Orgeat

[Rafa]

Not all mezcals are smoky, and at least one (Fidencio Sin Humo) is made without smoke at all. They can have fairly diverse flavor profiles, as mezcal can be made from a variety of different agave plants, in varied climates and styles, and while most mezcals are blancos some are sold aged. But overall, yeah, Hassouni is right; mezcal tends to be dry and overpowering and smoky, and to make it work in a Mai Tai you'd probably want to round it out with something soft and, uh, round, like an aged rum or brandy or some añejo tequilas.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

After walking home from work tonight I wanted a good hit of orgeat. It's 26 deg F/-3 deg C outside and it took me almost an hour. I thought (thought quite hard, actually) of an Autumn in Jersey, but I confess it doesn't feel much like autumn and I have no Laird's nor lemons -- nor limes -- but I do have meyer lemons (the purchasing of which seemed like a good idea at the time).

I'm not sure what to call this:

juice of one meyer lemon ~ 1 1/4 oz or a bit more

1 oz orgeat

3 oz Appleton 12

Shaken hard and strained over fresh ice. Angostura, about 4 dashes layered over top. (OK, I would have shaken the Angostura with the rest of the stuff, but I forgot.) Garnished with a lovely spent meyer lemon half and the prettiest mint sprig I could find.

This is good! And it is such an attractive drink! The only downside is that the recipe goes through Appleton and orgeat rather quickly (not to mention Angostura, ice, and meyer lemons). But tonight it is exactly what I needed! (W&N with a straw in the bottle might have served in a pinch.)

I commented to my coworker who used to be a bartender that maybe this should be called Autumn in Jamaica.

[Hassouni]

Meyer Teyer?

[haresfur]

After walking home from work tonight I wanted a good hit of orgeat. It's 26 deg F/-3 deg C outside and it took me almost an hour. I thought (thought quite hard, actually) of an Autumn in Jersey, but I confess it doesn't feel much like autumn and I have no Laird's nor lemons -- nor limes -- but I do have meyer lemons (the purchasing of which seemed like a good idea at the time).

I'm not sure what to call this:

juice of one meyer lemon ~ 1 1/4 oz or a bit more

1 oz orgeat

3 oz Appleton 12

Shaken hard and strained over fresh ice. Angostura, about 4 dashes layered over top. (OK, I would have shaken the Angostura with the rest of the stuff, but I forgot.) Garnished with a lovely spent meyer lemon half and the prettiest mint sprig I could find.

This is good! And it is such an attractive drink! The only downside is that the recipe goes through Appleton and orgeat rather quickly (not to mention Angostura, ice, and meyer lemons). But tonight it is exactly what I needed! (W&N with a straw in the bottle might have served in a pinch.)

I commented to my coworker who used to be a bartender that maybe this should be called Autumn in Jamaica.

If you made it with Myers' rum it could be Meyer Or Myers

[JoNorvelleWalker]

After a lot of orgeat and rum the last few nights I am more in the mood for Cognac.  I had a sidecar earlier and now am enjoying a Japanese.  I had never had a Japanese before and was unsure how best to incorporate the lemon peel.  What I did was shook the lemon peel with the other ingredients and it worked! 

 

2 oz Pierre Ferrand 1840

1 Tablespoon orgeat

1/2 teaspoon Angostura

lemon peel

 

 

As good as this is I think it would be even better over ice, as I understand how the Japanese was originally devised.

 

 

 

Edit:  I double strained into coupe, since it wasn't clear.

Edited April 6, 2014 by JoNorvelleWalker (log)

[lesliec]

That sounds like something I'd like, Jo.  Where did you find the recipe?  Kindred has the Japanese Cocktail # 1, but lemon juice isn't my thing.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

That sounds like something I'd like, Jo.  Where did you find the recipe?  Kindred has the Japanese Cocktail # 1, but lemon juice isn't my thing.

 

Imbibe! pp 212-213.  The Kindred link you gave documents the Jerry Thomas recipe I used under "History".  Except that I shook my Japanese and used Angostura for the bitters.

 

In the interest of science I measured three dashes from the Angostura bottle to be 1/2 teaspoon.

