Greensleeves...

...was all my joy, Greensleeves was my delight...

Sorry; that's about as old a song as they come, dating as it does to the close of the 1500's. Yet despite its' age, the ballad is quite a good one - still sung in a few of the right places - unchanged from its' original lyrics & rhythm. This practice is in many ways similar to that of one of the oldest spirits - Green Chartreuse - still produced today more or less as it was in the eighteenth century when a (c. 1605) receipt for an "elixir of long life" was translated by the Carthusian monks of Le Grand Chartreuse monastary.

Much as with the aforementioned song, Chartreuse can be quite a rarity in the liquor cabinets of all but the most-seasoned cocktailians. Indeed, to the uninitiated Chartreuse can appear to be a little intimidating - a brilliant green in color, with an incredibly-complex flavor deriving from over 130 herbs, spices & flowers; to say nothing for its steep 55% ABV (and similarly-sized price tag). Don't let any of that scare you, though - the spirit is delicious - both on its own, and more importantly, in the many classic cocktails what call for it. In libations such as the Last Word or Bijou Cocktail, the use of Chartreuse typically makes for a beverage that well-exceeds the sum of its' parts. For those of you looking to delve further into classic cocktails of this sort, good starting points for researching recipes utilizing Chartreuse include Harry Craddock's Savoy Cocktail Book and A.S. Crockett's Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book.

But, venerable classics aside, when my compatriots over at the Mixoloseum announced that a recent Thusday Drink Night was to be sponsored by the folks who produce & market Chartreuse, I was shall we say, delighted at the opportunity to work with an ingredient so dear to my heart. Indeed, many of the drinks (and there were a great many) postulated & sampled that evening were deemed a great success, yet rather amazingly, one of my own concoctions came out of the evening as the winner! And so, I would like to share with you; my joy, my delight...

Greensleeves
1½ oz. Plymouth Gin
¾ oz. Green Chartreuse
¼ oz. Carpano Antica Formula
½ oz. Orgeat syrup
1 dash: Angostura bitters
Combine ingredients in a mixing glass with plenty of ice & shake. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, and enjoy both un-garnished & un-varnished.

Once you've sampled Chartreuse in a cocktail like this, one of the others developed a la minute & highlighted in the TDN wrap-up, or in one of the many classic libations which are (thankfully) re-appearing on bar menus all over - I promise you too will never again be without this lovely spirit...

Cheers!

What are you doing New Years, pt. II

Now, in my previous post you might recall I inquired as to the New Years festivities with which many of you were doubtlessly engaged. I also made reference to my own plans, which in my humble opinion, went over smashingly well. To sum up, I spent the past five days 'down the (New Jersey) shore, in the company of some dear friends, mixing up cocktails and concoctions of all kinds for one & all...

Sumptuous food was served by talented cooks, warm & wonderful conversation was had between friends both old & new; and the drinks were more than plentiful. Cocktails, Fizzes, Juleps, Sours, Daisies, Coolers, Toddies, Blue Blazers, Tiki drinks, a trio of Punches; even a Pousse-Cafe or two. But don't take my word for it; thanks to an almost papparazzi-like spat of photography by many talented friends, you may press on & see for yourself 'o gentle reader...

Fun with Fire

"The Blue Blazer does not have a very euphonious or classic name, but it tastes better to the palate than it sounds to the ear. A beholder gazing for the first time upon an experienced artist compounding this beverage, would naturally come to the conclusion that it was a nectar for Pluto rather than Bacchus..." - Harry Craddock, 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book

As I (and others) have said in the past, the Blue Blazer is quite the production - essentially a Scotch Toddy with the addition of an impressive spot of presentation. Yet at it's core that's all the libation really is; while it tastes just fine, the drink is about as good as the sum of it's parts, gaining distinction only from it's preparation & heavenly aroma. The use of flame in cooking (& elsewhere) can take known flavors in new directions - the caramelization of sugars can do some impressive things after all - such as in concoctions at the Pegu Club's recent Blazer Mix-off. I aimed to incorporate a similar effect in the toasty apple & spicey caramel flavors of this riff on Jerry Thomas' immortal Blue Blazer (©):

