Orgeat Puts the Ooh in Ooh La La

There’s probably only one guy that’s capable of turning a book about the history of soda fountains into bestseller material. If mixologist and author Darcy S. O’Neil could pull that off with his latest book, Fix the Pumps, he’s also capable of making another riveting topic — emulsifying oil extracted from almonds with water — just as compelling. If emulsification doesn’t get your heart racing, his recipes for hand-crafted orgeat syrup and the very racy, very French Momisette will.

served raw: let’s talk orgeat … are we pronouncing it correctly?

Darcy S. O’Neil: I tend to pronounce it “or-zhat”. It’s similar to the Italian almond-flavored beverage called orzata, but I also came across a newspaper article in the October 19, 1911 Belleville News-Democrat from Illinois which puts the pronunciation as orzhat.

describe it’s flavor and how it acts in cocktails …

Orgeat is basically the liquid equivalent to marzipan. It’s also similar to amaretto, but not quite the same. It acts as a sweetener to cocktails, much like simple syrup. Because orgeat is emulsified almond oil and water, it can affect the mouth feel of a cocktail by adding a little fat. This is typically perceived as “smoothing out” the drink.

Homemade versions have a clean taste that’s not excessively sweet. Many of the commercial products have too much sugar and use artificial flavorings. The excess sugar can be problematic when trying to balance the flavors of a cocktail. The only downside to homemade is that it takes time to prepare and isn’t shelf-stable, so you’ll need to invite friends over for drinks if you make a batch.

tried and true orgeat cocktails?

The most obvious one is the Mai Tai. Orgeat seems to be incorporated in many tiki style drinks, but orgeat goes back centuries and was often enjoyed with just water / soda water. I personally enjoy the Momisette, which is simply pastis, orgeat and soda water. Another good example is the Halé Grog, which I didn’t create, but is a good example of a cocktail using orgeat.

any advice for experimenting with creating orgeat cocktails at home?

Staying with the tiki theme, rum seems to be a good match. It should be remembered that orgeat is a flavoured simple syrup, so flavors that help to balance out the sweetness, like sour and bitter, are going help make a better cocktail.

Orgeat Syrup

adapted recipe by Darcy S. O’Neil, Art of Drink

Using better quality products, such as quality almonds and filtered water, will make a better orgeat syrup. Makes about 1½ litres.

• 3 1/2 cups sliced almonds
• 3 1/2 cups water
• 3 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup vodka or brandy
• 2 tablespoons orange or rose flower water (optional)

1. Place the almonds in a bowl, cover with cold water, allow to soak for 30 minutes.
2. Drain and discard this water, then crush the almonds using a rolling pin or a food processor to chop them to a fine grind. If you need to, you can add some of the water to the food processor.
3. Transfer the crushed almonds to a large bowl and mix them with water, let stand for one to two hours.
4. Place a damp cloth or cheese cloth in a mesh filter, over another bowl, and strain the almond and water mixture. Squeeze the cloth to extract all the liquid.
5. Put the chopped almonds back into the almond water, let it stand for another hour and then strain again.
6. Repeat a third time if you wish. This is will get all the oils out of the almonds.
7. Note: To speed up the process you can gently heat the almond water to 125 degrees. If you do this, you can cut the soak times to about 15 minutes.
8. Pour the strained liquid into a pan, discard the almond pulp, add the sugar and cook over gentle heat, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat when the sugar is completely dissolved. Allow to cool for 15 minutes and then add the brandy or vodka and the orange flower water.
9. Store in a clean glass bottle.

Momisette

• 1 ounce pastis
• 1/4 ounce orgeat syrup
• Sparkling water

1. Serve pastis and orgeat syrup in a small glass room temperature or over ice, topped with sparkling water.