Mixers

Orgeat Syrup

Orgeat is an almond syrup, almonds and sugar with a little orange flower or rose water, and it contains tree nuts. It sweetens the Mai Tai and gives it a cloudy, silky body, because the almond oil sits in the syrup as an emulsion. The house recipe is almond milk and sugar 1:1 by weight, and we keep it a week in the fridge.

Quick Facts

ABV0% ABV

Legal categoryNon-alcoholic

OriginThe name is French; the syrup’s roots lie in many cultures

Flavour Strengthmedium bold

SeasonYear-round

Our keeping timeCommercial, opened: one to two months refrigerated. Home-made: one week refrigerated.

Storage

Store unopened at room temperature. Once opened, we keep it in the fridge, resealed tightly. Shake before each use to recombine oils.

Allergens

Contains: tree nuts. Made from almonds; a few brands use flavouring instead. Recipes change: check the bottle.

The ingredient

About Orgeat Syrup

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

AlmondSweetFloralNutty

Tasting Notes

Sweet almond and marzipan with a light floral lift from the orange flower water, and a silky, coating texture when made from real almonds.

Almond milk and sugar, named after barley

Orgeat takes its name from French orge, barley, because early recipes called for barley malt. Modern orgeat is almonds, sugar and water with a little orange flower or rose water. The house recipe squeezes almond milk from soaked, blitzed almonds and dissolves its own weight of sugar in it, then adds half a teaspoon of orange flower water, about three dashes, to roughly 400ml.

Oil in syrup gives the body and the cloud

Almond oil does not dissolve in sugar water, so real orgeat is an emulsion: fine droplets of oil held in syrup. On standing they rise. In a shaken drink they scatter light and coat the mouth, which is why a Mai Tai looks cloudy and feels round. A flavoured bottle has the almond smell and none of that texture.

Orgeat against the almond and plain sweeteners people swap for it (keeping times are ours)

House orgeat

Alcohol: None
Contains nuts: Yes, almonds
Body in the drink: Silky, cloudy
Keeps once open: One week, refrigerated

Bought orgeat, almond-made

Alcohol: None
Contains nuts: Yes
Body in the drink: Silky, cloudy
Keeps once open: One to two months, refrigerated

Almond-flavoured syrup

Alcohol: None
Contains nuts: Check the label
Body in the drink: Thin, clear
Keeps once open: As the label says

Amaretto

Alcohol: Check the label
Contains nuts: Almond or apricot kernel: check
Body in the drink: Thin
Keeps once open: Years

Simple syrup

Alcohol: None
Contains nuts: No
Body in the drink: Thin, clear
Keeps once open: Two weeks, refrigerated

Sweetener	Alcohol	Contains nuts	Body in the drink	Keeps once open
House orgeat	None	Yes, almonds	Silky, cloudy	One week, refrigerated
Bought orgeat, almond-made	None	Yes	Silky, cloudy	One to two months, refrigerated
Almond-flavoured syrup	None	Check the label	Thin, clear	As the label says
Amaretto	Check the label	Almond or apricot kernel: check	Thin	Years
Simple syrup	None	No	Thin, clear	Two weeks, refrigerated

The allergen is the part a guest cannot see

Tree nuts, almonds among them, are on the UK list of allergens a business must declare. A tiki drink gives no visual clue that it carries them, and every one of our orgeat recipes says so on its ingredient line. Keep the bottle you poured from, so the label can answer a question later.

It wants citrus against it

Our Mai Tai sets 15ml against 30ml of lime, and the Scorpion uses it as the only sweetener with orange and lemon. The Japanese Cocktail shows it nearly alone, with cognac and Angostura. Orgeat with too little acid turns heavy.

Using it

Using Orgeat Syrup

Usage

Shaken at 12.5 to 15ml into most of our drinks, as sweetener and body together, and at 30ml in the Trinidad Sour. It wants plenty of citrus against it. Shake the bottle before every pour, since the almond oil rises.

