Chowhound's StriperGuy recommends:

2 oz Mt Gay amber
1 oz Cruzan blackstrap
3/4 oz Triple Sec (Bols, or other orange liqueur
1 oz lime (juice of one lime)
1/2 oz Luxardo Amaretto
1/2 oz Orgeat

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/807279#6822435

Matt Robold (Rumdood) surveyed a number of combinations here: http://rumdood.com/2009/01/26/a-month-of-mai-tais/

Here's a vote for the RumDood method: 1 oz each light and dark rum, 3/4 lime, 1/2 oz each Clement Creole Shrubb and Orgeat, 1/4 oz simple, shake, strain over crushed ice, garnish with a spent lime shell and mint. I used Smith & Cross and St. James Hors d'Age.

I think the main problem with Tiki drinks is that they all serve as dump buckets for every crazy flavored syrup in the repertiore - falernum, orgeat, grenadine, curacao, Pimiento Dram... they all go in, and it ends up being a messy drink without discernable flavors.

Thanks,

Zachary

Grenadine? Falernum? Light rum? Dark rum float? No curacao?
I think the current accepted standard recipe is 2oz of rum (both dark or amber, and of different styles in order to make for a more dynamic flavor), 1oz of lime juice, 1/2oz orange curacao, 1/4oz orgeat, 1/4oz simple syrup. Garnished with half a spent lime and a mint sprig.
Personally I double the orgeat, skip the simple syrup, and add a dash of Angostura. But I wouldn't put that in the recipe.

Bingo. You're absolutely right. The previous recipe was a train wreck. Updated to the 1972 Trader Vic's recipe, which is a close approximation to the original, given that the origin 17 year old J Wrap Jamaican rum is no longer available. Thanks for pointing this out.

After fixing this recipe, I merged two nearly identical recipes into this one (previously known as Mai Tai 2 and Mai Tai - Original Version). I hope everyone approves!

Shouldn't it be 1944 rather than 1972?

Adam,

The original 1944 recipe called for the legendary and impossible to obtain J. Wray 17 year old rum, and was designed to highlight that ingredient. The 1972 version referenced here uses an ounce of two different rums to try and approximate the flavor of the J. Wray.

Thanks,

Zachary

Perhaps the drink was originally created to highlight the J. Wray 17, but the rest of the formula is the same. I would argue that it's the same drink as long as it uses the same ingredients -- two ounces of some kind of rum -- and the same basic ratio.
Regardless of your feeling on that, where did you come up with 1972? That seems way too recent. For reference, see page 162 of Jeff Berry's "Sippin' Safari," which lists the same recipe, "as served at Trader Vic's in Havana, Cuba, 1958." Which is not to say that the formula was invented that late. Vic Bergeron apparently exhausted the supply of J. Wray 17 within a couple of years after creating the drink, so this two-rum formula was probably created in the late '40s.

Adam,

The link is under the reference section of the cocktail - it's a Wikibooks page that cites the original, then the 1972 update (which removed the J. Wray, added St. James Amber, and unspecified the brands of Curacao, simple, and orgeat).

Thanks,

Zachary

jamaican rum should be appleton v/x
rhum agricole should be Clement VSOP
other than that it is good to go - personally i prefer juice of half a lime, but if using key lime i would use 3/4 oz

The variation we have tried is:

2 oz Applejack (or calvados)
1/2 oz Sweet vermouth, Carpano Antica
1/2 oz Sweet vermouth, Cinzano
1 ds Peychaud's bitters
Lemon twist garnish

Improved attribution.

Slight tweak to this cocktail to be published in Diffords #10 (see <a href="http://www.diffordsguide.com/class-magazine/read-online/en/2011-09-13/p…;).

More rye, less benedictine and the balance of bitters/absinthe changed.

A favorite. I use a Herbsaint rinse and Punt e Mes vermouth.

—-

Curated slightly: Changed gin from gin (old tom or plymouth) to Old Tom Gin. Added history, creator, and date.

Has anyone ever had a ramos with Ransom? Seems like it would be pretty strange...

Nope, but agree that it would be a kinda odd use of Ransom. Love Ransom, but wouldn't substitute it for dry gin in a Ramos Gin Fizz.

