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ClassicTropicalCitrus

Virgin Mai Tai

Almond, lime and orange over crushed ice. Tiki's best drink, and the almond is what people actually taste.

Prep
5 min
Serves
1
Glass
Rocks
Difficulty
Easy

Ingredients

  • 0.75 oz fresh lime juice
  • 0.5 oz orgeat (almond syrup)
  • 0.5 oz orange curaçao syrup or fresh orange juice
  • 1.5 oz cold strong black tea
  • Crushed ice
  • Mint sprig and a lime shell, to garnish

Method

  1. 1Add the lime juice, orgeat, orange and tea to a shaker with a scoop of crushed ice.
  2. 2Shake hard for 10 seconds — the drink should be frothy, not clear.
  3. 3Pour unstrained into a rocks glass and top with more crushed ice.
  4. 4Slap a mint sprig against your palm and plant it next to the spent lime shell.

Notes

  • Orgeat is the whole drink. A mai tai without it is just a limeade, and it's worth buying a proper bottle.
  • The tea replaces the rum's tannic backbone; without something bitter the drink falls flat.
  • Pour unstrained — the crushed ice and froth are part of it.

Common questions

What is orgeat?

A sweet almond syrup with a little orange flower water, and the defining flavour of a mai tai. It's naturally alcohol-free, which is why this drink survives losing the rum better than most tiki classics.

Make one of these next

  • Virgin Cosmopolitan

    Cranberry, lime and orange, shaken hard and served up. Looks the part and tastes sharp rather than sweet.

  • Virgin Daiquiri

    Lime and sugar in balance. The simplest sour there is, and a good test of whether your lime is fresh.

  • Virgin Hurricane

    Passion fruit, orange and lime — New Orleans' loudest drink, minus the rum that made it dangerous.

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