Mai Ta-IPA

Happy Thursday! I hope you had a great fourth of July. After all that time in the heat, it's time to cool down with one of my favorite drinks, the Mai Tai.When I encountered this variant from Jacob Grier, I knew that I had to try it. I diverged slightly from his formulation, in that I used the traditional Mai Tai garnishes of mint leaves and a smashed half lime, whereas he used a cherry. I also used a shorter glass, because I wanted to highlight the experience of inhaling the aroma of the garnish.For the IPA, We (that is, I and my usual confederates) decided to use Dogfish Head's 90 Minute IPA, and I took the opportunity to use the last of the Orgeat from last week.

Mai Ta-IPA1 oz El Dorado white rum (Cruzan)1 oz El Dorado 8 year aged rum (Matusalem Clasico 10)1 1/2 oz IPA (Dogfish Head 90 Minute)1 oz lime juice3/4 oz Orgeat (Homemade)1/2 oz Orange Liqueur (Clement Creole Shrub)Shake all but IPA over ice and double-strain over fresh ice. Top with IPA and garnish with mint leaves and a smashed half-lime shell.

I was drawn to this recipe because I thought the IPA would be an unusual way to add bitterness to a drink that relies on citrus to be sour and bright. I have lost untold hours of sleep looking for a way to combine bitterness and sourness in interesting ways, and the sad truth is that these types of flavors don't play all that well together. IPA accomplishes this marriage effortlessly, by combining the sourness of fermentation with the bitterness of hops.To be honest, I didn't care for the beery sourness of this drink on top of the other flavors in the Mai Tai -- but then, when it comes to Mai Tais, I am a bit of a purist. This was actually the first drink I have mixed with beer, and while it won't be the last, it will probably be the last for a while. I enjoy fine beers, but beer and spirits together rarely suit my personal taste. Even so, it was a fun experiment.