Mai Tai Mai Tai The Mai Tai is a cocktail based on rum, Curaçao liqueur, orgeat syrup, and lime juice, associated with Polynesian-style settings. Victor J. Bergeron claimed to have invented the Mai Tai in 1944 at his restaurant, Trader Vic's, in Oakland, California. Trader Vic's rival, Don the Beachcomber, claimed to have created it in 1933 at his then-new bar named for himself (later a famous restaurant) in Hollywood. Don the Beachcomber's recipe is more complex than that of Vic's and tastes quite different. The name was allegedly taken from "maita'i", the Tahitian word for "good" or "excellence", although the drink
Tiki culture Asian themes. Beach is credited for having created some of the most memorable exotic cocktails such as the Scorpion and the Zombie. Howard Hughes was a regular at the Hollywood Don the Beachcomber, as were Charlie Chaplin and Frank Sinatra. Victor "Trader Vic" Bergeron was a Beach contemporary and the founder of Trader Vic's restaurant chain. Both created a variety of "Polynesian" dishes, including crab Rangoon and rumaki. The Mai Tai is considered to be the quintessential tiki cocktail. A protracted feud between Beach and Bergeron erupted when both claimed to have invented the Mai Tai. Most tiki-themed establishments served