You Can Sip On The Original Mai Tai At One Iconic Georgia Restaurant

Some drinks are timeless — but do you ever stop to think about where the first one was mixed, shaken, and poured or the difference between a mixed drink and a cocktail? For those who appreciate tracing the history and origins of food as much as they appreciate a stiff drink, a road trip to Atlanta might be in order, specifically, to the establishment that first gave us the now-beloved tropical drink, the mai tai, back in the 1940s. Tucked away in a Hilton hotel in bustling downtown Atlanta, Trader Vic's tiki bar is a funky, delightfully retro joint that feels straight out of another time, with its wood-paneled walls, Polynesian decor, and carved art, and of course, a menu of high-end, delicious tiki drinks, done right.

Trader Vic's (not to be confused with Trader Joe's, which also gives a nod to tiki culture) was established by an American restaurant owner Victor Jules Bergeron, who became enamored with tiki culture and tropical drinks. It was post-depression America, and Bergeron realized that escapism and tropical vibes were what bar-goers were most thirsty for. Trader Vic's was born after trips to the Caribbean to study the cocktail culture firsthand. 

Originally spanning the country with over 20 locations, now only two remain in the U.S., including the Atlanta gem. The bar has thankfully been left identical to how it looked when it opened and still serves up the same classic, high-quality drinks — including, of course, Bergeron's own creation, the mai tai.

The mai tai origin story goes that one night, when mixing drinks for a couple of friends from Tahiti, Victor Jules Bergeron was inspired to shake up something unique. He mixed Jamaican rum with a bright blend of lime juice and orange curaçao, plus sugar and nutty, almond orgeat syrup and then shook the drink (not mixed it). The name came from the phrase his friend uttered upon tasting it — mai tai-roa aé, meaning "out of this world" in Tahitian. 

The rum-forward, perfectly tart-meets-tropical drink was an instant hit. Its artisanal, bespoke ingredient list was something of an outlier against drinks mostly made from canned ingredients, relatively bland drinks of the era. Somehow, over the decades, the mai tai has fallen from its original glory. Too often, the versions you'll find at a beach bar will be sickly sweet and made with cheap mixes. Other modern renditions crowd out the original, pure flavor with sugary additions like pineapple juice. This iteration is known as a Hawaiian mai tai, while delicious in its own right, it is certainly a departure from how Bergeron originally intended the drink.

To enjoy it as it's meant to be enjoyed, start with a trip to Trader Vic's, where bartenders still faithfully mix up the purest OG version. The world-famous mai tai is still front and center of Trader Vic's drink menu, which offers an extensive array of other tropical tiki drinks alongside its crown jewel.