The Mai Tai, a component study in Mixology

Who would like to join me in a study of the Mai Tai? This is much easier to do in person, obviously. But, since the Mai Tai is a sort of Holy Grail of drinks around here lets try this online version......

Join me, if you will, on a taste test of the Mai Tai. Not the finished cocktail, but the components that make up a Mai Tai. I would like everyone to mix along at home and share with us your opinions of the tastes used in making a Mai Tai.

First, the ground rules:
We are not going to debate the origins of the Mai Tai, who made it and when are not important to this discussion.
We are not going to debate who has a better recipe or ingredient or anything else. We are examining the elements that make a Mai Tai.

Then, the specifics of this journey....

We are going to examine the individual component flavors of the Mai Tai, and we are going to use Beachbum Berry's recipe from the Grog Log which is Lime, Curacao, Orgeat, Sugar Syrup, Jamaican and Martinique Rums. Why this recipe? Because it come from a source we are all familiar with and this journey will only work if we are all using the same map.

Now, we are ready to begin. Every few days I will ring the proverbial bell and we will move on to the next ingredient. Your task in this journey is to tell us your tasting opinions of each of the ingredients, in the order called, that make up the Mai Tai. Tell us what, specifically, you used in your tasting and what you thought of that taste using descriptive adjectives like "sweet" or "bitter" or "slightly astringent." Yes, this part is hard to do without sounding like some sort of drink Snob, just know that your opinions of the taste are helping everyone and everyone else feels equally silly.

Remember, this is a journey and we are all starting from very different places with ingredients that are easier for some to obtain compared to others. One of the purposes of taking this kind of journey is to share with others what you taste, not why you are tasting what you are tasting. The specifics of the taste are what you are going to be sharing.

Ready? Set..... Go!

I will start. We can skip the Syrup part of the tastes in a Mai Tai because it is simply sugar water. Sweet.... duh!

So, let us begin with the Lime element. Your task to start is to try Lime Juice. Yes, pour yourself a shot of Lime Juice. Go ahead, it won't hurt. And, try as many different kinds of lime juice as you can find. And yes, that includes the little lime squeezy things in the produce department....

Lime Juice. I used fresh limes cut in half and then crushed using my hand held squeezer that looks like this. I like this kind of squeezer because you get the juice AND you get some of the oils out of the peel. Those oils are the aromatic part of the juice that makes the juice smell AND taste good. I find that fresh limes have a nose that is missing from all of the bottled stuff, and that it is generally sweeter then the bottled stuff. I tried some Key-Lime juice from a bottle and it tasted really good, but it left an acidic aftertaste on the tongue. The bottled stuff tasted good, but was kind of limp and lifeless when compared to fresh.

Now, your turn. Tell us about your lime tasting....... And remember, this is for posterity so try to be honest.

[ Edited by: Chip and Andy 2006-08-07 06:44 ]

Alrighty then...on to my experiences with the lime tasting. I tried fresh squeezed and store bought. The fresh squeezed lime tasted...well...fresher (duh), but had a more vibrant and full flavor. I did not notice an aftertaste with the fresh squeezed juice, although I did have an involuntary wink. The store bought lime juice went down easier, but DID have an aftertaste. I didn't get an involuntary wink, but rather differently, an involuntary tongue-waggle a few seconds after swallowing. Not sure if this is of any descriptive help, but the fresh lime juice tasted GREENER...and the store bought juice tasted CLEARER...even though they were both of the same opacity. Then I made a Mai Tai. And a Buzz.

Great minds must think alike, I already did this exact comparison about 3 day ago.

I mixed a Beachbum Berry's Hundred Dollar Mai I thought it was the finest Mai Tai I had ever tasted. I had used Key lime juice to make it, and I don't use Key lime juice very often. Then I mixed one with regular Meyer lime juice just to be sure it was not only the juice which made it taste so good to me. It was still pretty damn good, but I didn't like it quite as much. So I tasted the juice from the limes side by side just to be sure.