Hmm.... It wasn't really until 1910 that sales of Old Tom and London Dry gin (which only became possible with the column still) were equivalent in the US, and the 20's before London Dry really began to dominate the market. The article on Hayman's Old Tom on the Haus Alpenz website mentions that Old Tom was used in the Ramos. 

Next time I'm somewhere I can have a decent drink, I'll have them make me a Hayman's Ramos Gin Fizz and we'll see ;) 

Thanks,

Zachary

Chris at 1022 South makes a delicious derivative of this drink using Cognac and Creme de Violette instead of gin and simple syrup, finished with a little rose cordial

So per Rob Marais' request, I did something neat last night with the Ramos -- ran it through an ISI whipper. Here's how I did it. First, batch everything except the egg white, bitters and the soda (we're not using it) and put it in the refrigerator to get as cold as you can get it. When it's cold, in your shaker, add 2 teaspoons additional lemon juice, 1/4 oz water, the egg white, and the spring off a Hawthorne strainer and dry shake the egg white until it's foamy. The water aids in foaming, the acid stabilizes foam, and the spring acts like a whisk. Remove the spring, and add all the pre-batched stuff and another 1/2 oz water, fill the shaker with ice, and shake like hell for 30 seconds. Remember, you're adding all this extra water to make up for lack of melt and cooling! Strain this into an ISI whipper, charge with 1 charge of nitrous, and shake for 30 seconds. Dispense the foamed Ramos into a 10 oz. Collins glass (you should have some left over), and garnish with bitters. You're going to need a straw for this one -- as the liquid phase separates from the bubbles, it can be drunk off the bottom, but trying to drink this without a straw is asking for trouble, and a foam moustache.

Zach, I thank you. I can't wait to make this "lazy man's" Ramos Gin Fizz in an ISI. Right now, I'm thinking Saturday morning at 10 a.m. might be optimal!

Not having any Old Tom handy, I've been making these sacrilegiously with about a half ounce of London Dry ('m low) and 3/4 ounce each El Dorado 3 year and Delord white Armagnac. The rum and especially the brandy play very well with the creamsicle-y flavor of the orange flower water and cream. Worth a shot if you've got 'em and if you've already had the Ramos the right way. If you haven't, get on that: this is a justified classic, the kind of delicious and refreshing cocktail that everyone can love, and that includes gin-phobes and the "fruity, not too strong" crowd.

A hand-held blender (Braun) works well for the dry shake. 1/2 oz orgeat and 1/2 oz simple syrup adds a little flavor.

Add the cream after the dry shake. This will allow the other ingredients to foam up as quickly and beautifully as in any other non-dairy egg white sour. Shake it again with cream and ice, and very slowly top off the drink with the freshest soda water you have, pausing to let it settle, and then adding more to foam a cloud of foam above the rim of the glass. Don't mar the presentation with straws or garnishes of any kind. Bask and enjoy.

Made it with Deanston unfiltered 92 proof, beautifully balanced cocktail, this one goes into the rotation...

Delicious and beautifully balanced. Neither overly bitter not overly sweet but full of depth and interest. The Cynar and dry vermouth are great partners and draw out flavor from the Scotch (I used Auchentoshan 3 Wood). The elderflower liqueur is surprisingly subtle.

Against better judgement, I made this with Islay scotch (only 80 proof, to boot). Kind of a smoky mess. I shall be patient and wait until I have something more like the Balvenie 15 to try again...

Very nice! I used Famous Grouse that I had on hand and it worked well (will have to try with Balvenie). I also tried a version with 1.5 oz of the Grouse, everything else remaining unchanged, and it actually seemed to bump up the presence of all the ingredients and increase the depth along with the extra boozy bonus. Someone should try this with the Balvenie 15 and see if it has the same effect.

Hits it. Every note is there and yet it is bigger than the sum of its parts. If it went anymore in two directions it would split apart, but it doesn’t.

Previous commenter really missed a good experience by not using creme de fraise. 4.5 stars for me.

Curated to add rhubarb bitters which somehow got left off the ingredients list, and to add the reference link. 

I didn't see anything in the sources specifying stirring, but I'd think this is something you'd shake.

Lovely and drier than expected. Subbed Death's door and lavender bitters, finished with sprig of lavender as garnish.