Burning Down the Orchard
5¼ oz. Laird's 100° Bonded Apple Brandy

¾ oz. Lemon Hart 151° Demerara Rum

2½ oz. Apple Cider, warmed

2½ oz. boiling Water
――

In each of five pre-warmed mugs:

1 oz. Apple Cider, warmed

1 Tsp. Agave Nectar

1 pinch: Cinnamon, freshly-ground

1 pinch: Nutmeg, freshly-ground

――

Prepare with all due caution & care as a normal Blue Blazer, passing the flaming mixture approximately 8-9 times between the mugs.

On the theme of caramelization as a flavor modifier, I set about preparing a slight variation on Jamie Boudreau's (already-wonderful) Rosewater Rickey...

This beverage is compounded by bruleeing cherries with sugar in the mixing glass. In this instance using my own brandied Sour Cherries (in a Cherry-Tamarind syrup) and a mixture of superfine cane Sugar with ground white Cardamom & Iranian Saffron. For the curious, this is made by combining approximately ½ Cup cane Sugar, ¾ Tablespoon ground white Cardamom and ~13 threads of Saffron in a small food processor until all is incorporated and finely-ground. For the brulee flame: a Misto sprayer filled with a 2:1:1 mixture of Lemon Hart 151°, Angostura & Honey Tangerine bitters...

Eastern Rosewater Rickey

3 oz. Gin (Martin Miller's)

1 barspoon: Rosewater

¼ oz. fresh Lime juice

¼ oz. fresh Tangerine juice

――

Brulee in a mixing glass:

6 Brandied Sour Cherries w/ Tamarind

1 rounded barspoon: Cardamom-Saffron superfine Sugar (as above)

Bitters mist (as above)

――
Carefully brulee Cherries until superfine sugar caramelizes. Fill with ice and add remaining ingredients. Shake well & strain into a Collins glass filled with ice. Top with soda water & garnish with brandied sour Cherries. Brilliant technique & drink Mr. Boudreau!

Curious Classics

As I compounded all manner of beverages, a great many questions were asked about them and the history & craft of the cocktail in general. I was only too happy to oblige the curiosity, passing around copies of works like David Wondrich's Imbibe!, Gary Regan's The Joy of Mixology and Ted Haigh's (now rarified) Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails for perusal. Likewise, when a drink was made which had some particularly interesting snippet of history behind it, I was quick to regale (read: try not to bore) my friends with a little story about each.

Take for example, the class of drinks known as Corpse Revivers and "Eye-Openers", or the creation of the Japanese cocktail (very possibly my favorite cocktail) for visiting dignitaries in 1860 by Jerry Thomas. The innovation of the Florodora (a real crowd pleaser, by-the-by) for a stubborn chorus girl in 1901; even the Negroni's rise from the Americano (at left & below) came up at one point or another during the week:

Corpse Reviver #2

1 oz. Gin (Plymouth)

1 oz. Lillet Blanc

1 oz. Cointreau

1 oz. fresh Lemon juice

1 drop: Absinthe (La Fee)

Combine ingredients (save Absinthe) in a mixing glass with plenty of ice and shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, add drop of Absinthe (or a quality Pastis) & garnish with a stemless Cherry. Try (& fail) to keep your friends from drinking it before photographing.

Japanese Cocktail

2 oz. VSOP Brandy or VS Cognac

½ oz. Orgeat syrup

¼ oz. fresh Lime juice

4 dashes: homemade Boker's bitters (or substitute 2 dashes of Angostura bitters)

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with plenty of cracked ice & shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a twist of fresh Lime.

Florodora

1½ oz. Gin (Plymouth or Boodles)

Juice of 1 fresh Lime

2 Teaspoons: Raspberry (or Blackberry) syrup

Ginger Ale (preferably homemade)

Combine ingredients (save Ginger Ale) in a mixing glass with plenty of ice & shake [typically this built & stirred; my 'berry syrup is quite thick so I tend to shake]. Strain into a highball glass filled with ice and fill with Ginger Ale. Garnish with a cherry & a slice of fresh Orange.

