It’s International Exotic Cocktail Day! (Plus your weekend drink, the Mai Tai)

(Aloha! This is the post from 2010. 2011’s International Exotic Cocktail Day is set for October 7. Check out the Facebook Page for more info and updates, and cheers!)

It’s here – the day we’ve all been waiting for – International Exotic Cocktail Day! So come on in swingers, pull up a drink and get fabulous!*

We’ll be celebrating at the Mai Kai in Fort Lauderdale tonight. They don’t know it yet, but they are about to become the world’s starting gate for the event. Who knows, maybe in 20 years it will be something else they are known for!.

So wherever you are kids, grab a drink, mix a drink, make a virgin drink if you’re too young or on the wagon, and toast to the wonderful life full of Tiki and retro fun stuff that we’re all so luck to be hip to.

Cent’Anni! Cheers, and Mahalos to you all!

-Tiki Chris

*I stole that line from Futurama.

Your Weekend Cocktail: The Mai Tai

In honor of the day, I thought it appropriate to feature the drink that started it all, the Mai Tai. Depending on who you talk to it was created by either Don the Beachcomber or Trader Vic in the 1930s or 1940s. I’ve done extensive research on the subject (translation: I looked at a couple of websites) and have found that the Beachbum Berry is probably the most reliable source, and he says it was Don the Beachcomber, so I’m going with that. Check out BB’s page on the subject at BeachBumBerry.com.

Here’s the classic DTB recipe, updated for modern availability:

•    1 oz Rhum Clément VSOP Martinique rum
•    1 oz Appleton Estate Extra dark Jamaican rum
•    1 oz fresh lime juice
•    1/2 oz Orange Curacao.
•    1/4 oz Simple Syrup.
•    1/2 oz Orgeat Syrup

Add to a shaker with crushed ice and shake it up, baby. Pour over rocks in a Tiki mug or Old Fashioned glass and garnish with mint sprig, so that you sense the mint as you take in the drink. An umbrella is mandatory, unless you have a fresh tropical flower to replace.

Make no mistake, this is the REAL Mai Tai. Anything with pineapple juice, anything red, anything that tastes sweet and sticky is not a Mai Tai, although lesser bars will try to pass off these concoctions to you. Insist on the best, or make it yourself!

Aloha!