In the 1950's the supply of J. Wray & Nephew 15 Year rum used in Trader Vic's first adjusted Mai Tai recipe dried up. Trader Vic had to move to a second adjusted Mai Tai recipe. He contracted with a supplier in Jamaica to produce his own rum label. He produced a 15 year and an 8 year rum.
Because these rums did not quite equal the flavor of the J. Wray and Nephew rums, he added a Martinique rum to the recipe. I am substituting a very fine Jamaican rum (Wray and Nephew own the Appleton brand) and a high quality Martinique agricole rum. I am also using a quality Orange Curacao along with a very good bottling of Orgeat Syrup. Double strength simple syrup is listed here in place of the rock candy syrup that Trader Vic used.