Tales & Trails of a Traveling Wiseguy

The color gradation comes from layering the dark rum atop the drink after it's been mixed and poured into the glass. And if it's red underneath it's not a real mai tai. A classic mai tai would have a straw color underneath the dark rum. If it's red, or orange or even dark yellow, that suggests some kind of fruit juice was added for body. That turns it into more of a rum punch than a mai tai.