips

Rate this recipe

What is your star rating out of 5?1 star out of 52 stars out of 53 stars out of 54 stars out of 55 stars out of 5

Choose the type of message you'd like to post

CommentQuestionTip

Overall rating

A star rating of 5 out of 5.2 ratings

Want to see this content?

This page contains olivemagazine content provided by Google reCAPTCHA. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as Google reCAPTCHA may use cookies and other technologies. To view this content, choose 'Accept and continue' to allow Google reCAPTCHA and its required purposes.

Accept and continue