Name: Time for a Drink: Mai Tai
Yield: 1
Ingredients: 2 ounces Jamaican rum (Appleton Extra is a good choice; for a bit more authentic flavor, substitute 1 once of St. James 15-year Hors D’Age rum for 1 ounce of the Appleton); Juice of 1 medium lime, about 1 ounce (save the shell for garnish); 1/2 ounce curaçao; 1/4 ounce orgeat; 1/4 ounce rock-candy syrup (simple syrup with a drop or two of vanilla extract); ice; mint for garnish

Why it works: Lime and mint match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 846 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Time for a Drink: Mai Tai

Serves 1

Ingredients

2 ounces Jamaican rum (Appleton Extra is a good choice; for a bit more authentic flavor, substitute 1 once of St. James 15-year Hors D’Age rum for 1 ounce of the Appleton)
Juice of 1 medium lime, about 1 ounce (save the shell for garnish)
1/2 ounce curaçao
1/4 ounce orgeat
1/4 ounce rock-candy syrup (simple syrup with a drop or two of vanilla extract)
ice
mint for garnish

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

87Calories

0 gProtein

0 gFat

4 gCarbs

Counts 4 of 6 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 4 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Jamaican Rum	1/2 oz (15ml)	32
Rum	1/2 oz (15ml)	32
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Lime	juice of 1 lime (44ml)	11
Syrup	not in our table	0
Peppermint	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By seriouseats. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Lime + minttop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together846 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Rum + minttop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together139 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Rum + limetop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together412 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Rum + syruptop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together367 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Lime + syruptop 26% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together322 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the mint

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rum, lime, syrup):

Cinnamonfits better
Gingerfits better
Corianderfits about as well
Mintthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against rum, lime, syrup. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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