Rose Mai Tai
Is it summer yet? Well. Let’s pretend. Because Clementine can rock a lei like it’s her job.Because it is.
Now there are a lot of Mai Tai purists out there who take extreme offense to anyone who messes with the original recipe (whatever that is because ‘the original’ is hotly debated). I get it. Truly. Because I love a good, classically-made Mai Tai. And, frankly, I am offended by the ones that look like Windex. It just ain’t right (but I’d probably drink it if you put it in front of me because I’m polite, if not completely hypocritical. Quit your whining and drink your drink. See? Polite).
There is so much fantastic historical lore and drama surrounding the original Mai Tai, that I’m going to have to dedicate a post just to all that. Soon. I promise.
But for now, here’s my bastardization:
- 1 oz. dark rum (I used Bacardí Black)
- 1 oz. gold or amber rum (I used Bacardí Gold)
- 1 oz. fresh-squeezed orange juice
- .5 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice
- 1 oz. rosewater
- .5 teaspoon homemade or old-fashioned grenadine
- rose petal sugar for rim (recipe below)
- 1 medium-sized rose blossom for garnish
- 1 orange slice for garnish
First, let’s make that rim sugar. Place a half cup of granulated cane sugar in a food processor. Select six good-sized rose petals (the darker pink in color, the better). Pulverize all that together until the sugar is a lovely pink color. Spread it in an even, thin layer on a small plate. Add a few small bits of rose petals just for added texture.
Run a lime or orange wedge around the rim of a lowball glass, and then dip the glass in the sugar, coating the rim evenly. Place a large ice cube or sphere in the glass. Or just normal ice cubes. Ice is ice unless you are a cube snob. Which I totally am. No let’s not call me a snob. Let’s call me an enthusiast. Ok. We’ll go with that.
I digress.
Okay. Now it’s cacktail time.
Place rums, juices, rosewater, and grenadine in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake it aggressively for about 30 seconds. Strain into your prepared glass, and then garnish with an orange slice, and float your rose blossom.
You can drink it without wearing a lei but I’m gonna resent you. So is Clementine.
