Fool me once….

Well,there’s no fool like an old fool,and your ol’ Uncle Giltron got punked by the master hisself. Don the Beachcomber. You see,I found this recipe on Facebook for Don’s ‘Mai Tai’. Now I am aware that there was controversy over who actually created the Mai Tai,whether it was Don or Trader Vic(spoiler alert,it was Vic),and I am aware that Don had a version,so when I found this recipe purported to be Don’s,I figured I’d give it a try.

Don Beach Mai Tai

1.5oz dark Jamaican rum
1oz Cuban white rum
1/2oz Cointreau
1oz grapefruit juice
3/4oz lime juice
1/4oz falernum
1 dash absinthe
2 dashes Angostura bitters

Shake with ice and strain into glass with shaved ice.

So yeah,that was a waste of rum. It turned out to be a hot mess. I upped the falernum and added some Demerara syrup to try to help,but I couldn’t finish it. I did some more digging around the internet,and most of the legit sounding recipes have the same ingredients,just in slightly different amounts. So maybe this is Don’s Mai Tai,but I gotta say,as much as I love Don’s work,there’s a good reason why Vic’s recipe survived.

So ol’ Don got me. At least I can save the rest of you from wasting your rum. Have a real ’44 and enjoy it. Booyakasha!