Mai Tai Digestif

I am not a Mai Tai puritan even though Trader Vic's 1944 Mai Tai just happens to be my favorite cocktail. And yes, yes I know the original rum used has been lost but the gist of his creation stands.

I'm always up for a clever twist or riff on the drink - one that respects the original but dares to play with the ingredients or the measurements.

I have made a few twist myself over time and think I have gotten away with it.

So when I saw a recipe for a Mai Tai with Jägermeister I was intrigued. It was posted in a Tiki recipe group on Facebook and all the poster wrote of the origins was "at a new Cuban place in Atlanta".

I can google the information that a place called 1 Kept  in Atlanta once served a Mai Tai with Jägermeister but that's all I know.

I wanted to try out a recent birthday gift of a Hario Filter-in Coffee Bottle so I put a handful of fresh lavender and some espresso roast coffee beans in the filter and poured in a mix of Jägermeister, Fernet Branca and Branca Menta - just basically emptying some bottles.

After 24 hours I mixed the drink:

• 3 cl light rum - I used Havana Club 3 yo
• 3 cl Jägermeister - I used my infused mix
• 2 cl lime juice
• 1,5 cl orgeat - I used home made
• 1,5 cl curacao - I used Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao

Shake everything with ice and pour unstrained into double old fashioned glass or Mai Tai glass. Garnish with a lime wheel and a sprig of lavender.

I have to admit that the lavender and coffee was hard to find in the mix - so I will let it infuse for another week and try the drink again then.