House Recipe

Ratio1:1 by weight (almond milk to sugar)

MakesAbout 400ml

Our keeping timeOne week refrigerated

Ingredients

250g blanched almonds
300ml water
Caster sugar, the same weight as the almond milk (about 250g)
Half a teaspoon of orange flower water

Method

Toast the almonds lightly in a dry pan if you want a rounder flavour, then let them cool.
Blitz the almonds to a coarse meal, stir them into the water and leave for a few hours.
Strain through muslin, squeezing hard, and weigh the almond milk.
Warm the milk gently, stir in the same weight of sugar until dissolved, and keep it below a simmer.
Cool, stir in the orange flower water, bottle and label with the date.

Food safety

Contains almonds, a tree nut: tell anyone you serve it to. Keep it refrigerated and shake it before pouring; discard it if it smells of paint or turns sour.

Pro Tip

Judge a bottle by its body: real orgeat leaves a faint cloud and a coating in the glass, and a flavoured one runs as clear as simple syrup.

Top Tips

Shake before pouring. The oil separates on standing and the first pour is thinner than the last.
Read the ingredients for almonds; a flavoured bottle gives the scent with none of the body.
Say it contains nuts. Nobody expects an allergen in a rum and lime drink.
Add the orange flower water a few drops at a time; it is easy to overdo.

Possible Substitutions

Amaretto: alcoholic, less floral

Production Method

Almonds soaked, ground and pressed into a milk, sweetened with sugar and finished with orange flower or rose water. Some bought bottles use almond flavouring instead.

History & Context

The Oxford Companion says the name derives from orge, the French word for barley, and that early recipes called for barley malt; the barley has long since gone. It is an important ingredient in the Mai Tai and in many tiki drinks.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

What is orgeat syrup?

A sweet syrup of almonds and sugar, usually scented with a little orange flower water or rose water. Its name comes from the French for barley, which early recipes called for. Bartenders use it for sweetness, almond flavour and body in sours and tiki drinks.

Does orgeat contain nuts?

Yes, when it is made from almonds. Almonds are tree nuts, which Annex II of Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 names among the fourteen declarable allergens. Some bought bottles use almond flavouring instead, so the label decides. Treat any Mai Tai, Scorpion or Fog Cutter as a nut drink unless you know the bottle.

How do you make orgeat?

Blitz 250g of blanched almonds, soak them in 300ml of water for a few hours and squeeze the milk out through muslin. Warm the milk with its own weight of sugar until dissolved, cool it and stir in half a teaspoon of orange flower water. It makes about 400ml.

How long does homemade orgeat last?

Seven days, refrigerated, as for all our nut and fruit syrups. We keep a bought bottle with preservatives a month or two once opened, refrigerated. Almond oil turns rancid with age, so a smell of paint or putty means it is finished, whatever the date.

Why does orgeat separate?

Sugar dissolves in water and almond oil does not, so the oil sits in the syrup as tiny droplets that rise on standing. That emulsion is also what makes a Mai Tai cloudy and silky. Shake the bottle and it comes back together.

What can I use instead of orgeat?

Amaretto gives almond flavour but brings alcohol and loses the floral note, so cut another spirit slightly. A plain almond syrup is closer but thinner. Nothing nut-free tastes like orgeat; for an allergic guest, choose a different drink rather than a different syrup.

How much orange flower water goes in orgeat?

Half a teaspoon, about 2.5ml, in a batch of roughly 400ml: around three dashes. Orange flower water varies, and bottles sold as flavourings are far stronger than the traditional kind, so with those start at half the dose and taste. Too much makes the syrup smell of soap.

What cocktails use orgeat?

Nine of ours. The Mai Tai, Scorpion, Fog Cutter, Army & Navy, Japanese Cocktail, Cameron’s Kick and Tia Mia take 15ml, the Tiki Sour 12.5ml, and the Trinidad Sour 30ml, set against a full 45ml of Angostura.

Sources.

Checked between 17 October and 19 October 2026.

The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails (Robert Simonson), “orgeat” (secondary source: the name from orge, French for barley; early recipes called for barley malt; roots in many cultures; used in cocktails since at least the mid-nineteenth century (Thomas, 1862)).
legislation.gov.uk, “Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex II (as retained in UK law)”.

From the Guides

Allergens in liqueurs: reading the label

Make something

Made with Orgeat Syrup

Featured In These Cocktails

Mai Tai Scorpion Tiki Sour Japanese Cocktail Fog Cutter Army & Navy

Show all 9 cocktails

Cameron’s Kick Tia Mia Trinidad Sour

Often Used With

Updated 19 October 2026

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