Gearing up for celebrating this week on 21 August for the 50th anniversary of statehood for Hawaii as the 50th state, Kiki is researching tropical cocktails fit for the festivities.

With a nod to the Mai Tai, believed by most to be the state’s signature drink, it is now a classic bevvie, enshrined by law. Victor Bergeron otherwise known as Trader Vic won a court battle in 1944 to defend his ‘authorship’ of this killer cocktail, known to put a few under the table.

Vic said he ‘took down a bottle of 17 year old rum – J. Wray Nephew from Jamaica, golden in color, and medium bodied’, to which he added the juice of ‘a fresh lime, some orange curacao from Holland, a dash of Rock Candy Syrup, and a dollop of French Orgeat, for its subtle almond flavor. A generous amount of shaved ice and vigorous shaking by hand produced the marriage I was after. Half the lime shell went in for color … I stuck in a branch of fresh mint and gave two of them to Ham and Carrie Guild, friends from Tahiti, who were there that night. Carrie took one sip and said, “Mai Tai – Roa Ae”. In Tahitian this means “Out of This World – The Best”. Well, that was that. I named the drink “Mai Tai”.’

Eventually in 1953 the Mai Tai was introduced by Vic to the Hawaiian Islands, when he was asked by the Matson Steamship Lines to formalize 10 new drinks for the bars at their Royal Hawaiian, Moana and Surfrider Hotels. Islanders adopted the drink like water, and soon forgot the other nine.

Locals later claimed Vic admitted that Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt, called Donn Beach or usually referred to as ‘Don The Beachcomber’ invented the drink in 1933!

But no matter its provenance, and despite popular misconceptions and urban myths, there is no pineapple, no umbrella and no grenadine in a real Mai Tai. The only fruit juice is lime.

And lastly, it must be served with a sprig of mint at its edge and half of the squeezed lime shell inside a double-old fashioned glass.

An authentic Mai Tai contains:

1oz dark rum (such as Jamaican rum like Appleton Estate)
1oz light rum (such as Martinique rum like Rhum St. James)
1/2 oz orange curacao (clear, not blue!)
1/4 oz Orgeat syrup (only substitute creme de almond if not available)
1/4 oz sugar syrup (Vic was known to add a little vanilla in his)
the juice of one small lime (3/4 oz approx.)

Shake with crushed ice and garnish with mint and lime.

It’s guaranteed to be out of this world!