Man... This video is so so so so good! The amount of reading documenting, analysing, crosschecking, summarizing, writing to keep the script under 30 minutes AND entertaining AND have good visuals AND audio.... How many days of work must that video taken! I'm just in awe
Absolutely fantastic history lesson professor! Totally agree, a lot of great riffs on the Mai Tai. But for me, the ‘44 is my favorite! Keep up the great work!
That plot twist/reveal of your personal connection to Bill Akamuhou hit me like a ton of bricks! Amazing! No wonder you have the tropical spirit in your blood!
Just when I think there's nothing new to talk about regarding the mai tai. I almost feel silly for how eye-opening your points about curaçao and orgeat were to me. You did a seriously good job with this one.
Great video going down memory lane!!! Cocktail history is like a fisherman story. Always gets better and more embellished with age. Got to say your family tie in is great. 🍹
Wow - you went so deep on this one, Derek. Besides all of the Mai Tai history, I appreciated hearing about your family history and your connection to it. This was a masterclass in mai tai history that questioned some of the conventionally held stories that I'd heard - I learned a ton. Thank you!
This is an old video and as such you probably won't see this, but it just came across my feed now and I've got to say, as a long time tiki and rum (and cocktail in general!) nerd, this is the best bar-related video I've seen since I stumbled across Anders Erickson circa 2020/2021. More like this one please! The history, the mystique, the video length, perfect.
I see them all! Much appreciated. Not much in the pipeline for similar videos but if you have not checked out the Saturn video that ones is the closest. I created a History of playlist recently will all of the deeper dive episodes as well. Thanks again!
Thank you for this video and channel I’m so glad I found it, your content is incredible and I’ve already heard it referenced at a few industry ed events I’ve been to so I hope you feel the impact you’re having for the better !!!
Excellent work, Derek! The Mai Tai is an all-time favorite of mine and I really appreciated the deep dive on it's history here. This has been a great series and has introduced me to some nice variations that I wasn't aware of. Keep it up!
This was fantastic. That is some fantastic family history, Frank Sinatra is my like, great great second uncle, or at least something pretty far removed like that lol. My grandparents had a record that was signed I think, not sure what happened to it after they passed… This is much cooler though considering the background with the Mai Tai and your focus on Tiki. I’m not planning to focus on Mobster life anytime soon, lol.
My favorite Mai Tai to date, at home, is 1 Appleton Estate 12 1 Pusser’s Gunpowder Proof 3/4 Lime Juice 1/2 Cointreau 1/2 Orgeat 5 drops saline A dash of black walnut bitters. Garnish with mint when I can get it.
As someone who's always enjoyed history, your efforts to include historical events surrounding these drinks is appreciated. I too have explored and experimented with the Mai Tai, and honestly, as long as it doesn't have pineapple juice, oj, and grenadine in it, it's usually good🗿👍 I noticed a drink on one of the menus in this vid called Dr Funk's Son... Says it was served in an ice mold?! PLEASE explore that one for us! 😆
Started a while back when I was trying to envision that night in Oakland. What was it like? First off all, a World War was going on which seems obvious but what was that really like? There are SOOO many drinks on these old Menu's that are worth exploring and in time I'm sure I'll get to some of them.
Great video! Very cool that you figured out the proof of the original 17 year, cause i just recently made barrel aged Wray Nephew and there wasn't really a clear answer online on what the proof was. btw what is the name of the background song at the very beginning?
Can’t say definitively it was 43 ABV, but the bottles from Italy for the 17 and 20 were 43. Those images have been around awhile and the “43 Gradi” is ABV on Italian bottles. Possible US versions it could be something else, but would need to see proof of that and not just what people may think it was. Song is Pursuing Tikiness and it’s a stock/royalty free song.
Bravo, sir. Your effort appears to be well appreciated by all the commenters as it should be. I've been playing with the Mai Tai recipe for the past year or so and ended up close to the one you have at the end. I split the rums 1oz Appleton 12yr and 1oz Rhum Clement VSOP.
I agree the search for the Appleton 17 year has gone way overboard- can you tell I did not get a bottle?? Seriously, there are so many ways to vary your Mai Tai to explore what the best drink (another subjective, personal judgement). For example, here are the things I vary: Rum- infinite number of options/blends Lime- 1/2 oz vs. 3/4 oz vs. 1 oz Orange- PF Dry Curaçao vs. Cointreau vs. Creole Shrub Orgeat- homemade vs. Liber & Co. vs. El Guapo vs. Lattitude 29 (and many others) Bitters- yes/no? Which? Saline- yes/no? The rum blend I most recently tried is equal parts Smith & Cross, Appleton 12, Neisson Reserve Speciale, and Plantation OFTD (idea from you, but wanted some agricole, therefore the Neisson).
Dude that was awesome, enjoyed every minute of it, some serious homework done for this one ! Any chance of adding Mls as well as OZs for us watching outside the US ? Just a thought, cheers
Fantastic video! My one question - given that liqueur recipes often have been altered significantly over the years, how certain is it that the DeKuyper Orange Curaçao of today is anywhere close to that of 80 years ago?
We don’t know. I tried, but DeKuyper wouldn’t respond. But I would say that most people guess it’s changed, but there not proof of that. And the default is to use Pierre Ferrand which is not designed to taste like a 1940s Orange Liquer.
Incredible work, Derek! Super in depth and well-researched, yet I was engaged the entire time. Would love to see more cocktail history videos like this in the future.
I believe you previously said that rock candy syrup is just a 3 to 1 sugar syrup, but I heard from multiple sources that it also had vanilla extract in it. Is it true? And was it originally white or brown sugar? Thanks 🙏
This get's complicated. So much so that I will probably do a video on it. What was sold commercially back in the 40s? I have no idea, but real rock candy syrup would not be a 1:1, 2:1, 3:1, 4:1 etc or include vanilla. It's it's own thing. Still trying to verify a few things on it.
Absolutely phenomenal execution detailing the history of the Mai Tai! Thank you for putting together such a detailed and concise video.Keep up the incredible work! Do you have thoughts on Greg Easter’s historical version of the Mai Tai? Specifically his claim that Vic secretly altered his bottles of the 17 year W&N with “Nastoyka”, A rum based infusion with raisins, hibiscus and vanilla tea, and star anise.
Thank you! I dont pay too much attention to the blends. I think they can be fun to do, but unless you’re tasting against the original then it’s really just for fun and not a practical clone recipe. Did Vic secretly alter the 17? No idea. But I don’t know why he would. According to TV, they stopped using the rum within a year. And during that year the drink was not popular. So why doctor a limited supply of rum that would have most likely been great on its own for a drink that was not even popular? I get why the rum is hyped, but it’s that split base of light rum and dark Jamaican that really made the Mai Tai famous.
Mai Tai was the first drink I have made and I fell in love in it from the first sip. Then I had no idea how many variations of the Mai Tai exist. Thank You so much for all the lessons about the history of this delicious cocktail. Thanks to You I've made my own orgeat at home and now I can enjoy Mai Tai every evening. Love You videos and really appreciate Your work. Thank You for sharing Your knowledge!
