Orgeat syrup is a bit of an obscure ingredient, and its name does nothing to help clear things up for the uninitiated. It's difficult to pronounce, probably French, and it's almost never referenced in the names of the recipes it inhabits. Sounds like something reserved only for the snootiest of European-inspired mixology, right? Well, we think you'll be pleasantly surprised to learn that it's actually most at home in everyone's favorite flavor of kitschy dive: the tiki bar.

One of the above assumptions, though, is correct: orgeat is definitely French in origin. The name, pronounced "or-zha," comes from orge, the French word for barley, with which the syrup used to be made. These days, though, it's an almond-based product, forgoing the grain in favor of nuttier, more tropical flavors.

It's used in everything from Mai Tais to Fog Cutters, and probably half of any tiki bar's menu worth its rum will list it as an ingredient. Its unique flavor profile helps to bind the strong spirits and citrus, and is a large part of what makes it so easy to suck down so much powerful booze in such a short period of time.

Unfortunately, it's hard to find good orgeat at traditional liquor stores, and buying it online can be kind of a crapshoot. We scoured the internet (and the bottom of a good number of Planter's Punch glasses) to find the perfect homemade recipe, and ended up with a great one that only takes a few minutes to prepare.

Orgeat Syrup Recipe

Ingredients

- 8 oz (1 cup) unsweetened almond milk

- 4 oz (0.5 cup) simple syrup

- 0.5 oz almond extract

- 0.5 oz orange flower water

Preparation

Combine all ingredients in a Mason jar and shake vigorously until mixed.

The resulting syrup will be good for about a month if refrigerated—but who are we kidding, after one or two good tiki parties, you'll go through this batch like nothing.

Photo: Harsha K R

Be sure to check out our original article on Bevvy!