The Mai Tai

Ok, so, Tahoe isn't all about swimming. In keeping with our team theme, we did some drinkin'.

I made batches of Mai Tais. Not exactly the best cocktail for such a large group, but because it is more potent than your average drink, it works with a big enough shaker.

There is a lot of history already written about the Mai Tai, and you can read all about it. I used Trader Vic's recipe (more or less), with some modifications.

The key to the drink is fresh lime juice and the orgeat. Good luck finding the orgeat, I had to look pretty hard. I found some Trader Vic's Orgeat and a local divey liquor store, but Torani also makes some (which is what my local tiki bar uses).

For Tahoe, this is what I did:

1 part silver (white) rum (infused with pineapple) (Bacardi)
1 part gold rum (Mount Gay)
1 part dark rum (Whalers)
1 part fresh lime juice
¾ to 1 part orgeat
¾ part orange curaçao

The evening before, I sliced half a pineapple and threw the wedges in a pitcher, and filled the pitcher with the silver rum. Makes for a pineappley rum. mmm.

Put all in the shaker, shake and pour into ice filled tumblers.

If you've got the time, a nice addition is to squeeze lime into your glass, add mint and muddle. Then add the rums, curaçao and orgeat after shaking, and stir in the glass. It's a nice touch.

If you have straws, save the dark rum for a floater after you pour. Cut the straws down short, so your nose is right above the drink, so you can enjoy all the nuanced aromas.