MONKEYPOD MAI TAI

It's finally summer in San Diego! 2023 has not been our best year of weather. We are so grateful for the rain that officially put an end to our drought. But boy, were we all celebrating when we suited up and headed to the water!

We love summer and we REALLY love Hawaii. If you've traveled to the islands then you may have heard of MonkeyPod Kitchen. It is one of our favorite Hawaiian spots. We first tried it in Ko Olina, Oahu when we stayed at Aulani because it was walking distance from the resort. And then a couple years later when we traveled to Maui, we discovered there are two locations there as well. Our favorite Mai Tai is from Monkeypod. It is full of delicious froth and deep rum. No fake ingredients and every sip is magical. See proof below.

Photo Credit: @monkeypodkitchen

I can't even write this without drooling over a Mai Tai overlooking a Hawaiian sunset. Please and thank you. Well, long story short, after getting back from Hawaii we knew we had to find a way to reproduce the MonkeyPod Mai Tai. However, it's not easy. They use macadamia nut orgeat and a honey-lilikoi foam...two key ingredients we were unfamiliar with. So we had to improvise. After a little trial and error, my husband, Edel, figured out just the right mix of ingredients and we've been enjoying and cheers-ing ever since!

MAI TAI RECIPE: Let me preface this by sharing this is NOT a beginner cocktail. It does take patience and is best to make each cocktail individually and then batch the froth. So plan on serving 4-6 cocktails at once. I will also add, this cocktail will be well loved and appreciated by many and is worth every effort!

INGREDIENTS:

Cocktail Ingredients: (per cocktail)

1 oz. Light or silver rum

1/2 oz. Cointreau

1/2 oz. Simple syrup

3/4 oz. Fresh squeezed lime juice

Drop of almond extract

1 cup Ice

Float: (per cocktail)

1 oz. Meyer's Dark Rum

Batch Froth Ingredients: (serves 4-6 cocktails)

3 Egg whites

1.5 oz. Honey

1 oz. Dole's pineapple juice

1 oz. Simple syrup

1/3 tsp almond extract

Garnish:

Drink Umbrellas

1 Fresh pineapple

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all your "cocktail ingredients" in a cocktail shaker without the froth and without the 1 oz. of the Meyer's Dark Rum. Shake vigorously until the shaker is cool to the touch.

Pour your "cocktail ingredients" into a cup with ice. Float 1 oz. of Meyer's Dark Rum on top.

Combine all your froth ingredients into a small blender. You can also use a frother, but we found the blender to be soooo much faster. Pulse your ingredients until you achieve a creamy texture.

Garnish with a full slice of pineapple hugging the cup and a pineapple leaf, then place the umbrella into the pineapple round. Top with froth. And CHEERS!

Soak up the sun this summer. Watch the sunset, walk the dog, go for a bike ride and mix a Mai Tai! Don't forget to tag us on Instagram when you make your first batch! Share this post with a friend who would appreciate a summer Mai Tai! Cheers!