More orgeat less simple, and never ever use Smith & Cross. That stuff is crap. Don't take my word for it, take Ed Hamilton's.

That's very close to the recipe I use:

1 oz Jamaican dark rum (Apple Estate V/X or Reserve or 12 yr OR Smith & Cross)
1 oz Rhum agricole (at least somewhat aged)
1 oz Lime juice
1⁄2 oz Curacao (Creole Shrubb OR Pierre Ferrard Dry Curacao)
1⁄2 oz Orgeat
1 tsp Simple syrup (made from turbinado or other raw/unrefined sugar, if possible)
1 spg Mint (as garnish)

Optional: 1⁄2 oz float of high-proof dark rum

A touch more lime juice, more orgeat, and less sugar syrup than the posted recipe, with an optional high-proof float.

A true classic.  I keep working with what I have to hit all the right notes.  Tonight's was particularly good...

1 oz. Appleton V/X

1/2 oz. Barbancourt 8 yr

1/2 oz. Neissen Agricole Blanc

1/2 oz. Orange Curacao (Marie Brizzard)

(heavy) 3/4 oz. lime juice

(light) 1/2 oz. Orgeat (B.G. Reynolds)

1/4 oz float - Lemon Hart 151

I can't find any aged agricoles near me so I compensate by going half & half with the Barbancourt which is made the same way and the Neissen which is a true agricole, but unaged.

The other key thing is that Mai Tai's have to be enjoyed outdoors.

edit: ( a few days later)

For fun I made one the other night subbing Amaro Ciociaro for the Orange Curacao and I used an oz each of the V/X and the Barbancourt, figuring with the amaro I didn't need any more herbal notes from the agricole.  I had almost an oz. of lime juice and added a heavy 1/2 oz of orgeat.  No Lemon Hart float.  It was pretty tasty but it left an aftertaste that was not entirely pleasant.

Perhaps, unlike the Negroni, the Mai Tai is a classic that does not allow for wild variations. 

In my experience 2 oz of Smith & Cross instead of the Jamaica/Agricole mix work very well. And using Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao is contributing to the depth of the cocktail.

I know the comment is 2 1/2 years old but I was always befuddled but the person above bashing Smith & Cross, a highly regarded rum and one I find unique and interesting.  He evokes Ed Hamilton in his trash talk so I dug around Ed's Ministry of Rum web site looking for his scathing review and pretty much what I found was this...

"...this is not a sipping rum by contemporary standards but rather reflects the tastes and production of the 19th century.  Used sparingly in cocktails it adds a broad dimension to both the aroma and taste in cocktails".

Fair enough...  I'm not much of a rum sipper anyway but for me this is spot-on.

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.