Mai Tai Hawaiian Culture Shirt - Aloha Tee, Hawaii Heritage Gift, Pacific Islander

The mai tai is Hawai'i's sunset cocktail by adoption — out of this world, the best, every single time. Rum, lime, orgeat, orange curaçao, a float of dark rum, a sprig of mint. Pause for effect.

The drink was invented in 1944 by Victor "Trader Vic" Bergeron at his restaurant in Oakland, California, and served first to two visiting Tahitians. One of them, Carrie Guild, tasted it and exclaimed "Maita'i roa ae!" — Tahitian for "out of this world, the best!" — and the cocktail had its name. Hawai'i adopted the mai tai during the post-statehood tiki boom of the late 1950s and 60s, and bartenders along Waikīkī, Kā'anapali, and Wailea added local touches: pineapple juice, dark rum floats, fresh mint and pineapple wedge garnishes.

For locals, this tee is the unhurried salute to pau-hana on a warm lanai. For visitors, it's the memory of that exact mai tai, the umbrella still in it, the sun doing the rest of the work.

Soft unisex tee. Multiple sizes and colorways available.