Mai Tai Cocktail. James Palinsad / flickr / 2008 / CC BY-SA 2.0
https://www.flickr.com/photos/99329675@N02/11064878766
The 30th of August is Mai Tai Day.
A Mai Tai has been called a taste of Paradise In A Glass®.
Offering a liquid glimpse of sun and fun, it’s a holiday poured into an old-fashioned glass over ice, and garnished with a sprig of mint, a citrus peel and a paper parasol.
The drink has come to symbolize 1950s and 1960s Tiki Bar culture, as well as Hawaiian culture (even though the drink was actually invented in California!)
“Mai Tai” in Tahitian means “good”. [1]Approximately
#MaiTaiDay #NationalMaiTaiDay
See also: Mai Tai Cocktails, Cocktails, Curaçao, Lime Juice, Orgeat Syrup, Rum, World Cocktail Day
Activities for today
- Look for special Mai Tai pricing and promotions at bars;
- have friends over and make Mai Tais;
- have a tiki-themed evening in your backyard with friends.
Mai Tai Recipe
Original recipe from 1944
1 oz. amber Martinique rum
1 oz. dark Jamaican rum
1 oz. fresh lime juice
½ oz. orgeat syrup (or use 1 drop pure almond extract)
½ oz. of Cointreau
floater of Dark Rum (optional)
mint (optional garnish)
lime half after squeezing, or peel (optional garnish)
Instructions
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker, except the garnish and dark rum floater.
Shake and strain into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice.
Garnish with fresh mint and a lime.
You may also float some dark rum on top of the cocktail.
History
The first Mai Tai Day was held on the 30th of August 2009.
It was proclaimed on that day by the city council of the City of Oakland, California, where the Mai Tai was created
The day celebrates the cocktail invented in 1944 by Victor Bergeron (aka Trader Vi). Reputedly, according to some sources, the cocktail was invented exactly on the 30th of August.
If you see the 30th of June date floating around for this day, it’s because someone didn’t take the time to check first to see if the day already existed, and tried to make another date.
Sources
Japhe, Brad. Mix it up for National Mai Tai Day. San Francisco, California: SF Weekly. 28 August 2015. Accessed July 2021 at http://www.sfweekly.com/dining/mix-it-up-for-national-mai-tai-day/
Kim & Robert. Will the True National Mai Tai Day Please Stand up? The Cocktail Couple blog. 29 August 2017. Accessed July 2021 at https://www.thecocktailcouple.com/national-mai-tai-day/
Let’s get the record straight…The real Mai Tai Day is August 30th! Trade Vics. Undated. Accessed July 2021 at http://tradervics.com/news/lets-get-the-record-straightthe-real-mai-tai-day-is-august-30th/
Porter, Eloise. Celebrate National Mai Tai Day at the place where it — allegedly — all began, 70 years ago. San Francisco, California: SF Weekly. 28 August 2017. Accessed July 2021 at http://www.sfweekly.com/dining/wednesday-drink-44-cent-mai-tais-at-trader-vics/
Rufus, Anneli, Gear Up for National Mai Tai Day in Oakland, Whose Official Cocktail is … You Guessed It: the Mai Tai. Oakland, California: Oakland Magazine. 25 August 2015. Accessed July 2021 at http://www.oaklandmagazine.com/Gear-Up-for-National-Mai-Tai-Day-in-Oakland-Whose-Official-Cocktail-is–You-Guessed-It-the-Mai-Tai/
Westerman, Kim. Trader Vic’s Declares August 30th Mai Tai Day. Forbes Magazine. 30 August 2017. Accessed July 2021 at https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimwesterman/2017/08/30/trader-vics-declares-august-30th-mai-tai-day/#40ec03944b23
References
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