Mai Tai Cocktail
Note Profile
About
The Mai Tai is a tiki cocktail of rum, orange curacao, orgeat syrup and lime juice, usually served with a mint sprig. As a fragrance note it means rum and lime lifted by almond syrup and orange peel. The almond is what makes it a Mai Tai and not a Daiquiri.
Scent Profile
Boozy leads on rum, the first and largest ingredient in every source, and it is aged rum rather than white, because the one tasting source calls the rums 'richly flavored' rather than sharp. Citrus is two things at once: lime juice and the oil pressed from the peel over the top, plus the orange of the curacao. Nutty is orgeat and it is the facet that identifies the drink. Sources put it between 'subtly floral and nutty' and 'liquid marzipan', and sits in the middle of that range rather than at either end. Sweet_vanillic is the syrup and the molasses in the rum together. Tropical is the tiki frame that PUNCH calls exotica, carried mostly by the rum's own tropical fruit. Fruity is the dried-fruit side of aged rum plus the orange liqueur. Sour is fresh lime juice and is held down rather than up, because orgeat and rum are both sweet and every source describes the drink as balanced, not tart. Below the line, cooling_mentholic is the mint sprig, which is a garnish and may never reach a wearer, and floral is the orange-flower water that orgeat usually contains.
ScentWheel
Read off the wheel, not a label applied to the note.
Origin
A drink, not a material. Wikipedia gives the build: 'a cocktail made of rum, Curacao liqueur, orgeat syrup, and lime juice'. PUNCH names the shape: 'The classic components of tiki are all in this recipe: lots of rum, a citrus component and a hint of exotica via the addition of orgeat'. PUNCH also credits orgeat with the aroma rather than the sweetness. It 'adds richness in taste and texture and an aromatic component' and 'can range in flavor from subtly floral and nutty to something more akin to liquid marzipan'. A recipe source adds the garnish: 'the lime oils from the peel and the fragrant mint leaves lend a cool, refreshing flavor to the drink that perfectly balances the sweet almond syrup and the richly flavored rums'.
Usage in Perfumery
A summer and holiday gourmand-boozy accord, used for the tiki reference more than for any one ingredient. Attested 4 times on Fragrantica and not at all on Parfumo, the reverse of the usual split, which suggests it is a listed note on a handful of releases rather than a house habit.
Similar Notes
Perfumes featuring Mai Tai Cocktail
A selection of reviewed perfumes where Mai Tai Cocktail appears prominently.
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