Key lime juice is sweeter, and I liked it a little better in the Mai Tais I made.
Meyer lime juice is more sour and had a more peel oils and limey taste to it.

Both Mai Tais that I mixed were awesome. This is all a personal choice like asking someone which Miss America contestant is prettier.

P.S. The fresh Key lime juice is more expensive to use, becuse you have to squeeze about four times as many lime for the same amount of juice.

On 2006-07-09 10:35, captnkirk wrote:
...Key lime juice is sweeter, and I liked it a little better in the Mai Tais I made.
Meyer lime juice is more sour and had a more peel oils and limey taste to it.

...P.S. The fresh Key lime juice is more expensive to use, because you have to squeeze about four times as many lime for the same amount of juice.

Thank you for the comparison of Key and Meyer limes, this is exactly the kind of information we are trying to share. Not everyone is going to have access to Key Limes, but if/when they are available it is worth the effort.

I'd already posed a similar question in the "Ideal Mai-Tai" thread. Here's the list of different Limes I found from Professor & Horticulturalist Julian W. Sauls of Texas A & M:

Mexican lime is also known as key lime and West Indian lime. It originated in Asia, was introduced to the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa by Arab traders and was brought to the Americas during the early sixteenth century by Spanish and Portugese explorers. It became naturalized in the West Indies, south Florida and some Caribbean countries.

The tree is somewhat small and bushy, with slender branches, having short spines (thorns). A thornless selection is somewhat more desirable but less productive. The fruit is small, rarely achieving 2 inches in size, round to oval in shape, and contains a moderate number of polyembryonic seeds. The rind is thin and yellow at full maturity, while the juice is faintly greenish yellow, highly acid and has the distinctive lime aroma.

Tahiti lime is also called Bearss lime and Persian lime. Although its exact origin is unknown, it appeared in a home planting is California about 1875 and is believed to have originated from seed of citrus fruit imported from Tahiti to San Francisco sometime after 1850. It is also believed to be of hybrid origin.

The tree is somewhat larger than Mexican lime, achieving heights of 20 feet under optimum conditions. The branches are variably thornless or armed with quarter-inch thorns--even on the same tree. The fruit is oval, about 2.75 inches long and up to 2.5 inches in diameter, but it will get even larger if left too long on the tree. It is characterized by the presence of a nipple on the blossom end of the fruit. The rind is thin, smooth and dark green at commercial maturity, becoming very light green to yellow at full maturity. The fruit is normally entirely seedless, although one or two seeds may occur when grown in close proximity to other citrus. The juice is greenish and acidic, having the distinctive lime aroma.

Giant key lime was released by ARS-USDA in 1994. It is a spontaneous autotetraploid Key lime seedling that was selected in 1973. The major difference in this lime is that its fruit are more than twice the size of common Mexican limes. Budwood is not available in Texas, so it is only reported as an item of interest for the future.

Rangpur lime is an acidic fruit that more closely resembles mandarins than limes. Its fruit are highly acid, very seedy, with a loose, thin rind. It is primarily used as a rootstock for other citrus and as an ornamental tree.

Palestine sweet lime is not a true lime. Its fruit are pale yellow, juicy and subacid in flavor. Its primary use is as a rootstock, although there is some production in the Mediterranean, in India and in Latin America.

Limequats such as 'Eustis', 'Lakeland' and 'Tavares' are hybrids between Mexican lime and kumquat. The fruit closely resembles Mexican lime and the trees are somewhat more cold hardy than limes--though not nearly so hardy as kumquats.

Mexican lime and the limequats are sufficiently small trees that they can be readily grown in large containers in areas where cold temperatures would preclude their being grown in the ground.

This doesn't mention Kaffir, also called Thai or Wild limes, or mention the difference between the original Key limes & the current, Mexican limes being grown in parts of the keys as Key limes. It also doesn't mention that the Kaffir & original Key limes were the only truely green limes, and that the rest are really more yellow unless picked before they're ripe. One of the reasons that you don't get much juice from a lime is that they're under-ripe when picked.

