Orgeat

[Hassouni]

So syrups will go bad with a bit of booze in them? I've had bottles of simple and grenadine around for about a month with nothing going off yet.... is 2:1 a better preservative? I'm keeping everything in the fridge, for the record.

[haresfur]

I confess to using amaretto in tiki-ish drinks as a lazy way of going. Generally shooting from the hip on everything else, though - a bit of rum(s), a bit of fruit juice, a bit of lime, adjust to taste. Only you can decide if it would be up to your standards and suit your philosophy. I don't think I can get Luxardo here.

[Hassouni]

Hm, after making a mai tai, I may add a few more drops of almond extract...

[evo-lution]

All of which is to say that, from a functional standpoint, I see no reason you couldn't tweak recipes to substitute amaretto for orgeat.

I'd disagree with that, the difference between the two is vast. I can't think of a single drink where it'd work as an adequate substitute without offering a massively different end-product.

So syrups will go bad with a bit of booze in them? I've had bottles of simple and grenadine around for about a month with nothing going off yet.... is 2:1 a better preservative? I'm keeping everything in the fridge, for the record.

If it's being used as a preservative it doesn't make a huge amount of difference, it's the amount of sugar that is key to shelf-life.

I recommend adding a little brandy or Grand Marnier for a little more depth, and also roasting the almonds prior to blanching them. I've a really good recipe on my website though note it should read 5ml of orange-flower/rose water and not 25ml.

Edited November 16, 2011 by evo-lution (log)

[eje]

Alcohol in solution makes very little difference in spoilage, unless you get to levels where your syrup would be considered a liqueur.

Alcohol (preferably high proof) used as a surface disinfectant immediately prior to bottling is not a bad idea. Shake a little 151 in your bottle and pour it out before bottling.

Highly saturated sugar solutions, for example honey or most commercial syrups, are extremely shelf stable, even at room temp, with little care paid to sanitation.

Edited November 16, 2011 by eje (log)

[slkinsey]

Strangely enough, however, there have been people who have done informal experiments and have found that the addition of a small amount of alcohol does seem to make a difference. It doesn't make nearly as much difference as sugar saturation, however.

[FrogPrincesse]

I could be wrong but I would imagine that alcohol should help to some extent. Both sugar and ethanol levels lower water activity, which in turn should limit microbial growth.

[FrogPrincesse]

Tonight I made the version of the Army and Navy from Bartender's Choice (which contains gin, lemon, orgeat, angostura) with my homemade orgeat.

It's really excellent; the orgeat offsets the acidity of the lemon and gives body to the drink.

[FrogPrincesse]

To recap the cocktails I made so far with my homemade orgeat, by base liquor:

Rum: Mai tai, Bitter Mai Tai, Scorpion, Cavalier

Cognac: Japanese

Cachaca: Rio Bravo

Gin: Army and Navy (previous post)

Rye: Trinidad Sour

Bourbon: Eastern Sour

I realized that I had not tried pairing orgeat with tequila.

So last night I checked the Bartender's Choice app and came up with the Infante (Giuseppe Gonzalez): tequila, lime juice, orgeat.

It's very simple, and looks gorgeous in the glass.

I see some online examples that use grated nutmeg, which sounds like a great idea. I really liked this cocktail as it accentuates the delicate flavor of the orgeat.

[mkayahara]

Sounds nice, FrogPrincesse. Seems like tequila and orgeat aren't paired together very often.

[FrogPrincesse]

Sounds nice, FrogPrincesse. Seems like tequila and orgeat aren't paired together very often.

You are right, I remember you mentioned it on your blog a while back. Since then, I've been on the lookout for a good tequila-orgeat cocktail, and was very excited to find this one!

[Tri2Cook]

Would following the orgeat making procedure substituting macadamia nuts for the almonds result in a suitable stand-in for the macadamia nut liqueur called for in some of the Beachbum Berry Remixed recipes?

[Hassouni]

Well, orgeat is a syrup, not a liqueur, so I'd guess probably not

[Tri2Cook]

Well, orgeat is a syrup, not a liqueur, so I'd guess probably not

Yeah, I know the liqueur/syrup part but falernum syrups and rum-based falernums are interchangeable in drink recipes so I thought maybe if the flavor and sweetness level were close enough it might work. I've never had macadamia nut liqueur so I was hoping someone who had would know if it would be too far off to work.

[haresfur]

Well, orgeat is a syrup, not a liqueur, so I'd guess probably not

I'm a big believer in substituting syrups/cordials for liqueur when I can. If you are mixing with spirits then I don't think the alcohol in the liqueur makes much difference. You could always add vodka. I don't think it works for citrus. Then again, I'll try to substitute ginger wine for ginger syrup, too - but that's out of laziness. My aim isn't to reproduce someone else's drink exactly but to make something that tastes good so I'm always adjusting proportions and ingredients.

[FrogPrincesse]

A couple of drinks with orgeat, inspired by the 7 daiquiris in 7 days from The Mix Lab.

First, the Look Normal by Rumdood. White rum (I used Flor de Caña) and lime juice sweetened with orgeat, maraschino, simple syrup and absinthe (I used pastis). It's reminiscent of the Hemingway Daiquiri with a kick from the absinthe (I had reduced the amount from 2 to 1 tsp). The orgeat mellows the flavors so it's quite mild and refreshing.

The second drink was the Freshman Daiquiri by Theo Lieberman. White rum, lime juice, orgeat, falernum, orange slices. I think this was our favorite. The combo of orgeat + orange + falernum is a great one.

