It will soon be summer time and I haven’t written anything here in a while. So, let’s start off with some refreshments: orgeat syrup. Orgeat syrup is, basically, sugar syrup flavored with almonds. It generally imparts a more “refreshing” taste with nutty undertones when used in place of simple syrup in a given drink.
Commercial preparations are available, but rare. So if this sounds interesting, you’ll probably want to brew your own — and fortunately you’re reading this.
What You Need
2 qt Water
1 lb Almond
8 cups Sugar
1.5oz Everclear (optional)
Regarding the almonds: they should certainly not be whole. If you have whole almonds, pulverize them. However, sliced almonds work fine and don’t require any further processing.
Some orgeat recipes call for blanching the almonds (basically, removing the dark brown outer layer of the nut). I have done it both ways and recommend not using blanched almonds. This does make the end product slightly nuttier. However the overall flavor remains subtle and not overpowering.
The basic idea is to create a simple syrup, and simmer the almonds in the syrup. I recommend the following:
- Place almonds in water
- Heat the almond-water mixture to a boil and set the burner to its lowest setting
- Dissolve the sugar in the water
- Cover and leave the mixture to 8-12 hours (overnight). “Simmer” is probably too hot; you are aiming for 120-150 degrees F.
When doing step 4, it is absolutely imperative that the mixture does not boil. Otherwise, you will caramelize the mixture. The resulting substance has some uses, but drink-making is not one of them, and at any rate it will make a huge mess. Check beforehand that the burner you are using will not boil water on the lowest setting. Yes, I found this out the hard way.
Once this is done, strain the mixture through cheesecloth into your container of choice. This recipe produces about a gallon of syrup. Adding alcohol will help preserve it — aim for about 2%, the shot of Everclear specified will do it.
This will result in a sweet-almond press cake, which is perfectly edible.
Orgeat syrup has an interesting property: it forms a louche, like absinthe or ouzo. This means that it forms a thin, milky emulsion in water. There is only a very slight thickening in mouthfeel.
Orgeat + Soda (“Hummingbird Water”) demonstrating louche
You will also get some almond particles through the cheesecloth filter, usually enough to form a sediment without further processing: this is fine; you can usually homogenize the syrup by shaking.
This procedure can be used to create flavored syrups from any nut. Having experimented quite a bit however (pecan, walnut, brazil nut, peanut) I can tell you that there’s a reason for orgeat’s relative prominence: it has the most complex and satisfying flavor of any other nut syrup I’ve made.
Recipes
Mai Tai
4 oz White Rum
1.5 oz Dark Rum
1.5 oz Cointreau
1.5 oz Orgeat
1 oz Lime
Shake and strain all ingredients except the dark rum. Float the dark rum on top of the drink and serve.
This classic tiki drink is probably the number one orgeat drink. Like many tiki drinks, it is both deceptively stiff and lends itself readily to customization (adding bitters, spiced rum, serve frozen, etc).
Japanese Cocktail
2 oz Brandy
.5 oz Orgeat
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 dash orange bitters
Stir and strain
This is a “tincture”/Old Fashioned cocktail, requiring a good base liquor. If you’re using something a little rough, bump the orgeat up to .75oz and shake.
Mummy
.75 oz Absinthe
1.5 oz Orgeat
Soda Water
Build on rocks in a highball glass, top with soda water and stir.
This is a rather “quick and dirty” way to enjoy absinthe, without going through the rigmarole of the slotted spoon, drip, and sugar cube. While it may be amusing to increase the ratio of absinthe, it tends to overpower the flavor of the orgeat if you do so.
Hummingbird Water
1.5 oz Orgeat
Soda Water
Add on the rocks in a highball glass and top with soda water
This simple, refreshing, non-alcoholic drink will make you a believer in the power of orgeat syrup. The slight emulsion produced by the syrup along with its deceptively complex flavor allows it to compete with commercial sodas, in my opinion.
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