Tag: Orgeat

Day 45: Death & Co Fix Me Up

  • 1 1/2 oz sherry
  • 1 oz rye
  • 3/4 oz orgeat
  • 1/2 oz lemon juice
  • 1/2 oz orange juice
  • 2 dashes Angostura
  • 3/4 oz club soda (to top after shaking)

Every time I flip through the Death & Co book I find something that looks surprising and interesting. This time I was searching for something to use an orange, since Dane had completely peeled the rind off one when baking this (with my amazing new Y-peeler). The recipe says to pour into a “snifter over a large ice cube”, neither of which I had. I improvised with a red wine glass and it seemed to work just fine. I only have one kind of sherry right now, so my version had creme instead of amontillado. I’m guessing that makes mine a much sweeter version. Dane still enjoyed this one even so.

Day 44: Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai

  • 1 oz Demerara rum
  • 1 oz dark Jamaican rum
  • 1 oz light rum
  • 1 oz orange juice
  • 1 oz pineapple juice
  • 1/2 oz lime juice
  • 1/4 oz lemon juice
  • 1/4 oz orange curaçao
  • 1/4 oz Orgeat
  • 1/4 oz simple syrup

Another day, another tiki drink. Tonight we’re hosting a dinner party that is themed around citrus, so I decided to pick something that used as many citrus fruits as I could get. This is a pretty nice Mai Tai variant that I would recommend if you have a ton of juice you need to use up.

Day 40: Samoan Fog Cutter

  • 2 oz lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 oz light rum
  • 1 oz orange juice
  • 1/2 oz Orgeat
  • 1/2 oz brandy
  • 1/2 oz gin
  • 1/2 oz cream sherry (float)

Another beauty from the Beachbum Berry book. The actual recipe for this calls for it be blended, but I was feeling lazy. This is super tart and would make a great “sipping by the pool in summer” drink. I also finally got a chance to use my Horror in Clay fogcutter mug, designed by a friend of a friend. Clearly I need some longer straws.

Day 30: Aquadisiac

  • 2 oz gold rum
  • 1 oz lemon juice
  • 1/2 oz Orgeat syrup
  • 1/2 oz blue curaçao

My brother was having a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy themed birthday party tonight, so I offered to make Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters for the event. All the recipes I found online for this fictional drink looked absolutely awful, so I decided to find something in the tiki book. I figured blue curaçao would be apt, as well as something that included lemon. I found the Aquadisiac. It turned out mostly ok. I specifically asked that my brother pick up a gold Barbados rum, and this one was not my favorite. I don’t have a ton of experience with Barbados rum, so maybe next time we’ll try something different.

Day 23: Mai Tai

  • 1 oz dark rum
  • 1 oz light rum
  • juice of one lime
  • 1/2 Orgeat syrup
  • 1/2 orange curaçao

A few years ago we threw a “July in Christmas” party, which was basically a beach-themed party in the middle of winter. I decided to mix up a big punch bowl full of Mai Tai. Shortly before the party Dane came home from running some errands. “Oh, you’ve got the punch ready!” He tried a little bit, then looked me dead in the eye and said “You can’t serve this to people, you are going to kill them. We’re going to have people passed out all over the lawn.” So we added about a carton of orange juice to the bowl.

So. Mai Tais are a pretty powerful cocktail, not well suited to serving out of a punch bowl. I still have a zillion limes at home and I’ve been inclined to make drinks that remind me of summer (even though nothing is alive right now to make a proper garnish), so today you get another rum drink. I’m thinking of trying a new light rum next time I hit the store. If you have any suggestions, send them my way.

Day 8: Japanese Cocktail

  • 2 oz brandy
  • 1/2 oz Orgeat syrup
  • 2 dashes Angostura
  • lemon twist for garnish

Today I had a bit of a long day. I dropped my phone in some water and have been trying to dry it out, I snapped one of our outdoor hoses in half (long story), it was super cold and I might be coming down with something, AND we had out of town visitors arrive today. So when I finally reached mixing time I was a bit listless and wasn’t sure what to make. William suggested a new recipe for me: the Japanese Cocktail, a Jerry Thomas recipe. I love Orgeat and could always use it more often, plus this is a really simple recipe.

Because I was a little cranky I skipped the shaker and the coupe glass and opted to just stir this straight in a rocks glass. My current channel knife is nearly impossible to use so I did a simple slice of peel with a paring knife instead.

I know I’ve already done two drinks so far where the main liquor is brandy, but that is unusual for me. Even so, I really enjoyed this cocktail. The brandy is nice and smooth and the Orgeat makes it a fairly sweet drink. Very simple and clean while also being comforting, perfect to cheer me up a little before bed. I would like to try it again with some different bitters. This seems like a good excuse to go bitters shopping, which is rapidly becoming a great hobby of mine.