Post #765775 by Bam Bam on Sun, Jul 3, 2016 6:25 PM

ADVENTURES IN ORGEAT

Day One:
Sojourned to local liquor store. Employees on hand have never even heard of orgeat syrup. They doubt it could be stocked in the future since they "don't do a lot of mixers." Scour supermarkets for, at the very least, almond coffee syrup - but to no avail. Procure almonds for attempt at homemade orgeat.

Day Two:
Made a trip all the way to the nearest health food / naturopathic store specifically to find orange blossom water. The cashier is at least familiar with the product this time, but they do not stock it. Only rose water. Decide if I'm going to do the rest from scratch I might as well make my own rose water while I'm at it.

Day Three:
Distilled rose water from the full blooming rosebush in the back yard (Perfect timing). Zested the entire rind of one orange, one lime, and one lemon and macerated in vodka. Toasted almonds in oven before pulverizing in food processor. Almonds are simmered in simple syrup, then left to rest for 3 hours. Syrup is strained from the now candied almonds, and 1oz each of the rose water and citrus vodka is added.

The Result:
The orgeat is very dark compared to most commercial varieties I've seen, and very nutty. I may have toasted the almonds too long.

The Drink:

On first attempt, the nuttiness is almost overpowering. The recipe that was used as a base must not have accounted for such a strong flavor. Less orgeat, more orange liqueur, and the balance is better.