I'd assume that Trader Vic was using either original Key limes or green Mexican limes, since they're the most popular limes in the US, but Bearss limes are a definite possibility since they trace their lineage to San Francisco.

There's also an Australian Lime, but that isn't related to the true limes.

Also, are you going to discuss Garnishes? There's different kinds of Mint & Pineapple to discuss after Mai-Tai Class is over.

I'll pass along this bit of knowledge that I received from Pablus, who received it from one of the top chefs in the country.

When picking limes and lemons in the produce isle, what you want to look for is complexion. Forget color and all that other stuff. Look for the citrus with the smoothest complexion. Easy with limes, a little trickier with lemons.

And if you didn't know, when picking pineapples, sniff their butts. Er, well, the bottom end. The better pineapple (generally, as I have had fantastic fresh pineapple in Mexico with no fragrance) will smell better at the bottom. Pineapple is picked ripe and does not ripen after picking. You can't let it sit around like other fruits. It just goes bad. And, if you put the top in the ground, it will grow...

Does anyone have a specific method or tool that they find can extract the most juice from any given lime? At the end of a good lime squeeze, I always feel like I'm still throwing alot of juice away.

I prefer the vinatge "Juice King."

I have a "Juice-O-Matic" and it's geared wrong. It takes a lot of turns to get the half lime or lemon in it, and then to squeeze it. The Juice King takes a half crank to get the citrus in and squeeze. Very fast and efficient. Nothing left but the rind and a bit of pulp.

Also take note. Once you have squeezed the citrus, you can open the juicer and start the next one. Juice will continue to pour out of the device, which may lead you to keep squeezing, thinking you are getting more juice. Nope. Once you hit bottom, go to the next half. It just takes a few seconds for the juice to come out to the cup, but be assured it is already out of the fruit.

I got my Juice King for about $8.

On 2006-07-10 08:13, DJ HawaiianShirt wrote:
Does anyone have a specific method or tool that they find can extract the most juice from any given lime? At the end of a good lime squeeze, I always feel like I'm still throwing alot of juice away.

The hand squeezers like the one Chip posted will wring a lime nearly dry. This is what I want when I am only mixing a few drinks.

And an electric juicer with the rotating top and collection cup/bowl is what I'd recommend if you are squeezing a lot of citrus. Like for a pitcher of lime juice to use at a very busy party. Or when you make a batch of sour mix. These only cost about $10-15 in my neck of the woods, so you can afford to burn it up (I have yet to do this though). Also I see a lot of cool vintage versions out there too.

Do a Google image search for "electric citrus juicer" to see the type I'm refering to.

But again, for most applications, you need the one Chip image linked. And if they offer one for limes and one for lemons, buy the lemon version. They tend to be larger and work for both fruits. Sometimes the lime version is too small even for a large lime.

Ahu

Fraternal Order of Moai

[ Edited by: KuKuAhu 2006-07-10 09:05 ]

And to continue the thread, I prefer a "Persian" type of lime above all else. I find key limes to be not juicy enough and ever so slightly bitter. And I think the Persian oil content as mentioned above is a huge plus.

I have encountered some rather "piney" limes before which always confounds me. Last time I bought limes in Hawaii they all had a strange pine taste to the oil. I stopped shaking the shells with the mai tais and it improved the flavor considerably.

Ahu

Fraternal Order of Moai

[ Edited by: KuKuAhu 2006-07-10 09:11 ]

On 2006-07-10 09:09, KuKuAhu wrote:
I stopped shaking the shells with the mai tais and it improved the flavor considerably.

Oh, that's an interesting point. I never shake the shell, only add it to the drink afterwards. Not sure why or why not. I'll have to try both ways.

On 2006-07-10 09:09, KuKuAhu wrote:
... I stopped shaking the shells with the mai tais and it improved the flavor considerably.

