Post #570637 by The Gnomon on Thu, Dec 30, 2010 8:10 AM

While you search for OC or a suitable substitute, you might want to make yourself a batch of orange zest tincture, which you can in turn make into various things, including orange curaçao.

Get some fresh oranges that have pungent oils in the skin. Zest them all, trying to avoid digging into the white pithy part of the skin. Use the juice for something else.

Put the zest in a container and cover completely in overproof rum (or vodka if need be). Just let that sit forever, or as long as you can stand to wait (days, weeks, months..) so that the orange peel flavor is drawn out into the alcohol.

When making OC or a reasonable substitute (the flavor of OC is from the orange peel, not the juice), take some or all of your tincture and add RCS or simple syrup, or just sugar to taste and use that instead.

Some of the recipes/formulae for homemade stuff you can find on TC are way better than any similar product you can buy of the shelf. When you cannot find something on any shelf is a good time to try making your own.

I buy Bols OC all the time, but I still like my own better. It's a matter of going to the trouble of making it. In the case of orangepeel tincture, it's pretty easy.