Ha! With all the Encanto posts and feelings/empathy posts, I bet you forgot this site started as a cocktail blog! Anyway…

As warmer weather approaches (which, here in Florida, usually means early February), the time comes where many put away the darker spirits and heavier beers and opt for something a little more light and crisp. Maybe it’s ciders and pale ales. Maybe it’s gin and tonics and spiked lemonades. Maybe it’s the move from spiked hot coffees to spiked iced coffees. But for many, the quintessential warm weather drinks are tiki.

World War II had a powerful influence on cocktails. American GIs serving in the Pacific developed a taste for tropical fruits and spirits, and more open trade in the following decades made these products available in other parts of the world. As such, tiki drinks took off in popularity. Celebrity bartenders like Trader Vic Bergeron and Donn Beach opened innovative bars serving flavorful drinks, and there was more than a little controversy as to who came up with what recipe. One of my favorites from that era (and one I’ve written about before on here) is the Mai Tai, but until recently, there was an ingredient in this drink I struggled to find: orgeat.

So, what is orgeat?

First of all, it’s pronounced “or-ZHAAT.” I find it helps to remember orgeat comes from the same root word as horchata: Or-CHAA-tuh, Or-ZHAAT— see what I mean? Anyway, orgeat is an almond-flavored syrup that features in many tiki drinks, but most famously the Mai Tai. I’ve found orgeat is surprisingly tough to come by, but there are a number of bottled “Mai Tai syrups” you can buy which are really orgeat. Recently, after failing to find any orgeat or Mai Tai syrup at two consecutive liquor stores on a day where I really wanted a Rye Tai, I hit up the internet and decided to make my own. Here’s the recipe I found:

2 cups plain unsweetened almond milk
4 cups granulated sugar
2 tbsp almond extract
1 tsp orange flower water
1/3 cup cognac

Mix sugar and almond milk in a small sauce pan and simmer until sugar dissolves. At this point, add the other ingredients and let it all simmer together for maybe another five minutes. Allow to cool and then place in bottle or mason jar. Shake as needed to ensure sugar doesn’t separate. Should be good for a few weeks.

I tweaked this recipe by using a vanilla almond milk, which gave the syrup a richer flavor. While I initially made a few Rye Tais and Mai Tais, I also used the syrup in my coffee for a while to pretty positive effect. I’ll admit that I still prefer simple syrup, agave nectar, and maple syrup as coffee and cocktail sweeteners, but my foray into orgeat proved fun and tasty.