Ahu

---

Fraternal Order of Moai

[ Edited by: KuKuAhu 2006-07-10 09:11 ]

This is a good point I had not thought of. If you are making the drink like Trader Vic's makes it and dropping the half lime shell in the mix, you may be adding flavors into the drink that just the juice will not account for. Maybe the best way to try the lime juices is to squeeze them and drop the rind in with a bit of water, shake and sip.

Just to be clear, I always shake the shells with mai tais. I find a mai tai not done this way is not quite as fully scented. That almost floral lime scent is missing without it.

But.. those limes in Poipu were odd tasting, and it was all in the oils.

I tend to drop the shells of all the citrus I use in the drinks I mix. Within reason of course. One half shell is sufficient for each drink, and if a drink contains both lime and lemon shells, I'll only serve the dominant one in the cocktail (unless specified by a recipe).

Orange oil is especially nice. Small oranges work very well for leaving on a cocktail. Or even quarters of a spent shell.

Ahu

Besides the lime's complexion method mentioned by Swanky, to find the juiciest limes, simply compare their weight with your hands. After picking up a few and comparing their weight the heavier ones (due to having more juice) become pretty obvious.

I use the Rival Juice-O-Mat for juicing citrus. It opens fully with the lever moved back 180 degrees, and so it takes one stroke to squeeze a lime. This is the way they are supposed to work. It sounds like yours is broken Swanky, but that Juice King looks like a good one.

I've never tasted different limes side-by-side so this is an interesting comparison. I rarely see key limes around here. I buy most of my limes by the bag from Trader Joe's. They are grown in Mexico but I don't think they are Mexican (or key) limes. They are very dark, smooth, and shiny green which makes me think they are Persian limes, and they are often quite juicy when other limes in the supermarket can be dry and woody.

How come we didn't have this course in high school?
Great thread Chip.

Citrus tends to go through a virtual sorting process the farther you get from citrus country. By the time it's picked over by every state from FLA to MASS, some pretty tiny specimens remain. You never get a key lime this far north. (That's life. We get nice apples, Chip & Andy are blessed with good citrus.) You have to get limes at BJ's Wholesale Club. If you buy them at the supermarket, you get screwed.

Even the limes we get around here are sweet compared to lime-like plastic things they sell in the produce department. They may be small but they're tolerable good. Anyhoo, I use the 1940's solid glass citrus juicer. I never thought about squeezing the rind; great idea! A good excuse to bring a Juice King home from the flea market.

On 2006-07-10 19:18, pappythesailor wrote:
Even the limes we get around here are sweet compared to lime-like plastic things they sell in the produce department.

Here is something unexpected.... As you move north the limes change not only in availability but in overall taste. That sort of makes sense because most limes (most produce) is picked under-ripe for shipping.

On 2006-07-10 09:09, KuKuAhu wrote:
And I think the Persian oil content as mentioned above is a huge plus.

And, we need to consider not just the insides of the lime. The oils from the peel are offering part of the aroma which then becomes part of the taste. This is why so many of the bottled lime juices seem flat when compared to fresh. The bottled stuff is a good alternative when you don't have fresh, and we will have to see what we can do to the other ingredients to make up for the missing component of the oils of the peel.

On 2006-07-10 07:53, freddiefreelance wrote:
Also, are you going to discuss Garnishes? There's different kinds of Mint & Pineapple to discuss after Mai-Tai Class is over.

Thank you Freddiefreelance for re listing your horticultural listing of the limes, that post was part of the inspiration to start this quest. And yes, we will discuss garnishing your new found knowledge. Start looking for some mint......

Has anyone tried any of the frozen alternatives to lime? And, before we move on does anyone else have anything to share about thier lime options and tastes?

http://www.funkin.co.uk do a lime juice that I have tried which is good, but I can't seem to find it on their website.

If you still have some pulp left in the shell, a few seconds in the microwave will will yield a few more precious drops of juice.