Americano

1½ oz. Sweet Vermouth (Carpano Antica Formula)

1½ oz. Campari

Soda Water

Build ingredients in a lowball glass filled with ice. Fill with soda and stir. Garnish with a long twist of fresh Orange or Lemon.

Experiments, Innovations & Smashing Samples

As I'd stated previously, I had been hard at work preparing all kinds of ingredients - syrups, bitters, mixers of all sorts - to go alongside the prodigious quantity of booze I had procured & collected throughout the year. Now certain of the syrups (& drinks they create) I've mentioned here before in various articles, but among both the spirits & syrups are a number of recent additions which made for some fantastic drinks. As part of my association with the Mixoloseum, I have - as several posts here should indicate - been recieving samples of various spirits for experimentation, a feat which I rather gleefully carried out at every opportunity this week...

Yamazaki Whisky & Cocktails

One of many cocktails calling for Orgeat syrup, the delightful Cameron's Kick is something of a unique item, seeing as it utilizes both Scotch & Irish Whisk(e)y's as its' base spirits. The Yamazaki 12-year, produced by the Suntory company of Japan, is similarly unique - a "Scotch" not from Scotland, but nonetheless quite delightful for use in cocktails. It makes a killer Blood & Sand (as pictured at left) likely due to the smooth hints of dried fruit (Cherries?) in its flavor, so I thought to try it out in a Pistachio & Rose-accented variation on the venerable Cameron's Kick. After the first, I had to make them three at a time, so it would seem the combination worked rather well (©):

Kikku no Cameron

2½ oz. Yamazaki 12 year Whisky

½ oz. Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey

¾ oz. Pistachio Orgeat syrup (see below)

¾ oz. fresh Lemon juice

Combine ingredients in a mixing glass with plenty of ice and shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a twist of fresh Orange.

Pistachio Orgeat
6¼ Cups: Pistachios, peeled
3¾ Cups: Water
3 Cups: white Sugar
1½ Tablespoons: Rosewater
½ Tablespoons: Orange flower Water
Prepare as a normal Orgeat syrup then cool, bottle & add 2½ oz. Brandy. Makes just under 1½ Liters of syrup.

Kilo Kai Rum & Cocktails

I've always been rather so-so about supposed 'spiced' rums - they always fall short of the mark for me in just about everything but a Rum & Coke. Even worse, many examples often have a cloyingly-artificial flavor about them. Not so with Kilo Kai, a relatively new, lightly-aged spiced rum (sadly, not yet distributed in the NJ-area) produced in Curaçao. Posessing a great spice character - redolent of Vanilla and Cinnamon, my first thought was of some of the Tiki spice combinations popularized by Donn the Beachcomber - blending Cinnamon and Grapefruit for example. Several of these combinations worked so well, I ran dry on the stuff. While I'll have to wait for a few months until it becomes available, for those of you who can get it, give either of these libations a try (©):

Donn's Red Velvet

1¼ oz. Kilo Kai spice Rum

1¼ oz. Jamaica

¼ oz. fresh Pink Grapefruit juice

2 Teaspoons: Cinnamon syrup

1 dash: Peychaud's bitters

1 dash: Fee's Whiskey Barrel-Aged bitters

Combine ingredients in a mixing glass with plenty of ice & shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a twist of fresh Grapefruit.

The Tropica Spice

1¾ oz. Kilo Kai Spiced Rum

¼ oz. JW&N Overproof Rum

½ oz. fresh Orange juice
¼ oz. fresh Pink Grapefruit juice

1 barspoon: Cardamom-Saffron Sugar

1¼ oz. Grapefruit soda (Jarritos)

Prepare a 6-7 oz. glass by rimming it with Cardamom Saffron sugar and filling it halfway with cracked ice. Build ingredients in prepared glass, top with grapefruit soda & stir briefly.

