The Cocktail Spirit with Robert Hess

Another enlightening installment of the Cocktail Spirit.

So that’s it! I’m making my Mai Tais for my guests the Trader Vic’s way from now on. Not just because this recipe is the original version, but also due largely to the fact that these pseudo-Mai Tais found in many bars today are harder to produce compared to the Trader Vic’s recipe. I know of one bar restaurant where their version of a Mai Tai includes Cherry Herring. How many bars carry that liqueur?

A couple of side blurbs about this installment:
- Are you going to don a Hawaiian shirt and lay for every show devoted to Tiki drinks?
- Blue curaçao is disgusting, but it does play a crucial, “once in a blue moon” role when building an AMF (Adios Mother******). Otherwise, a pointless liqueur.
- Finally, there should be a drinking game played by the viewers where every time you mention “Kegworks”, they take a shot of the base liquor found in the drink currently being mixed.

Couple of tips for the authentic Mai Tai as the Trader intended..  the ice should be chipped or shaved where possible, the mint slapped in your hands prior to garnishing to release the essential oils and the lime that is squeezed should be dropped into the glass and that would have brought the glass to a full capacity.  cheers

Adam,
Yes, the Mai Tai sure has diverged quite a bit from how it was originally intended. I’ve seen recipes all over the board. Many times as great drinks, but not a Mai Tai.

Yes, I’ll be “properly attired” for all of the upcoming Tiki episodes :->

So you’re saying if I never plan on making an AMF I don’t have to purchase blue curacao? Sweet!

And since statistics indicate most web browsing is done at work, I don’t think I’d recommend building up any drinking games around web based content :->

Robert,
If I can just get people to make their Mai Tais using this recipe, I’ll be happy. But if they want to go the full nine yards your points are well taken!

-Robert

PS: Frankly at home, I usually just garnish with a couple cherries, which I always have on hand, while pineapple chunks and mint are more of a “special purchase” item.

Hi Robert,

Definitely have enjoyed the Cocktail Spirit series since the very first episode went online; thanks!

Given the emphasis on making a true Mai Tai, why are you using light rum and a total of 3oz of rum in this version?  Vic’s original called for 2oz of a fairly aged rum (with nothing “floated” to my knowlege).  While I understand that the particular rum he used no longer exists, attempts to recreate the nuances of that product have been to mix 1oz of an amber/gold rum and 1oz of an aged/dark rum.  So I would have thought 1oz each of the Appleton and Gosling for a total of 2oz would have sufficed; 3oz seems really unbalanced and alcoholic given that the curacao, orgeat and lime juice measures are still similar to the original recipe.  Even the Beachbum holds to the 2oz of rum.

Regarding orgeat, have you tried it from Torani, Monin and Trader Vic?  If so, thoughts compared to Fee Bros?

Thanks!
Mark

For Mark Seconi:

Concerning Orgeat Syrup…
I’m sick and tired of struggling to find any orgeat syrup at a liquor store or culinary market. When poorly supplied by a grocer, make your own batch from scratch. Check out: http://fxcuisine.com/default.asp?Display=26.

FXcuisine.com provides a home made Parisian recipe for orgeat syrup that is worth the effort. You’ll never need to shop for this ingredient again.

I added some orange flavored water and it is spot on. Blends nicely with the Trader Vic’s Mai Tai drink mix.

Mark,

As I mentioned, the dark rum float is “optional”, and I use it for precisely what I comment about, to maintain some flavor consistancy as the ice melts and begins to dilute the flavors.

I had some friends over a while back and we went through several variations and ratios of this drink, and the determination was that the version shown here (without float), had the best balance of flavors. The float not really kicking in since we didn’t drink the whole drink.

I do however keep playing around with trying different rums to see how this can be improved. When “publicizeing” a drink, I usually try to avoid tying it too tightly to a particular brand of spirit, especially if that spirit might not be readily available. For example a Demerara rum might work real well here, but with availability so spotty, I don’t want to frustrate my audience by telling them to use a product they can’t get.

It might be worthwhile to do some shows on product/brand variations, and do a drink like the Mai Tai up several different ways with different rums, and discuss the benefits and differences of each.

Don and Victor were both big proponents of blending multiple rums together in order to achieve a particular character. Something I need to work more with.

-Rober

Orgeat…

Adam, that recipe looks interesting. I remember coming across it (http://fxcuisine.com/default.asp?Display=26) before, and need to give it a try.

