United's Mai Tai
 

just returned from first class hawaii trip....those mai tai's were fantastic.
anyone know how they do it? any crew out there know the recipe?

Trader Vics -
 

They use Trader Vics mix, dark rum and I've had mine with (or without) a splash of OJ. Can get the mix at BevMo.

Step 1: Buy Mr. & Mrs. T's Mai Tai Mix (aka High Fructose Corn Syrup).
Step 2: Add rum and OJ.

Don't forget all those artificial flavors, artificial colors, and preservatives!

I can't recall UA serving Trader Vic's mix recently, even though Trader Vic's meals are served. But you're probably somewhat better off buying that than Mr. & Mrs. T. I haven't paid too much attention, but the below photo I took last summer on SFO-HNL appears to show a Mr. & Mrs. T bottle (see Amazon):

I think "fantastic" is a bit overstated, but I drink them because they're "special." I add a splash of OJ to make it more palatable. I miss the Trader Vic's mix.

My record is 7 on SFO-HNL. Could have been 8, but FAs had to be seated due to turbulence towards the end.

http://i53.tinypic.com/25rnztd.jpg

Why must recipes these days be so complicated and time consuming!

UA switched from the Trader Vic's Mai Tai mix to a "ready to drink" concoction about a year or so ago. With the mix, you are supposed to add the juice of one lime plus rum. Some FAs used OJ instead of, or in addition to, the lime. One time out of OGG, the FA told me that her secret was an additional splash of guava juice, which gave it a pinkish blush and also a nice flavor. But I don't think guava juice is loaded onto the beverage cart ex-Hawaii any longer. Now with the ready to drink stuff, the FA just pours in the rum, or hands the little bottle to you and you pour it in yourself. It's fantastic, but I still prefer the mix.

Both the mix and the ready to drink stuff can be found in supermarkets. I used to love the mix, but Vons/Safeway stopped selling it here in the L.A. area. I know you can still buy it at Bevmo, but I have since found the original recipe online, and now I mix my own the old fashioned way -- with a shaker and lots of ice. :)

They haven't had guava juice for awhile, which was one of my favorite aspects on UA HI flights. :(

I wish they would bring it back.

My Thai
 

I had an excellent Thai chicken dish in UA first the other day - never had that before. It would have been nicely washed down with a Mai Tai but regretfully was in the lower 48... @:-)

This is the authentic traditional Mai Tai recipe from the "Mai Tai" Bar at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki. The original Mai Tai was created by Victor J. Bergeron in 1944 and brought to Hawaii in 1953 at the Royal Hawaiian, Moana and Surfrider Hotels.
Prep Time: 01 minute
Total Time: 1 minute
Ingredients:

* 1 oz. Dark Rum
* 1 oz Light Rum
* 1 oz Orange Curacao
* 2 oz Orange Juice
* 1/2 oz Lime Juice
* Dash Orgeat
* Dash Simple syrup (bar syrup)

Preparation:
Combine all of the ingredients in the order listed in a Old Fashioned style glass over shaved ice. Stir with a swizzle stick. Garnish with a slice of pineapple and a cherry.

Enjoy! ^

Here's my mai tai recipe. I don't use OJ or simple syrup in mine, and it's still sweet enough for me:

2 oz. Jamaican dark rum (Myers's, Appleton, or equal mix of the two)
1/2 oz. orange curacao
1/2 oz. orgeat
3/4 oz. lime juice (about one freshly squeezed lime)
crushed ice
---
Shake with ice and strain contents into an ice-filled old-fashioned glass. Garnish with pineapple spear and sprig of mint.

Cheers! :)

Yeah... Once you've had the real thing, a mix just won't suffice. Especially if you've made it yourself. Gosh I could go for one right now... along with a confirmed flight back to OGG...

I just flew back in first yesterday from Hawaii. They said they were serving Trader Vic's Mai Tai's. It tasted reasonably good...fairly sweet. I can't imagine it's anything fancy. I like that they garnish with a real pineapple. Fairly classy for united. It went well with the Trader Vic's citrus chicken.

I'm looking forward again to the Mai Tais on my flights to/from Hawaii. I enjoyed them last time.
I will have to make one at home one of these days. I just need to find the ingredients.

Seems that the pre-fab stuff is in first class (in large bottles), but you can still buy the Trader Vic's Mai Tai mix (in beer-size plastic bottles) in economy class for $8-9.

I have a source telling me Fresh Island Mix i s the same thing. http://www.shop.freshisland.com/001-Mai-Tai-Mix-001.htm It may have better avb.

I enjoyed one mai tai on my recent LAX-LIH and HNL-SFO flights. They are just too sweet for me to have more than one.. but I really LOVE the dark Myers rum and the FA's are happy to give me Myers and diet coke..which tastes even better than a mai tai!

we're glad they're back too
 

When UA stopped serving Mai Tais a while ago we complained bitterly: wrote a letter, complained in the monthly surveys, complained to the FAs and so on. I suspect that we helped bring them back, along with a better economic climate.
We like them best when they use the larger glasses, so that there is a better juice:rum ratio. And the pineapple spear is great! I have a large collection of white plastic Mai Tai spears....wonder if they'd recycle tham?

I had them just last weekend. The FA splash it with OJ, pineapple juice, and a booze of rum. It was great!!!

Hopefully CO will adopt this :)

My reverse-engineered recipe is here. It's pretty close to the Trader Vic's.

Trader Vic's make mean Mai Tais, but very powerful. If I drink 2 of them I am not accountable for my actions.

Ugh... and the problem with that is the they're simply not strong enough. I want to get drunk on flights, and these just don't cut it.

Last time I flew UA to HNL (which was about 4-5 years ago) they ran out of dark rum about half way through the flight, significantly curtailing the number my wife and I were able to enjoy.

In case some of our fellow FTers have no idea what we are talking about, here are a few photos of the "current" iteration of the mai tai as it is served on UA. I put "current" in quotes because I last took the trip last May. I recall the ready-to-drink" stuff as being made by Mr & Mrs T. But now I'm not sure if UA has switched to Trader Vic's ready-to-drink stuff (it's still different than the old mix, which you have to add lime juice to it).

UA 81 LAXHNL May 2010 #1
UA 81 LAXHNL May 2010 #2
UA 82 HNLLAX May 2010

Don't mind if I take the liberty to say that I'm a little manic for a mai tai. :D

Did you ask for a Sky Kit? :D

Mai Tai Substitute
 

On domestic flights, I just get OJ/Cran-Apple Juice/ Rum. Not 100% a mai tai, but close enough.

I'll try this....I imagine tis not the dark rum that would go in a mai tai though right?

I had a well-intentioned FA (though I now suspect was evil) that "kept em comin" on the old UA 1 (ORD-HNL)

I felt incredibly bad that night. Like the worst hangover, only before I went to sleep. Those suckers are just way too sweet for me to drink in quantity.

Valuable life lesson.

I'm looking forward to trying one ... I think I'm going to do DEN or SFO to HNL on the 28th.

HNL has been so expensive lately. I want to do one more trip before the end of the year-just because. lol...The mai tai's more than make up for the "Domestic" meal service

Looking forward

Here is my Mai Tai Recipe

1 part Passion Orange Guava Juice
1 part Pinapple Juice
2 parts Campari
2 parts Dark Rum
2 parts Gran Mariener