Other (sadly undocumented) experiments included a pair of Volcano Bowls utilizing a 3:1 Jaggery (Indian plam sugar) syrup in place of the usual Maple syrup - the creation of at least one of which was broadcast to a friend-of-a-friend in Brazil via webcam. The finger-lighting trick works quite well by-the-by. A bottle of BarSol's wonderful Quebranta Pisco arrived on my doorstep on the day before my departure, and as I had just finished making a batch of Gomme syrup, I set up a Pineapple for a lovely punchbowl full of Pisco Punch. A number of succesful experiments took place involving a Thai Bird's Eye chili & Tamarind syrup paired with Gin, Cherry Heering & Blood Orange as well as number of other innovations which might have been lost (or at least un-photographed) in the weeds of serving forty-odd folks drinks for five days.

Nevertheless, some wonderous photos were taken (thanks to all who took care of that), a positively-brilliant time was had every day, night & early morning and many happy memories were made. Cheers and thanks to all who attended, and I look forward to doing it all again next year...


Cheers & may everyone's new year be better than that which came before it! Except for those lousy Carolingians...

Libations to Love...Live and in Color!

On November 20th, Thursday Drink Night at the Mixoloseum took on an air of near-respectability with the generous sponsorship of Leblon Cachaça. Company founder & President Steve Luttmann, alongside founding Partner and COO Gerry Schweitzer joined in the discssions, answering all manner of questions about the spirit they produce.

Naturally, the theme of the night was this lovely artisanal example of Brazil's native spirit; and a record-setting thirty-one cocktails were originated throughout the evening utilizing it - some of them on-location by our team at Trader Vic's in Las Vegas.

Cachaça is a great spirit - the third most-produced liquor in the world - and is similar in production to Rum, while containing a number of the grassy, vegetal flavor characteristics that many people associate with Tequila. Leblon is the end product of a ferment of pressed sugarcane juice, which is then distilled in copper alembique stills, rather than the column stills utilized by other 'industrial' cachaças. The head and tail of the distillate is discarded, and the young spirit is rested for several months in used XO Cognac casks to soften & enrich its flavors before being blended by master distiller Gilles Merlet & filtered for bottling.

The resulting artisanal spirit weighs in at 40% ABV and has a wonderful, almost floral, aroma of grassy sugarcane coupled with a fairly soft mouthfeel & a mild, if flavorful, taste. These characteristics make it an excellent introductory spirit into the world of Cachaças and makes for a fantastic Caipirinha - the national drink of Brazil. Give it whirl in one of the many drinks originated at TDN, or in one of these delightful libations (©):

Missionary's Demise
1¼ oz. Leblon Cachaça
¾ oz. Blackstrap Rum (Cruzan)
½ oz. Orange Curaçao (Marie Brizard)
¾ oz. fresh Orange juice
¼ oz. fresh Lime juice
½ oz. Orgeat syrup
Combine ingredients in a mixing glass & shake well with plenty of cracked ice. Strain into a double Old-Fashioned glass half-filled with cracked ice & garnish with a sprig of fresh Spearmint.

Clementine Caipirinha
2 oz. Leblon Cachaça
1 whole fresh Clementine
1 wedge (⅙): fresh Lime
1½ Teaspoons: Demerara sugar
Remove the ends from the Clementine & slice into quarters, being sure to remove any of the white pith in the center of the segments. In a mixing glass, muddle the Lime & Clementine wedges with the sugar. Add Cachaça with plenty of cracked ice & shake well. Pour unstrained into a double Old-Fashioned glass, top with fresh cracked ice & serve with a wide straw.

Cheers & Enjoy!
*In the interest of full disclosure, samples of Leblon were provided for this TDN event*

Seasonal Produce: Pumpkin

As the autumn season continues & more of my favorite examples of seasonal produce become prevalent, I was reminded of an experiment I had been contemplating for some months. Now before you start frantically searching for the back button (it's on the left), a few brief words. If you've been reading here for a while (or are one of the many new readers who have been trickling in from all corners of the earth - thanks by the way!), you've doubtlessly noted three things in or about my rambling articles:

1. I tend to wax poetic at times...alright all the time.

2. I'm more often than not rambling about (crazy) recipes which are, admittedly, a pain to actually make - no matter how delicious they might be.