[FrogPrincesse]

I made a batch of orgeat yesterday to celebrate the New Year and we had an Orgeat Punch (from BeachBum Berry Remixed), a tart and likeable concoction with spiced rum (Kraken), 151 rum (Lemon Hart), a good amount of orgeat (1 oz per person), limoncello, lime juice and lemon juice. The limoncello muted the spice in the spiced rum somewhat but it was still a very pleasant concoction.

[FrogPrincesse]

A riff on Anthony Schmidt's Autumn in Jersey (the original uses applejack which I replaced with calvados): 2 oz calvados, 3/4 oz each homemade orgeat and lemon juice, 2 dashes angostura. It's essential an Army & Navy with a different base liquor. I really like these flavors.

[FrogPrincesse]

Completely in love with my new batch of orgeat, so you should be seeing more orgeat-based cocktails from me. The orgeat is so flavorful when it's fresh and gives just the right amount of coziness to winter drinks without being cloying.

After the above Army and Navy variation, I was thinking about the Japanese cocktail but wanted to try something slightly different. A bourbon variation in the latest issue of Imbibe caught my eye. Plus it's a creation by Erick Castro (Polite Provisions, San Diego) so I just had to try it.

Attorney Privilege

2 oz bourbon

1/2 oz orgeat

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Stir, strain into coupe, garnish with a lemon twist

Simplicity personified, but interesting nonetheless. A good example of what you can achieve with good-quality ingredients (obviously, there would not be any point in trying to make this with Torani orgeat!).

My orgeat is very milky/opaque so my end result is quite different from the photo in the magazine. I used the orgeat recipe from Beachbum Berry Remixed.

Edited January 4, 2013 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[Tri2Cook]

Completely in love with my new batch of orgeat, so you should be seeing more orgeat-based cocktails from me. The orgeat is so flavorful when it's fresh and gives just the right amount of coziness to winter drinks without being cloying.

After the above Army and Navy variation, I was thinking about the Japanese cocktail but wanted to try something slightly different. A bourbon variation in the latest issue of Imbibe caught my eye. Plus it's a creation by Erick Castro (Polite Provisions, San Diego) so I just had to try it.

Attorney Privilege

2 oz bourbon

1/2 oz orgeat

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Stir, strain into coupe, garnish with a lemon twist.

Definitely adding that to my "try this one" list.

[haresfur]

Attorney Privilege

2 oz bourbon

1/2 oz orgeat

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Stir, strain into coupe, garnish with a lemon twist

Simplicity personified, but interesting nonetheless. A good example of what you can achieve with good-quality ingredients (obviously, there would not be any point in trying to make this with Torani orgeat!).

I've done pretty much that, substituting orgeat for simple in an old fashioned. Yours looks nicer than building over ice.

[FrogPrincesse]

Attorney Privilege

2 oz bourbon

1/2 oz orgeat

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Stir, strain into coupe, garnish with a lemon twist

Simplicity personified, but interesting nonetheless. A good example of what you can achieve with good-quality ingredients (obviously, there would not be any point in trying to make this with Torani orgeat!).

I've done pretty much that, substituting orgeat for simple in an old fashioned. Yours looks nicer than building over ice.

Once you get the idea to use orgeat as the sweetener in the old-fashioned, it's easy to come up with a ton of variations (derived from the various Old-Fashioned variations): touch of absinthe, benedictine, etc... I can already see that the ones with absinthe should work because in France we often mix orgeat and pastis (Mauresque).

[KatieLoeb]

I've not had any problems with re-fermentation of my homemade orgeat if kept refrigerated. I think the overproof vodka at the start and the dose of cognac it gets toward the end preserves it pretty well. The homemade stuff is way better than commercial. The recipe in my book is a one soak, one strain overnight process I developed specifically for the book. All the other homemade recipes I'd read took too long and were too much work/too many steps. Set about trying to figure out how to make it less trouble with no loss in flavor. This one is made in the blender, left overnight and squeezed through cheesecloth just once. Then gently heated only enough to melt the sugar in. Orange and roseflower waters, a tiny bit of organic almond extract to get that bitter almond flavor in, cognac, and a bit of xanthan gum to help keep it from separating too quickly. It's pretty good, if I do say so myself. It still needs to be shaken before use, but the gum keeps it from separating while you're finishing your cocktail, at least.

[FrogPrincesse]

If orgeat can be used an the sweetener in an Old-Fashioned variation (see the Atorney Privilege above), it also works very well in a Whiskey Sour variation. This one is called the St. Nick and is by Jeff Berry (Beachbum Berry).

St. Nick Sour

2 oz bourbon

3/4 oz orange juice

1/2 oz lemon juice

1/4 oz orgeat

I used Elijah Craig bourbon and a Cara Cara orange. These are a subtype of Navel oranges. They have a pink color and a delicate flavor with raspberry/grapefruit underdones. They are not very acidic.

This cocktail is essentially the same as the Eastern Sour, but with less juice. It goes down very easily!

[FrogPrincesse]

Here is a more typical tiki drink with orgeat, with rum as the base liquor. It distinguishes itself but its use of Chartreuse. Anthony Schmidt at Noble Experiment made something like that for me a while back when I challenged him to make me a tiki-style drink. It does not use any specialized syrups/ingredients, so it's a good drink to have in one's repertoire. It may not be as multilayered as some of the classic tiki drinks, but it's really fun with the Chartreuse nonetheless, and who can resist a flaming drink.

Cradle of Life (Karin Stanley, Dutch Kills)

3/4 oz aged rum

3/4 oz spiced rum

1/2 oz lemon juice

1/2 oz lime juice

1/2 oz orange juice

1/2 oz orgeat

Two dashes Angostura bitters

Garnish: spent lime shell filled with 1/2 oz green chartreuse