The legend says that the Mai Tai was originally created in 1944 with Appleton Estate 17 Year Old (J.Wray & Nephew at the time) by Victor Bergeron, who wanted to create a cocktail for a friend from Tahiti.
After just one sip, the friend exclaimed “Maitai roa ae!” which means “out of this world, the best!”.
The name stuck and the Mai Tai became so successful that stocks of both the 17- and 15-year-old J.Wray & Nephew rum were quickly exhausted.
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