During the mid-20th-century Tiki craze, Victor Bergeron operated his bustling Polynesian-themed eateries in California, where he sought to showcase the richness of premium Jamaican Rum. Drawing inspiration from island flavors, he devised a recipe that blended orgeat’s nutty undercurrent with bracing lime and a delicate orange note. The name “Mai Tai” stems from the Tahitian phrase “Maita’i roa ae,” meaning “the best,” allegedly exclaimed by the first patrons who tasted it.
Following World War II, returning servicemen and the rise of exotic restaurants boosted the popularity of rum-based Tiki drinks. The Mai Tai soon spread beyond Trader Vic’s bars, appearing on menus worldwide. In 1961, Elvis’s tropical romp in Blue Hawaii helped catapult it further into pop-culture legend. Over subsequent decades, variations emerged, sometimes overshadowing the original formula with fruit juices or over-the-top garnishes. Yet for many, the genuine Mai Tai is a carefully balanced ratio of Rum, lime, Curaçao, and orgeat—the unshakable foundation of Tiki’s legacy.
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