The mai tai — that most tropical of tropical drinks — has come a long way from the early days of Trader Vic and Don the Beachcomber. The New-Wave Mai Tai is a refreshing concoction of more than 50 cutting-edge mai tai recipes, along with dazzling photos, first-person encounters and fascinating historical tidbits.

In this colorful, 138-page book, author Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi traces the rich, swashbuckling story of rum —the mai tai’s principal ingredient — and explores the origins of the famed drink, including the eternal debate over whether Trader Vic or Don the Beachcomber actually created it. Most important, she shares more than 50 innovative and easy-to-follow recipes that tweak the old classic with eye-opening new ingredients from schnapps to sherbet: the Mai Tai-Jito, Sassy Wahine, Smooth Shredder and many others. These creative cocktails from bartenders and watering holes throughout Hawai‘i go far beyond what Don or Vic ever imagined.