As for the various brands of orgeat out there. Each seems to have it’s own individual characteristics. Some are sweeter, some more almondy. And I’m not sure if I specifically have a favorite amongst them. In my area the Torani is more readily available on the shelves, but I’ve also got a case of Fee’s in the basement, so that’s even easier for me :->

If orgeat is unavailable, just ordinary almond syrup works too. The flavor is every-so-slightly different, but I don’t think such that you could tell in this drink. The orgeat flavor shouldn’t be “pronounced”, just “present”.

Speaking of Kegworks, when are they (or anyone else) going to start supplying Angostura Orange bitters? Does anyone know?

I’m checking in again with Angostura USA to find out. Will post a note on the “Bitters” episode when I find out :->

Robert, it appears you’re not using quite enough lime juice in the recipe.  The original calls for the “juice of one lime”.  I’m in accordance with you that measurements such as “juice of one lime” are unacceptable, but that brings the measurement near 1-1.5 oz of lime juice.  Why do you use so little?

On a tropical sidenote, I just tried your Jolly Roger cocktail that you created on your website, and it’s now one of my favorites.

Robert,

I love your cocktail videos, and I don’t mind that you’re sponsored by KegWorks.com, but I do mind that you’ve switched to an inferior lime squeezer and pitch it simply because it is sold on KegWorks.com. Your old squeezer didn’t require that you quarter your limes and do two squeezes just to get the juice of about half a lime. The least you could do is tell them to stock a better juicer , and to use that one instead; the pliers-style squeezer simply can’t match the antique one you used to use.

I noticed that you used a nuclear-red pseudo-maraschino cherry to garnish the drink. Is there a reason you used one of those instead of one of your brandied cherries or a genuine maraschino cherry? (which they happen to have a Kegworks.com sold under the Luxardo brand.)

Berkana,

Though the lime squeezerused is new it is actually an “antique” style. As a matter of fact the bartenders at Trader Vic’s in Emeryville use this style juicer/squeezer.

It’s possible limes are bigger now than in the past so the juice of 1/2 a lime is compatible to the juice of a whole lime from back in the 40/50’s. Remember, I’m sayiing it’s possible. Iprefer the juice of 1/2 a lime as a whole lime seemsto overpower the drink.
Nevermind the heartburn too…

And, you can juice 1/2 a small lime with the “pliers” style squeezer with out cutting it into wedges.

In any case, the new squeezer makes juicing take more steps. The old lime squeezing procedure went something like this:
1) Cut lime
2) put half-lime in squeezer
3) squeeze half-lime
4) pour juice into measuring cup from the squeezer.

The new squeezer has been used according to the following steps in the two episodes where it has shown up:
1) Cut lime in half
2) cut halves into quarters
3) Squeeze one quarter-lime using pliers into a holding glass
4) discard squeezed quarter-lime
5) load fresh quarter-lime
6) Squeeze the other quarter-lime using pliers into a holding glass
7) pour juice into measuring cup from holding glass.

The new squeezer takes far more steps, and gets one extra piece of glassware dirty. That’s all I’m pointing out. Those enameled green mexican-style “lime-inverter” squeezers are more efficient. I don’t like the new squeezer, but what bugs me is the apparent switch to the use of that particular squeezer because it is a Kegworks item. Robert always used the best tools and advocated the best techniques in all the pre-sponsorship episodes, even using antique bar tools such as his pitcher with the built in strainer and his absinthe dripper; that’s what made me a fan of this series. I wish he would keep doing that at least, or have him urge Kegworks go out of their way to find or reproduce those old-school tools. If they did that, I have no doubt that those tools would sell like hotcakes. I certainly would want to buy reproductions of those antiques.

Berkana,

Either I’m not being clear or have a reading comprehension problem.
First, the “new” squeezer is an “antique” (retro is more appropriate) style squeezer used at Trader Vic’s. (Trader Vic’s = Mai Tai) It IS an “old-school” tool. Your love of the Mexican-style “lime inverter” squeezer is NOT an “antique” style squeezer. Get it?

Second, the “pliers” squeezer does work the same way as the squeezer in your first example (which I wrote earlier).
It’s possible, just possible that Mr. Hess cut the limes twice due to the size of the lime.

Lastly, Kegworks carries BOTH style squeezers. So your assertion of choice of tools is incorrect. I believe you owe Mr. Hess an apology.

Rich

I apologize for implying that his tool choice was based on sponsorship considerations alone.

I know the pliers style squeezer is based on an antique or retro design; when I say “new,” I mean new to this series. The one he used prior simply appears more time efficient (based on my observations from the show), and at least as it has been used, it did not require getting an additional piece of glassware dirty, permitting a measured pour right out of the squeezer.