Unga,

I think it was a grad level course at some universities.

I don't think using the shells or the rind is a good idea. The rind is the bitterest part of citrus. The zest (outer green part of the peel) contains the oils so it can add a lot of flavor and aroma, but avoid using the rind.

I don't shake with the shell, but I sometimes shake with mint.

How should one go about fishing these extra bits out from the shaker? Especially if you're using them as garnish, fingers can be uncouth when those other than close friends are imbibing.

I don't like to shake the lime shells in the shaker. I prefer to squeeze the lime skin onto the mint leaves and surface of drink to get the smell of the oils with out the bitterness.

OK, lets see if this sums up the limes acceptably:

Fresh limes have a livelier taste that comes from the oils in the skin. Bottled lime has a 'cleaner,' or maybe 'more clear' taste, even if it is missing some of the 'life' of fresh. And, like most things fresher is better. Choose fresh limes over bottled when the option exists. We will discuss later how to overcome any shortcomings of bottled juice.

Shall we move on to the next component? Please continue to tell us about your lime tastings as we add the next flavor...

Orgeat

Orgeat is a syrup made from almonds, sugar and rose water or orange-flower water. It is not the easiest syrup to find, but it is easier to find now because you can order it from Trader Vic's website. If you haven't ordered some, or made your own, don't worry as this flavor has many alternative sources, most noticeably the Torani Almond syrup. Please pour yourself a wee dram of your almond options and share with us what brand/style you have and your descriptions of the taste:

Again, I'll start. I am using Trader Vic's Orgeat. The aroma reminds me of sugar cookies, or maybe the marzipan fruits that my grandparents used to bring at Christmas. I know that marzipan is almond so that is not a reach, but that is what comes to mind when I smell orgeat. It has a sticky quality to it both in consistency and in flavor as taken straight (or with some soda) the flavor tends to linger. It is not overly sweet, it has a richness more than a sweetness.

My only experience with orgeat is the Trader Vic's syrup, and I REALLY like the flavor. I like a bit more of it in my Mai Tai's than is called for in the classic recipe. As a 1/4oz is a bit difficult to measure, I've converted it to tablespoons.
1oz=2TBs
1/4oz=1/2TBS

So instead of using a half tablespoon, I usually use at least two teaspoons.

The TV's syrup is pretty easy to get around here, and I've yet to see the Torani, so I can't make any comments on that. I would be interested in a direct comparison between the two.

Although I have to say, the flavor component I'm really looking forward to a discussion of is the Curacao. I've yet to buy any, and have been using Patron Citronage for right now.

Chris

On 2006-07-12 03:51, Kona Chris wrote:
... and I've yet to see the Torani, so I can't make any comments on that. I would be interested in a direct comparison between the two....

I am even more interested to see if anyone has tried and compared the Sugar-Free Torani Syrups.

I find that Torani orgeat syrup is sweet enough to forego using rock candy syrup.
It's got a powerful almond taste and not so much of the orange blossoms that are supposed to be present.

I have only tried Trader Vic's so I have no point of comparison. I would like to try Monin Orgeat, but have only found it once before and the price was too high. But there is a short thread over HERE that compares the various brands.

On 2006-07-12 05:23, pablus wrote:

I find that Torani orgeat syrup is sweet enough to forego using rock candy syrup.
It's got a powerful almond taste and not so much of the orange blossoms that are supposed to be present.

Agreed.

Here's what I posted once before in another thread:

*Right now I have a bottle of the Trader Vic's orgeat and the Torani orgeat.

The TV's is thicker and seems to have a hint of citrus blended in with the almonds.

The Torani's is more watery and has a very pronounced almond flavor. It smells and tastes much like marzipan. In fact I don't notice any flavor other than almond.

Orgeat should be a mixture of almonds, sugar and rose water/orange-flower water, and the TV's seems to be going the orange-flower route.

