Mai Tai -

When I think Hawaiian cocktails, I think mai tai. The problem is, the classic mai tai is not what most people associate with a mai tai. The original is two ounces rum, one ounce lime juice, one half ounce orange syrup, one half ounce orange liqueur, and a mint sprig but when I think mai tai, I think pineapple! This recipe is a hybrid. It’s not too sweet, it’s heavy on rum, and it goes down really easy.

I served this cocktail at Disney Dinners: Moana and made a whole pitcher, which we quickly polished off. I ran out of Grand Marnier so I substituted blue curaçao, which was the only orange liqueur I had left. It was bright blue, but tasted very similar, just a little sweeter. This drink with curaçao would be a fantastic cocktail for a Little Mermaid party!

The Rose Table is in no way affiliated with The Walt Disney Company.
Photography courtesy of My Curly Adventures.

You could make a single drink with 3 oz pineapple juice, 2 oz rum, 1/2 ounce fresh lime, and 1/2 ounce orange liqueur. I want it to be noted that while fresh lime juice tastes way better than bottled lime juice, I used bottled at Disney Dinners because I didn’t want to squeeze enough lime for multiple pitchers. Forgive me! If I was making this as a single cocktail or if I had help in the kitchen, I would absolutely use fresh lime juice.

I garnished this rather murky brown drink with a gorgeous orchid. Did you know that orchids are actually edible? You learn something new every day! I just snipped blooms off my orchid and let them hang out in an ice bath until ready to serve. They stayed gorgeous all night long and made this drink so picture-perfect!

Classic Hawaiian Mai Tai Recipe — Orchids in an ice bath before garnishing mai tais

Mai Tai
3 cups pineapple juice, cold
2 cups rum
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 cup orange liqueur (such as Grand Marnier)
Orchids for garnish