The Mai Tai

When I was growing up, my parents would frequently take me to Route 1's stronghold of Chinese food, the Royal Garden. While other sitdown and takeout Chinese restaurants along Rt. 1 came and went, somehow the Royal Garden still lives on. The food was always plenty good, appropriately greasy, and I personally liked the Shirley Temples - but my parents claimed the true reason for our trips were their Mai Tais.

This wasn't something I ever understood until I was old enough to drink them myself, when I learned that most establishments define a Mai Tai as some kind of high-octane fruit punch. The Royal Garden aka parent-approved style is much closer to the original Trader Vic recipe - more about a balance of sweet and sour than a syrupy punch. Like all good sours, everyone will have their own preferences regarding proportions, so I find I make this drink just a little differently every time.

Addendum to this story: My quest to replicate my father's version of this cocktail came about when my brother-in-law mentioned that he was in a mai tai phase and my husband really wanted to be able to make him one. Thus began month-plus long quest to find orgeat (almond-flavored) syrup. You CAN find orgeat syrup at a number of liquor stores, apparently just not when you WANT to. I can't even remember where it eventually turned up, but I'm pretty sure it was somewhere we'd looked before. If you do happen to spot this syrup in your wanderings, grab some - it will last you a while and it's worth it. If you can't seem to find it, um, it's really not the end of the world, but don't tell Chris that.

Mai Tai
for 2 servings

Juice 1 lime
Juice 1/2 to 3/4 lemon (depending on size)
4 shots dark rum
1 packet daiquiri mix (such as Bar-Tender)
1 1/2 shot orange curacao
1/2 to 3/4 orgeat syrup (depending on taste)

- Combine in shaker and pour over rocks into low ball glasses.
- Garnish with cherry (of course) and orange slice.

* If you're really lucky, like we were here, your relatives in Florida will send you some amazing ruby red grapefruit to use as a garnish! Basically, a mai tai could be garnished by almost any citrus-y fruit you have on hand.