I’ve always vaguely wished I could have been alive for the heyday of cocktail culture—my parents and grandparents both lived through it and have fond memories, so I sometimes feel disappointed that I missed out. What passes for drinking in people my age is either pounding beer or swilling flourescent blue vodka concoctions meant to take you from sober to plastered in two drinks or less. Even the drinks that people still know—the martini, Tom Collins, margarita, Mai Tai—are so far removed from their original incarnations that you might as well just head for the Hypnotiq instead, since it’s about as authentic as any “martini” you can get at a bar.

With that in mind, I set out to make a real Mai Tai, one that isn’t a sickly-sweet orangish syrup with a little bit of rum tossed in at the end.

2 oz rum
1/2 oz orange curaçao
1/2 oz orgeat syrup
juice of 1 lime

Shake ingredients together over ice. Strain into a glass filled with shaved ice and garnish with a sprig of mint.

*I have no idea why there are bottles of apricot brandy and Angostura bitters in this shot. I think someone (coughcough) had a little too much Mai Tai before taking this.

I don’t know how many people are still carrying around the preconception fostered by modern drinking practice that tropical drinks are “girly” or otherwise weaker, something that tastes good but does little else. If you are one of those people and you can’t handle your liquor, do not make this drink. I am a seasoned veteran and one of these nearly knocked me out. You will notice that there is hardly any juice in the drink, and even that is lime juice, rather than the hefty dose of pineapple juice that is often substituted in place of some of the rum. Either way, it was good. Really good.

Note: You may have to work to hunt down some orgeat syrup, as it isn’t something you can just pick up at the corner store, but it is necessary for a lot of the classic tropical drinks.