Some of our earliest adventures out of the house during lockdown were a few socially- distanced camping excursions with trusted friends. On one trip, I decided to create Mai Tais for a crowd from a great recipe for various big-batch tiki recipes I found on the Lost Tiki Lounge website. The tricky issue here is that proportions don’t scale linearly, as some ingredients (e.g. bitters or strong syrups like orgeat & ginger) are amplified as they increase. I suggest using 1/2 the amount of these types of ingredients, testing and tasting as you go to avoid going overboard. I break the recipe up into the base (spirits themselves) that we can be mixed well in advance. Next up are the “small but potent” elements like syrup and aromatics which I bottle separately. Finally, there’s the citrus, which ideally you would squeeze to order, but can get away with extracting a few hours ahead of time and bottling on ice until ready to serve. You can use a combination of different of rums here, but the best approximation of the original
Mai Tai for a Crowd
Ingredients
- 24 oz Denizen Merchant Reserve Blended Rum
- 6 oz Pierre Ferrand Orange Curaçao
- 12 oz Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
- 6 oz Orgeat
- 3 oz Simple Syrup
Method
- Any time in the week leading up to your event, mix “base” ingredients (rum and curacao) in a large container, decant into bottles, and store in the fridge.
- Pour “small but potent” ingredients (Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice, orgeat) into a small jug, cover, and place in refrigerator.
- On the day of your event, squeeze limes as close to party time possible, bottling juice and storing in the fridge.
- Make sure you keep all your squeezed lime halves chilled for garnish.
- Ten minutes before guests arrive, take out lime halves, Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice, and pre-mixes, giving the bottles a good shake in the process.
- When serving, add 21/2 oz. of your “base” pre-mix, 3/4 oz. of the “small but potent” mix, and 1 oz. of Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice.
- Add ice and shake vigorously for 15-20 seconds.
- Strain into a double old-fashioned glass over crushed ice.
- Garnish with a sprig of (bruised) mint and drop in one of the lime halves.
Equipment
- Shaker
- Hawthorne Strainer