I’m inclined to think that the “pliers” style juicer would extract more of the peel-oil from the lime (particularly if the lime is done in quarters), which would probably make for a tastier drink…

wow… bunches of things to respond to… let me see if I can hit everything…

Juicer:
To date, I don’t think I’ve found “the” perfect juicer. The one I use on previous episodes is nice, but not perfect, especially since it is no longer made. I hate to “recommend” an out of production item. The plier-style juicers can work pretty well, and be small and easily packable. The version “currently” on kegworks (which I am using here), is unfortunately of thinner metal then I like, and ends up bending. I’ve been talking with them about this, and we are looking at sourcing something better.

Lime Juice:
It’s all about balance. “I” think the ratios I have here balance things out quite well, but of course you are free to adjust if you like things a little tarter.

Cherry:
I do in fact use the “atomic” cherries for somethings. Frankly in a Mai Tai, I think they “look” better than the darker/realer cherries. :->

...and yes. Kegworks is now selling the Luxardo Marachino cherries. I had recommended they check it out, and when they first did, they were a bit taken aback by how much they cost, but took a gamble and placed an order for a pallat of them, thinking it would take a while to sell… they went almost immediately, and have already had to re-order.

-Robert
PS: Check out the bitters video thread for an update on Orange Bitters :->

Juicer:
I agree. I’ve seen the newer models and compared to the older, heavy (aluminum?) one I picked up on eBay they are quiet flimsy.
Oxo makes great products but their handheld press-style squirts more juice out the sides than through the holes. I’ve found the painted (green-lime, yellow-lemon, orange-well...) press-style works well for me. Just having the yellow one is enough as it’ll handle large limes and lemons. As most cocktails call for just a little OJ I’ll hand squeeze.

I do not recommend bare aluminum juicers if they will come into contact with acidic liquids like lemon and lime juice; acid erodes away aluminum really aggressively. If you want to see just how quickly it does this, get a plate, put a small sheet of aluminum foil on the plate, and squeeze some lemon juice on it, and leave it for an hour or so.

The Oxo lever juicer appears to have exposed aluminum, and because of that, I discourage people from using it.

Robert,
Thanks for a simpler Mai Tai recipe. I was starting to look for passion fruit syrup and will give this a go before an earnest effort.  I did not have gold rum on hand, so I punted with a mix of dark (meyers) and light rums.  Was nice to toast the spring thaw with this delightful treat.

Glad to see you picked up a “sponsor”. I’ve purchsed several items from Keg Works and been pleased with their service and site. Several purchases were made via Amazon.com and are in my Listmania list. http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/listmania/fullview/R1QQGTQZARP3C9/ref=cm_lm_pthnk_view?ie=UTF8&lm_bb=

Thanks again, Robert.

Another tasty & enjoyable installment!  I’m looking forward to the whole Tiki series. 

Gotta weigh in on a few of the controversies here. 

- I have been very happy with the “Mexican” style citrus squeezers.  Kegworks should carry them in all sizes.  I’ve found that the lime size is often too small for the limes I get in the groceries here.  I tend to use the larger orange size for all fruits. 

- You should grow mint in your garden or in a big pot on your porch.  It grows like a weed, always fresh, always available. 

- Thanks to Adam for the pointer to the orgeat recipe.  I love making my own ingredients. 

- The Kegworks drinking game is a great idea!  For folks at work, well, that is what pocket flasks are for!  :D

Cheers!

Okay, I just made another one of these using Zaya aged rum for the float. I FINALLY found a good use for this stuff. I purchased it on a recommendation and never found a way to enjoy it. Plenty of cola flavor that worked great with the mai tai. Use it if you got it.

¡Salúd!
Perry

Thomas,

Agree with you that the green/lime Mexican squeezer is just too small in most cases, yellow/lemon can also be a tad on the small side, but I also find that the orange/orange (hmmm… funny how that works), can be a tad large, and results in juices squirting out the sides a bit more. Would love to see somebody re-visit this style of squeezer and fine a good way to prevent it from “squirting”.

Mint… yeah, it does grow like a weed… so much so that my gardner cleared out my patch of mint thinking it “was” a weed. Haven’t had a chance to replant it since then :->

-Robert

stupid question… I have a bottle of blue curacao… yes I’m very ashamed.  Does it taste any different than regular curacao?  ie, bol’s blue vs. regular bol’s; is it just a blue food coloring that has been added, or have they changed the flavor?

One other question… since I have easy access to several Demerara rums (Lemon & Hart, Barbancourt...), what rum would you replace with the demerara?