And now for the purely subjective part:
In my Mai Tai's I prefer the taste of the TV's orgeat. I feel that the Torani is too one dimensional and candy like and can easily overpower the balance of flavors. *

Nice article on orgeat if you care to read. And a recipe to make your own.

All I can find retail in my area is Fee Brothers. The good news is that it's pretty common. People tell me it's awful but there it is.

I have tried TV orgeat, Torani orgeat (not the almond syrup, they make both), and Collins brand.

Torani is my usual stock because it is available here and the TV is not, and the Collins brand is not very good.

You can often buy or sometimes order orgeat by Monin, Torani, and Fee Bros from coffee shops.

That said, due to a recent shortage of Torani here, I am considering making my own. The recipe Swanky posted is solid, but it could be made much simpler by purchasing almond milk from a health food store. Which is my intent.

All of the brands I have seen contain almost no natural ingredients, so I am inclined to believe that a homemade version would be infinitely better.

Ahu

Also, if you notice, the Trader Vic's brand is labled "Double Strength".

I prefer Monin to all other brands that I have Tried. I manage a wine and liquor shop and I have had the opportunity to try just about everything out there. My second choice is Trader Vics, although I am not sure about the claim of "Double Strength".

KuKuAhu. I do dig your idea of making orgeat from natural almond milk. There is no doubt that the cleaner the ingredients the better the end product.

T.F.

[ Edited by: Tiki Fink 2006-07-13 09:17 ]

Orgeat is impossible to find where I live, so I usually buy Torani from an online source. Being a Type 2 Diabetic I've tried Torani's regular and sugar-free orgeat. The sugar-free is ok . . . but you can tell it's 'sugar-free' . . . has that unmistakable 'sugar-free taste'. Since I manage my Diabetes very well and absolutely REFUSE to give up Mai Tais . . . and since only 1/2 oz is needed per drink . . . I'll stick with the regular Torani Orgeat. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

GH

Hey, I'm still not done with Limes! :lol: Has anyone tried the Nellie & Joe's Key Lime Juice in place of fresh squeezed? It's supposed to be the best Key Lime juice in a bottle.

And I'm still interested in a side-by-side taste off of different limes' juices. I can find Mexican & Key Limes easily, I'm going to have to search some of our local Specialty Produce Markets for Bearss/Persian/Tahitian limes, Sweet Limes, Mandarin Limes, Kafir/Thai Wild Limes.

On 2006-07-14 09:31, freddiefreelance wrote:
... Has anyone tried the Nellie & Joe's Key Lime Juice in place of fresh squeezed? It's supposed to be the best Key Lime juice in a bottle.
...

Yes. Nellie & Joe's is the best substitute for fresh limes that I've tasted. BevMo carries it. Definitely give it a try.

To sum up Orgeat, it sounds like the Torani is good but sweet, the Trader Vic's is Good and sweet, the Fee Brothers is questionable. OK, it seems we are going to have to wait until someone makes a batch of Home-Grown Orgeat for a real comparison...

So, let us move on in our flavor tour of the Mai-Tai. Do please continue to share your taste opinions of Lime and Orgeat.

I know some of you have been waiting on this flavor.... Curacao.

At the risk of oversimplifying this liquor, it is an Orange flavored liqueur. The "Orange" is grown on the same island as its name sake and was supposed to have been a variety of the Valencia orange imported from Spain many, many years ago. The soil and climate of the Island of Curacao were such that the Oranges grew bitter and poorly shaped. The Spanish settlers gave up and moved on to other things. Later in history, this orange was "rediscovered," distilled, tasted, and thus Curacao was given to the drinking masses.

There are many more variations of the history of this liqueur and just as many places to find more, and more specific, details as to its origins. But, we are not here to discuss the origins of the flavor, just the flavor itself. And, since the base flavor is Orange, there are actually several other liqueurs to try including Cointreau, Triple Sec, and Grand Marnier. Triple Sec was originally Cointreau, or Cointreau was originally Triple Sec depending on which history you read. Now days, they are two different liqueurs with two subtly different flavors.