3. Coming under the auspices of items 1 & 2, a fairly-lengthy article discussing regional variations on Orgeat syrup.

Well, at least for this little experiment - a continuation of the topics mentioned in #3 - I'll try to avoid the pitfalls of 1 and 2. As it is mid-October, I'm sure many of you are preparing for some manner of Halloween festivities, which will undoubtedly result in hacking up an otherwise-serviceable pumpkin. But what to do with all the insides? Make some pumpkin pie from the flesh of this seasonal delight? Sure (and a bloody fine idea that is), but what about the veritable pile of seeds you'll end up with?

One of the problems I failed to mention when discussing Orgeat variants like Horchata de Melón is that, while absolutely delicious, they tend to be inefficient to make. After all, how many seeds can one expect to extract from a watermelon or worse, a cucumber? In the following recipe, this problem is non-existent - even the smallest of pumpkins is nearly overflowing with seeds. Even better, if you mean to make a jack o'lantern in the next few weeks you'll have more of them on hand than you could shake a stick at. Simple, efficient & absolutely delicious - give this one a try (©):

Pumpkin Horchata

2¼ Cups: fresh Pumpkin seeds

¼ Cup: slivered Almonds

2½ Cups: Water

2¼ Cups: white Sugar

4 Tablespoons: Muscovado/brown Sugar

½ Teaspoon: ground Cinnamon

¼ Teaspoon: ground Nutmeg

¼ Teaspoon: ground Ginger

5x whole Cloves

1 pinch: Cayenne pepper

Pre-heat oven to 375°F. Wash the pumpkin seeds thoroughly in a colander or strainer, then pat dry. Spread seeds and Almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet & toast until fragrant. Process the (still-warm) toasted mixture in a food processor, shells & all until coarsely-ground. Combine this mixture with the spices and Water (reserve the Sugars for later) and refrigerate for approximately 4 hours. Strain the mixture through cheesecloth, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible. Re-combine the solids and liquid and steep again for another 4 hours; strain again. (For the strongest flavor; repeat the process once more.) Combine strained liquid with Sugars in a saucepan & bring to a very gentle simmer over medium-low heat (do not boil) until Sugars are dissolved. Cool, bottle and enjoy in the following libation:

Clever Jack Cocktail

1½ oz. Laird's 100° Bonded Apple Brandy

½ oz. Rye Whiskey (Old Overholt)

¾ oz. Pumpkin Horchata

½ oz. fresh Orange juice
1 Teaspoon fresh Lemon juice

1 dash Fee's WBA bitters

Combine ingredients in a shaker with plenty of ice & shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass & garnish with a flamed twist of Orange.

If you do give this syrup a go, be sure to pass along whatever cocktail recipe(s) you clever folks might come up with. Incidentally, if you mean to substitute this into an existing cocktail what calls for Orgeat, go a little heavier on the pour - its' slightly more delicate in flavor and sweetness that the aforementioned French stuff...

For my part, I'll be carting a bottle over to Jonathan Pogash's Elements of Mixology class tomorrow at the Astor Center in NYC to try & formulate some more uses for this delicious seasonal syrup. Then perhaps a quick jaunt over to Pegu to see what those clever lads can make of it...

Cheers & Enjoy!

Mind the Tail...

If you haven't already noticed, it's quite rare that I'm satisfied (at least completely) with a good thing. That is, if I enjoy something I eat or drink, like many of you readers I just love to mess with the flavors & combinations thereof - add something here, subtract something there.

Now, Victor Bergeron once said, "Bartending is a bunch of hokum; you add an ingredient here, change a quantity there and you've got a new drink", and this is quite the valid explanation of (part of) what we do when experimenting as mixologists. By taking a proven classic libation & changing proportions or flavors, while preserving the delicate balance of flavors between the ingredients, we can create new drinks, which are often radically different in character than the originals they're based around.