Owen…

Blue Curacao is essentially exactly the same as orange, clear, or (hard to find) red. Just food coloring. So you could use this in a Mai Tai… although it won’t look terribly appealing I fear :->

I would highly recommend playing around with mixing various rums in your Mai Tai’s and not feel tied to using just the “light + gold” combination I list here. I try to focus on being as “main stream” as possible with the ingredients I present so as to make the drinks as approachable as possible. The original rums that TV used in the Mai Tai were fairly rich in flavor, and so your demerara rum would work quite well, I’d even try a combo of a jamaican gold and your demerara for a tasty version.

-Robert

Hey Robert,

Just thought you’d like to know that I actually brought my favorite local bar a bottle of Orgeat just so they could make this drink. I gave them my recipe which is slightly different than yours (If I remember correctly I use Dale’s, which is 2 oz gold rum instead of the mixture you use, and no float) but the taste is still fantastic.

They love the drink and hopefully will be able to get it out to more people. I did this about a month ago and it’s slowly catching on.

I also get half off all mai tai’s I order because I supplied the bottle, which is a huge plus :-D

~Kevin

Kevin, A Mai Tai with just gold rum is perfectly fine, however Tiki drinks were all about “mixing” rums together, both Don Beach and Victor Bergeron were big fans of creating great flavors by mixing just the right rums together. Frankly, rums are some of the most flavorful spirits out there, with a very wide range that is possible. Here, I’m trying to simulate that without getting “too” specific on the actual rums being used, and think the combination of light, gold, with an optional dark, is a good start.

I totally agree on you thoughts of rum. One of the main reasons I go with the gold rum only is because I live in Alabama, where all the alcohol sales are controlled by the state, so you kinda gotta take what you can get, and the only decent rums in the state are gold, which is why I use only that in mine (although I sometimes do use a Gosling float). If I were in a different state, I am sure I would experiment with tons of different combinations as much as possible.

Thanks for the input!

You really should try a demerara rum in a Mai Tai.  I highly recommend 1oz. El Dorado 12 year along with 1oz. Appleton VX.  That is my current favorite Mai Tai rum blend.

Robert, I love the cocktail recipes and the information you present here is wonderful. I am curious where you got the recipe for this version of the Mai Tai as it appears to be different from the Trader’s version.  It seems you’re using far too little lime juice.Shouldn’t you be using 1 1/2 ounces? And where’s the rock candy syrup? (aka simple syrup).

Bill, yes, the recipe presented here has some very slight moderations over the original recipe as designed by Trader Vic… it is however very true in spirit to the original in that it focuses on the core structure, approach, and ingredients. I’ve just made some slight simplifications and adjustments for balance.

The original called for “the juice of one lime"… which hopefully I’ve made it clear in various episodes is a measureing method I absolutely hate… anytime I see that I assume all bets are off on how to accurately make the drink, and instead I focus on using an amount which I feel achieves the correct balance. Which is what I’ve done here.

It is possible that the amount of lime juice used is in fact less than what was originally used, but here then is where the loss of the “rock candy syrup” could come in. The extra 1/4 ounce of syrup could be balancing out a tad more lime juice. But in my experiments I found that if I add the syrup, and also add more lime juice in order to prevent the drink from being too sweet, I end up with a drink which is a little heavier on the sweet/sour side than I think it should be. It is possible that the original rums used would be the balancing agent here, but since those aren’t available, and since I wanted to focus on using more “easily available” rums instead of trying to use slightly more exotic rums, I chose to balance the recipe as you see shown in this video. Jeff Berry has “approved” my recipe (even though it is slightly different from the one he uses), so I feel adaquately covered :->

Below is the “Orignal” Trader Vic version of ths Mai Tai:

The ORIGINAL Trader Vic MAI TAI
2 ounces 17-year-old J. Wray Nephew Jamaican rum
1/2 ounce French Garnier Orgeat
1/2 ounce Holland DeKuyper Orange Curacao
1/4 ounce Rock Candy Syrup
juice from one fresh lime

Hand shake and garnish with half of the lime shell inside the drink and float a sprig of fresh mint at the edge of the glass.

Mr Hess,

Thanks for sharing your knowledge in all your cocktail videos ! Most of them are really interesting.
I have a question regarding Orange Curacao. When trying to order some, I notice Orange Curacao wasn’t always at the same proof than Blue Curacao. in a description, the online shop also mentioned a hint of cognac flavor.
So, I would like to know if Grand Marnier or Cointreau could be acceptable sustitutes for Orange Curacao in a Mai Tai ?

JP