Shall we begin? Please share with us what brand you are tasting and your description of the flavor:

I have several to share with you starting with Senior Curacao's Curacao. The aroma of this one is magical, it smells of oranges and flowers and exotic spices and generally makes both of us smile. The taste is actually a let-down after the aroma because the complexities of the smell do not translate to the palate. The taste is excellent, but the smell is so much better.... The taste is like a bitter or blood orange with very subtle hints of spice. If exotic where to be a taste, this would be it.

My personal favorite is Cointreau. The flavor is very balanced between the Orange and the spices and the aroma is very refined. The taste is slightly aggressive with a pleasant lingering aftertaste that hints at all of the other flavors in the drink. It also brings a slight sweetness with it that I think compliments the richness of the Orgeat very well.

I also have some Grand Marnier on the bar. This one is Brandy/Cognac based and is much sweeter than all of the others. The taste is a very simple orange flavor with not much complexity overall. It is a very clear taste or orange, but the orange-ness of it is weak compared to all of the others. This is one that I would drink neat or over ice on a hot summer afternoon, for what that is worth.

I don't currently have any Triple Sec on the bar so I am looking foreword to your descriptions of the taste.

Wait, not so fast there on the Orgeat.

For now from what I could gather, I might rank the different orgeats as follows:
(from best to worst)

• Ahu's homemade orgeat !!!
• Monin
• Trader Vic's
• Torani
• Fee Brothers

Thanks Hakalugi!

To Chime in on Nellie and Joe's Key Lime Juice. Admittedly I can get lazy and I do not always have limes on hand or the desire to screw with my juicer. Nellies will get you your Mai Tai lime flavor quick, clean, and I might add D-licious. I have even made Mai Tais in bulk out of low end rum and the Nellie and Joe's was a miracle.

Highly recomended if you want convienience and quality.

Does no one else have access to 1883 de Philibert Routin Orgeat?

Imported from France, they're made from pure, natural fruits, spices and flavors with no artificial flavors and no preservatives.

Monin tasted like chemical laden garbage when tasted next to the 1883.

On 2006-07-14 09:52, Hakalugi wrote:
Wait, not so fast there on the Orgeat.

For now from what I could gather, I might rank the different orgeats as follows:
(from best to worst)

• Ahu's homemade orgeat !!!
• Monin
• Trader Vic's
• Torani
• Fee Brothers

Well, I am flattered to think that I'd get such a ranking, but it might be best if I made some first.

-grin-

I'll tell ya what, I'll try to perfect a homebrew orgeat for the Hukilau and then I'll bring some along for folks to taste test after the mixology seminar (or whenever really). Fellow Moai Tskip has been working on orgeat already as well, so he may nail it too.

I'll post a recipe here soon.

Ahu

The 1883 Orgeat is available on line through Sorvana (http://www.sovranastore.com/index.html)

It is $10.95 a bottle though. I have never seen it in a store in my area of LA even though the importer is located in a suburb. I am curious though.

Can anyone post the ingredients list?

The bottle says:

suga, water, glucose syrup, natural almond extract, natural aromas. No preservative

On 2006-07-14 13:55, Tikiwahine wrote:
The bottle says:

suga, water, glucose syrup, natural almond extract, natural aromas. No preservative

Tikiwahine, can you taste rose water or orange-flower water in this orgeat? Hopefully this is the "natural aromas" element.

The Orange flower water, And the rose flower water. tastes like cheap perfume. Not like oranges at all. Also almond milk has a roasted nut flavor, might not be good for this use. Has anyone had this Rieme almond syrup? Its sweet but has good flavor. I found it at Fresh Market.

On 2006-07-14 18:11, tikiskip wrote:
The Orange flower water, And the rose flower water. tastes like cheap perfume. Not like oranges at all. ...

On their own this is true. However, orgeat without rose water or orange-flower water is not true orgeat, it's just almond syrup.