[lesliec]

Thanks, Jo.  I'll go with Jerry.

 

Don't know why I didn't see that - must be drinking too much methanol these days.

[mkayahara]

Figuring that, between the Pink Lady and weird Savoy concoctions like the Angel Face, gin and apple brandy might go pretty well together, I decided to split the difference between the Army and Navy and the Autumn in Jersey. Surely someone else has already done this, but in keeping with the NJ theme, and reflecting the fact that I've been obsessing with the Counting Crows song "Palisades Park" lately, I decided to dub it the...

 

Fully Amplified Clyde

1 oz. Laird's BIB apple brandy

1 oz. Blackwood's "Limited Edition" gin (60% abv)

3/4 oz. orgeat

3/4 oz. lemon juice

2 dashes Regan's orange bitters

 

Lovely stuff. Neither gin nor applejack predominated, but everything meshed together quite well.

[FrogPrincesse]

Matt - That sounds great.

 

The Almond Blossom Crusta (Charles H. Baker Jr), which is essentially the same thing with gin + cognac (no bitters), is also worth trying.

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

I made couple of drinks with my coconut orgeat last night.

 

First, an Army & Navy with Tanqueray Old Tom, lemon juice, coconut orgeat, Boker's bitters. Very very nice. I would not change a thing.

 

 

Then, with the Bacardi Legacy comp yesterday in London, I remembered I wanted to try the creation of Ally Martin (who works at Peg + Patriot). I had postponed because I did not have the exact ingredients on hand, but I decided to give it a shot anyway.

 

The Young Cuban: Bacardi Superior white rum (I have this but used Plantation 3 Stars), lemon juice, orgeat (coconut orgeat), fino sherry (Lustau), dill garnish (tarragon), small dash soda (skipped).

 

Even with all these heretical substitutions, I loved it. Not surprisingly, Ally made it to the final 3 in the UK. I will be serving this drink to my friends this weekend for sure.

 

 

Edited September 26, 2014 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

 

Tonight,

 

Capitán

by Rafa García Febles, NYC.

1 oz Tequila

1 oz Añejo rum

3/4 oz Orgeat

3/8 oz Lemon juice

3/8 oz Lime juice

2 ds Bitters, Angostura

1 Egg white

3 dr Bitters, Bittermens Xocolatl Mole (float)

1 pn Nutmeg (as garnish)

 

Combine all but mole bitters, shake, strain, rock, float mole bitters and garnish with nutmeg.

 

Sam Ross' Conquistador by way of the Army & Navy. I've been making my orgeat lately using Kevin Liu's ridiculously simple and delicious recipe (from his book) and been making more orgeat recipes than usual as a result. It results in a creamier and lighter-bodied orgeat than I'm used to, and pairs really well with tequila. 

 

I already like Sam Ross' Conquistador (and the Army & Navy) so I had to try Rafa's variation, the Capitán. I used 7 Leguas añejo, El Dorado 5, homemade coconut orgeat, lemon, lime, Angostura bitters (per the recipe in Kindred - should I have used mole bitters?), egg white, nutmeg. Good stuff.

 

 

Edited October 24, 2014 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[sbumgarner]

I already like Sam Ross' Conquistador (and the Army & Navy) so I had to try Rafa's variation, the Capitán. I used 7 Leguas añejo, El Dorado 5, homemade coconut orgeat, lemon, lime, Angostura bitters (per the recipe in Kindred - should I have used mole bitters?), egg white, nutmeg. Good stuff.

 

 

For the coconut orgeat, are you making coconut milk and then following standard orgeat procedure from there, or are there some different steps? Sounds really intriguing.

[FrogPrincesse]

Essentially, I make orgeat using this recipe (which I got from Beachbum Berry Remixed) but I use the flesh from a coconut instead of almonds. I will write up a more detailed recipe eventually, I promise.

 

At first I was a little reserved in my use because I was worried that the coconut flavor would be a distraction. Now I just use it in drinks that call for regular orgeat. It changes the flavor from regular almond orgeat, but it's been a nice thing so far.

