Tia Mia
A smoky and citrus cocktail ∙ Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 17.5% ABV ∙
The Tia Mia is a smoky Mai Tai riff of mezcal and Caribbean aged rum with lime, orgeat, cane syrup, and orange curaçao, served over crushed ice.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake all ingredients with ice: Mezcal 30 mlCaribbean aged rum 30 mlLime juice 25 mlOrgeat (almond) syrup 15 mlCane syrup 10 mlOrange curaçao liqueur 10 ml
- Strain into the glass filled with crushed ice
- Garnish with a pineapple wedge, a maraschino cherry and a mint sprig
Tips
- Shake hard, then strain over a glass packed full of fresh crushed ice; it keeps the drink cold under the pineapple, cherry, and mint.
History
The Tia Mia is a mezcal-driven riff on the Mai Tai created around 2010 by bartender Ivy Mix, while working at Julie Reiner's Manhattan tiki bar Lani Kai. Mix, a longtime devotee of floating mezcal on top of drinks, took a Mai Tai built with rhum agricole and swapped in a full measure of mezcal for the funky rhum agricole, keeping the aged rum. She later called the drink a staple on the menu at Leyenda, the Brooklyn bar she went on to open, and published the recipe in her book Spirits of Latin America. The name is an anagram of "Mai Tai" that Mix also intended as a nod to a regular customer, playing on the Spanish word for aunt.
The Mai Tai itself is generally credited to Victor J. Bergeron, known as Trader Vic, who said he invented it in 1944 at his Oakland restaurant, though rival tiki figure Donn Beach claimed to have made an earlier version years before, leaving its exact origin disputed.
FAQ
What is Tia Mia?
A smoky Mai Tai variation: mezcal and Caribbean aged rum shaken with lime, orgeat, cane syrup, and orange curaçao, then strained over crushed ice. Ivy Mix created it around 2010 at Lani Kai in Manhattan, and the name is an anagram of Mai Tai.