Sticking with this notion, as well as combining some recent posts of mine on flavor elements like flora & orgeat in cocktails, I'd like to stay with my man 'Vic for a moment longer. The Trader, among other exotica exponents, was rather fond of a large type of drink which was often prepared for many people to enjoy communally - not quite a punch, but always a libation which packed one. One such 'cocktail bowl' was the Scorpion - an infamous, mostly rum-based beverage named largely for the sting it possesses.

Though many recipes for exotica drinks like the Scorpion Bowl exist, having sampled several different recipes I feel the one Vic published in his 1946 Book of Food & Drink is among the best - a drink which, to quote him once more, "does not shilly-shally or mess around in getting you under way". This twenty-person recipe, for those who should like to try it unaltered, goes as follows:

 

1½ bottles white Puerto Rican Rum (Brugal is good here)

½ bottle white Wine (I like a Chenin Blanc here)

2 oz. Gin

2 oz. Brandy

16 oz. fresh Lemon juice

8 oz. fresh Orange juice

8 oz. Orgeat syrup

Mix ingredients thoroughly in a punch bowl & fill with cracked ice. Allow to stand for two hours & add more cracked ice. Garnish with two sprigs of fresh mint & a few gardenias.

A 'limit one' cocktail to be sure, but quite the masterful bit of chemistry: for a beverage with about 41 ounces of spirit (& another 12 ounces of Wine), one would scarcely notice - until you stand up that is. So what's wrong with the recipe as printed? Absolutely nothing. But, as I said, I couldn't resist making some changes to the ingredients - beginning with the primary modifier/sweetener.

In a previous article I waxed poetic about different regional variations on the stuff, and in my most recent I did the same on using flowers as a flavor element. Now, a key ingredient to making normal orgeat is the addition of an aromatic Orange Flower water (occasionally Rosewater) - but what about differently-flavored extracts? Turns out, I was recently given a bottle of Jasmine water; add this to the discovery of a lonely Vanilla bean in my spice rack & hey, presto - yet another Orgeat variation (©):

Vanilla-Jasmine Orgeat

1 Cup: blanched Almonds

1¾ Cups: white Sugar

1½ Cups: Water

½ Tablespoon: Jasmine water

1" piece: whole Madagascar Vanilla bean

1¼ oz. Alcolado Pisco (BarSol)

1. Soak the almonds in water for about 20 minutes. Drain & discard this water then grind the almonds fine in a food processor. Combine the almonds and the water in a clean bowl and allow to sit for two hours. Strain the mixture through a damp piece of cheesecloth, pressing to remove the liquid. Add the almonds back into the strained mixture & repeat the process two more times to extract all the almond oils.

2. Discard the almonds after the third pressing & combine the sugar and liquid in a non-reactive saucepan. Slice the vanilla bean in half and scrape the seeds from the inside. Add the whole thing to the pan & simmer on medium for fifteen minutes, stirring to incorporate the sugar, then remove from the heat.

3. Allow to cool for five minutes before whisking in the Jasmine water. When completely cool, add the Pisco (which is both a preservative & a slight aromatic element in its own right), strain out the vanilla bean husk & bottle.

Enjoy it most anywhere you would normal Orgeat (it makes a wicked Mai-Tai or Japanese cocktail), or with eight friends in a (©):

Falaknuma Bowl

13 oz. white Rum (Brugal)

4 oz. Rhum Agricole Blanc

6 oz. white Port

1½ oz. Gin (Bombay Sapphire)

1½ oz. Pisco (BarSol Alcolado)

8 oz. fresh Lemon juice

4 oz. fresh Orange juice

1 oz. fresh Lime juice

5 oz. Vanilla-Jasmine Orgeat

Combine ingredients in a punch bowl & fill with cracked ice. Allow to stand for about twenty minutes under refrigeration & top with fresh cracked ice. Garnish with edible flowers & serve with long straws. Sip.

 

These ingredients were chosen to highlight & enhance the aromatic qualities of the drink: the Port provides a touch more sweetness - held in check by the addition of Lime. Likewise the R(h)um, Gin & Brandy selections play off the subtleties of the Jasmine with their own interesting notes of spice & aroma. The name, incidentally, is that of a scorpion-shaped palace in Hyderabad, India - the region from whence my Jasmine water came.