 

[FrogPrincesse]

After a pretty fabulous evening at the White Lyan a few weeks ago thanks to bartender Rob Libecans & co, I made one of his creations (from his Black Pearl days) at home. Mansfield with Lagavulin 16 scotch, Fernet-Branca, orgeat (homemade, coconut). And just wow. It's like a Japanese cocktail but so much more fun. It starts with a thick cloud of smoke and craziness, followed by the sweetness of the orgeat, and then, when you start to relax and least expect it, the powerful kick of Fernet at the end.

 

 

 

[Rafa]

Frog, how much of a difference do you think it makes that you're using coconut orgeat? My experiments with orgeats range from barely perceptably different from almond (e.g. hazelnut) to, well, very perceptively different (macadamia).

[FrogPrincesse]

Rafa - Not much of a difference, really. In that drink, the coconut flavor was not especially pronounced (not really a surprise considering the powerful taste of the other two ingredients). I got hit on the head by the Fernet before I had a chance to detect it.

In drinks that are not "sullied by the vile demon Fernet", you can generally taste coconut notes, but it's rarely a bad thing.

[FrogPrincesse]

Hassouni -

You have no idea how good Fernet tastes after spending the weekend trying to convince one timid Swiss bartender after another to make me something bitter, and ending up with Cynar as the most extreme thing they would dare serve me. Even their Campari isn't bitter because they all use Gran Classico (which is made in Switzerland). This is simply not right, although they have other qualities I suppose.

[FrogPrincesse]

Chauncey Depew (as seen on cocktail virgin slut) with Lustau Jarana fino sherry, Dolin sweet vermouth, homemade orgeat, Boker's bitters. Sherrified-Japanese is pretty accurate to describe the vibe. It's kind of wonky but it works somehow.

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Inca Cocktail (Robert Vermiere 1922 via Martin's Cocktail app) which is a bit similar to the above, with gin. There is also a version of the Inca Cocktail in the Savoy Cocktail Book with dry and sweet vermouths.

 

 

0.75 oz Plymouth gin (0.5 oz)
0.75 oz dry vermouth (0.5 oz Dolin)
0.75 oz fino sherry (0.5 oz Lustau Jarana)
2 dashes orgeat (0.5 barspoon homemade coconut orgeat)
2 dashes orange bitters (1 dash each Fee Brothers' and Regan's orange bitters)

 

The vermouth and sherry dominate. Rich mouthfeel from the orgeat.

 

 

[Adam George]

I made couple of drinks with my coconut orgeat last night.

Then, with the Bacardi Legacy comp yesterday in London, I remembered I wanted to try the creation of Ally Martin (who works at Peg + Patriot). I had postponed because I did not have the exact ingredients on hand, but I decided to give it a shot anyway.

The Young Cuban: Bacardi Superior white rum (I have this but used Plantation 3 Stars), lemon juice, orgeat (coconut orgeat), fino sherry (Lustau), dill garnish (tarragon), small dash soda (skipped).

Even with all these heretical substitutions, I loved it. Not surprisingly, Ally made it to the final 3 in the UK. I will be serving this drink to my friends this weekend for sure.

FYI, the soda is a typo. Ally serves this up, with dill on the rim.

Here is the TDP serve.

Edited December 29, 2014 by Adam George (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I might like the drink but I love the photograph.

[Adam George]

Thanks, doll.

I like taking photographs for work as I get to use my too-rarely-used DSLR

[EvergreenDan]

I like the mini clothespin holding the dill. Cute.

 

I got a Martini with a golf tee holding 3 olives. I sorta liked the idea, but then wondered about the paint on the tee. The drink itself was predictably mediocre. 

[FrogPrincesse]

Nice photo.

 

An early version with soda & ice served to Simon Difford during Bacardi Legacy UK had him comment "I found it diluted on the night, perhaps better served 'up'). The recipe on the Floating Rum Shack has since been updated to the new & improved version (no soda, served up) (also on its facebook page).

 

Recipe: 

50ml Bacardi Superior

20ml Lemon Juice

15ml Orgeat

10ml Fino Sherry

4 sprigs of dill

 

Shake the ingredients with ice and double strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a sprig of dill.