Post #397913 by The Gnomon on Thu, Jul 31, 2008 7:57 AM

I've found that most liquor stores everywhere around here (except the beach) either do not carry any mixers, or they carry ginger ale, club soda, and seltzer water, but no syrups. That might have changed in DC itself, but I rarely go there as almost everything is cheaper in surrounding Maryland and Virginia. At the beach, orgeat is just as elusive, but stores carry simple syrup and a smattering of other bartending supplies.

Most of the time, not only in liquor stores but also in restaurants and bars, no one on the staff has even heard of orgeat, let alone where to procure it. I hardly ever order drinks in restaurants any more because they are so expensive and suck anyway. That would be different if there was a TVs or other Tiki establishments in the area. I make an exception if I see a bottle of orgeat behind a bar, just in case the bartender might have some skills.

As for orgeat, I generally make my own. Even my Emergency Orgeat is better than any store-bought variety I've found. But sometimes I still order some back up store-bought, which I order online from Touch of Europe. They carry a few lines of French syrups, including orgeat, of course. Order $50 worth of stuff to get free ground delivery.