On a parting note - it bears mentioning that if you'd rather not wait the full 20 minutes in preparing a drink like this one, the ingredients may be shaken with ice prior to combining them over ice, which will reduce your proper-dilution wait-time to more or less nil. Or you could do what I did - prepare it as directed, then nip out to your local quality bar (like Catherine Lombardi's, for any of you NJ-area folks) for a fantastic drink or two. Just make certain to mind the tail on your gleeful return...

Cheers & Enjoy!

A Dash of Flavor: Orgeat &c.

In the flavor-alchemy of cocktails, syrups can be the principle modifier which turns an otherwise un-interesting or unbalanced beverage into a quaffable masterpiece. Particularly in basic drinks, they provide needed sweetness or additional flavor elements which are quite often the key to balancing out the sour or acidic characteristics of a libation's other ingredients. The French syrup Orgeat is certainly one of these, with its sweet almond flavor & dry whisper of orange flower complexity, it stands up admirably to other ingredients, rounding out the overall flavor of such diverse drinks as Mai-Tai’s, Fog Cutters or Japanese Cocktails. Despite its complexities, Orgeat is a fairly simple thing to make, as it's merely an emulsion of almond oils in water with a few other ingredients thrown in…

As fellow cocktail blogger Darcy O'Neil describes, oil emulsions such as (or similar to) Orgeat have been made for centuries, even millennia, primarily because of their textural similarity to milk, yet without any of dairy's inclinations toward spoilage. Historically, the emulsion of choice was barley & water, but numerous other nuts & roots were often used. Religion further complicated matters with the observation of fasting or 'famine' days, wherein the use of animal products (particularly fats) was ostensibly forbidden. As cooking developed into an art, or at least an applied practice, in many cases the rather bland flavor of barley was supplemented by such alternatives as almonds, walnuts, tigernuts and melon seeds as available.

Early examples of this progression can be seen recorded in such historical texts as "The Closet of the Eminently-Learned Sir Kenelm Digby", made available by the wonderful folks at the Gutenberg Project (all of you cordial-makers & homebrewers out there should check out this book asap). Many of the recipes presented therein, in 1669 no less, describe the preparation of an obviously well-known emulsion of barley, with the 'pap' recipe (p.136) describing the addition of mace, nutmeg & almonds, as well the optional addition of rice, oats, or pine nuts for extra flavor. Approximately a hundred years later, the fifth edition of "The Compleat Housewife" lists a 'Fine Syrop of Almonds', while some centuries later cocktailian author Charles Barker notes the first mention of Orgeat (by name) appears on an 1817 reciept.

As Mr. O'Neil has covered the subject of ordinary Orgeat quite extensively & provided a wonderful recipe for the stuff, I had thought to focus on a few of the different regional variations on the standard beverage/syrup - many of which make quite the excellent addition to any number of cocktails. It bears mentioning that the first two recipes are not typically made as syrups, rather as drinks in their own right – so I’ve included my method for concocting syrups (which are more shelf-stable and versatile) from them:

Horchata de Melón
The Spanish term for Orgeat, this particular emulsion likely stems from the abundance of melon species found in the agricultural regions of Spain. A great way to use a part of the melon otherwise bound for the trash, I was introduced to this variant in Time-Life’s “Good Cook: Beverages” book. This incredibly-useful reference was recommended to me by a certain Flighty mixologist and I now heartily recommend it to you, along with this modified recipe:

2 Cups: fresh Melon Seeds
3 Cups: Water, boiling
3/4 Cup: white Sugar
2 Teaspoons: ground Cinnamon (or other spices depending on the Melon used)
Wash the seeds (you can use any variety of melon, from honeydew to cucumber) thoroughly, then grind them fine in a food processor, shells & all. Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl & stir well. Cover & refrigerate, stirring occasionally, for 12 hrs. Fine-strain through cheesecloth to remove all solids & bottle.
To produce a syrup for cocktails: Omit the sugar from the basic recipe and proceed as directed. Measure the strained liquid and mix in 1.25x this volume of white Sugar. Stir well to mix & bottle.  
Enjoy it in this cocktail (©):

Melón de Rosa
1 oz. white Rum (I like Brugal here)
½ oz. Grappa (Nonino or Nardini are great)
½ oz. + 1 Teaspoon: Horchata de Melón syrup
½ oz. fresh Watermelon juice
1 dash Angostura bitters
Shake well with ice & strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a spear or fan of fresh Melon.

