Perfect Mai Tai - Friday's 5 o'clock Wet Your Whistle Call!

Pitcher-perfect cocktails make for a very happy, Happy Hour! What a great way to relax and enjoy when the cocktails just keep flowing. Memorial Day weekend parties and BBQ’s are the perfect venue for a pitcher of your favorite cocktail. Most cocktails can be adapted to a pitcher but ones without sodas tend to work best. One of our favorites is a Mai Tai because it reminds us of warm Hawaiian breezes caressing our bodies while lying on the beach, being served our cocktail beneath the shade of a palapa. Can you hear the waves lapping and the Hawaiian music yet?

The secret ingredient that makes the Mai Tai taste just like the ones in Hawaii is Orgeat syrup. Orgeat is a sweet syrup made from almonds, sugar and rose water or orange flower water, although it was originally made with a barley-almond blend. The word "orgeat" (pronounced Or-zhat) is derived from the Latin hordeata "made with barley" and from French, where barley is called orge. It has a pronounced almond taste and smell and is heavenly. Aloha!

Mai Tai Punch

Ingredients:

2 cups light rum

1 cup dark rum

1 cup 151 proof rum (float some on top of cocktail or omit)

1 cup orange Curacao (orange flavored liqueur like DeKuyper)

1 cup Orgeat (pronounced Or-zhat, almond flavored syrup)

10 limes, juiced

6 cups fresh orange juice

2 cups pineapple juice 

Directions:

In a large jar or drink cooler, combine the light rum, dark rum, orange liqueur, Orgeat, orange and pineapple juice, and lime juice. Stir and Chill. When ready to serve, pour into tall glass filled with ice and top off with a float of 151 rum. Garnish with a pineapple wedge or wheel of orange, a cherry and of course, a paper umbrella! Do not use grenadine if you want the true Mai Tai! Makes about 25 – 8 oz drinks.