The origin of the drink is contested between two men, Victor Jules Bergeron a.k.a. Trader Vic and Ernest Raymond Beaumont a.k.a. Don Beachcomber. Those are the two main names when comes to tiki cocktails, we literally can say they are the founders.

The evidence points towards Vic being the creator in 1944, at his Polynesian-style restaurant in Oakland, California. But Don Beachcomber argues that he created 10 years before that in his own bar.

The Trader Vic story is that he created it in one afternoon for some friends who were visiting from Tahiti. One of them tasted the cocktail and have exclaimed “Maita’i roa!” meaning to be “out of this world – the best”, hence the name. The word “maitai” is the Tahitian meaning for “perfect”.

If you do some research, you will find variations of the Mai Tai cocktail with everything from bitters, grenadine, pineapple, Malibu, or even lemonade. In fact, the Mai Tai has a strong claim to being the most messed-up cocktail out there.