Horchata de Mexico
A riff on the Old World Horchata(s) which often use nuts (such as Almonds or Tigernuts) exclusively, this Mexican adaptation utilizes rice & almonds as its base. I was first introduced to this delightful, if time-consuming, drink by my Oaxacan coworkers in the kitchen of my first food-service job & years later developed it into a cocktail syrup:

5 Cups: Water, boiling
1½ Cups: white Rice, raw
1 Cup: white Sugar
½ Cup: blanched Almonds
1x Canella Cinnamon stick (~3”)
½ Teaspoon: fresh Lime zest
¼ Teaspoon: Vanilla Extract (optional)Lightly toast the Rice and Almonds in a pan over medium heat; don't allow the rice to take on too much color, but both ingredients should be fragrant. Place the toasted mixture in a food processor & pulse briefly to break the particles down slightly - don't process to a powder or your final product will be gritty. Combine mixture with remaining ingredients in a covered container & steep for 12-24 hours, stirring occasionally. Fine-strain through several layers of cheesecloth to remove all solids & bottle.
To produce a syrup for cocktails: Omit the sugar from the basic recipe and proceed as directed. Measure the strained liquid and mix in 1.25x this volume of white Sugar (or a mixture of raw and white Sugars). Stir well to mix & bottle.  
Enjoy it in this libation (©), based on the venerable Japanese Cocktail & named for one of my former co-workers:

Fausto Cocktail
2 oz. Quebranta Pisco (I like BarSol in this)
¾ oz. Horchata de Mexico syrup
¼ oz. fresh Lime juice
1 dash Peychaud’s bitters
1 dash Regan’s Orange #6 or Spiced Lemon #1 bitters
Shake with ice & strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a twist of fresh Lime.

Thandai
This thick mixture, more of a spicy paste than a syrup, hails from Northern India where it is blended with milk & ice to make a delicious cooling beverage. Both Jaggery (an Indian palm sugar) & bottled versions of this are available at most Indian/Eastern groceries, but why hunt for it when I’ve developed this recipe:

1 Cup: blanched Almonds
3 Tablespoons: fresh Watermelon seeds
2 Tablespoons: fresh Cucumber seeds
1 Tablespoon: dried Pumpkin seeds (unsalted)
1 Tablespoon: dried Sunflower seeds (unsalted)
4 Tablespoons: grated Jaggery (or substitute ½ brown Sugar + ½ white Sugar)
1 Teaspoon: ground Cardamom
½ Teaspoon: ground Galingal (or substitute ½ Ginger + ½ Mace)
¼ Teaspoon: white Pepper (optional, to taste)
2 oz. Water
¾ oz. fresh Lime juice
2½ Teaspoons: Rosewater
Combine dry ingredients in a food processor & blend until powdered. Slowly add liquid ingredients, blending to incorporate (you may need a spatula to incorporate all ingredients). When smooth, remove from processor & store in an airtight container; I find a small squeeze bottle ideal for storage & portioning.
Enjoy in this libation (©), its name (and composition) is a play on the “Japanese” Cocktail – try & figure it out:

Isodo Cocktail
1 oz. Cognac (VS or better)
1 oz. Batavia Arrack
1½ Tablespoons: Thandai
1 Teaspoon: fresh Lime juice

1 Teaspoon: fresh Lemon juice
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 dash Simple syrup (optional)
Dry shake (without ice) well to mix. Add ice & shake again, then strain into a cocktail saucer & garnish with an edible flower.

Let me know if/how you like them & what libations you can whip out which incorporate any of these syrups.
Cheers!