orgeat syrup

I had never heard of orgeat syrup before reading this post by Serious Eats' cocktail connoisseur, Paul Clarke. But when he described it as "simply almond syrup with a little orange flower water tossed in for ghostly aromatic effect," my interest was piqued.

I did a little research and found that one could easily make this syrup at home if one had almonds, water, sugar, and orange flower water in one's pantry. Since I possessed all of these things, I decided to give it a go. The syrup is just as Paul described. As a huge fan of the flavor of almonds, I can envision using this in cocktails, coffee, or even sparkling water. It's quite sweet, so a little goes a long way. The recipe I ended up using is a conglomeration of suggestions I found. It includes a bit of vodka to help extract alcohol-soluble flavors, but that's optional if you want a virgin syrup.

orgeat syrup
350 g blanched almonds, chopped (about 12 oz.)
1.5 kg sugar, divided (about 7.5 cups)
1 L water (4.25 cups) (preferably mineral or spring - I used Acqua Panna)
100 mL vodka (about 1/2 cup) (optional)
2 TB "natural" almond extract (made from bitter almond oil)
2 TB orange flower water

In a saucepan over medium heat, dissolve 400 g sugar in the water. As soon as the solution reaches a boil, turn off the heat.

Place the almonds in a blender and just cover with some of the sugar water. DO NOT FILL, as the hot syrup will expand when you turn the blender on, causing burns and a sticky mess (trust me). Blend the almonds and syrup until there are no more chunks and the almonds have been pretty well pulverized -- about 4 minutes. Pour the almond mixture into the rest of the sugar water and mix. Allow that mixture to cool to room temperature.

Strain the mixture through cheesecloth or even coffee filters, pushing on the ground almonds to extract as much liquid as you can. Pour that liquid into a clean saucepan and add the remainder of the sugar. Dissolve the sugar over medium heat, just until you see small bubbles forming on the sides of the pan. There is no need to bring it to a full boil.

Allow this to cool once again and then stir in the vodka, almond extract, and orange flower water. Bottle it (I ended up needing two 1L Acqua Panna bottles, as the recipe makes 1.5 L of syrup) and make yourself a Mai Tai!