Orgeat Syrup
An almond syrup finished with orange flower water, sweet and floral at once. The name comes from the Latin for barley, which is what it used to be made from and has not contained for a very long time.
Quick Facts
Flavour Profile
Primary Flavours
Tasting Notes
Sweet almond flavour with soft marzipan notes and subtle floral aromatics. Smooth texture with lingering nuttiness.
Recommended Brands
Budget Choice
Monin Orgeat: widely stocked and consistent, and almond enough for a Mai Tai
Premium Choice
Bristol Syrup Co. No.7: more almond and less sugar, which shows in a drink built around it
Storage & Handling
Store unopened at room temperature. Once opened, refrigerate and reseal tightly. Shake before each use to recombine oils.
Shelf Life
Unopened: 6–12 months. Opened: 1–2 months refrigerated
Usage
Poured at 15ml to 22.5ml, where it sweetens and adds body and almond together. It is the ingredient that makes a Mai Tai a Mai Tai, and it separates on standing, so the bottle wants shaking before every pour.
Orgeat Means Barley
The word comes from hordeum, the Latin for barley, by way of the French orgeat, and the original drink was a barley preparation rather than an almond one. Almonds were added, then took over entirely, and the name stayed behind describing an ingredient that is no longer present. That is a common enough fate for a food name, and it is worth knowing because the syrup is occasionally described as barley-based by people working backwards from the word. It is not. Modern orgeat is almonds, sugar, water and a floral finish.
An Emulsion, Not a Solution
Sugar dissolves in water and almond oil does not, so orgeat is a suspension of oil in syrup rather than a solution, and it behaves accordingly. Left standing it separates, with the oil rising and the sweetness settling, so a pour from an unshaken bottle is not the ingredient the recipe assumed. Shaking recombines it. It is also why orgeat gives a drink a cloudy, silky body that a clear syrup cannot: the oil droplets scatter light and coat the mouth, and both of those are the point rather than a defect.
The Allergen Question
Real orgeat is made from almonds and is therefore a nut product, which matters because nothing about a tropical drink signals that to a guest. Anyone serving a Mai Tai to people they do not know should say so. The complication is that many commercial bottles contain no almond at all, being flavouring and sugar, so the presence or absence of the allergen cannot be assumed from the category. Read the label, and keep the bottle you actually poured from rather than trusting memory.
Where It Belongs
The Mai Tai is built on it, and a Mai Tai without orgeat is rum and lime with a garnish. The Japanese Cocktail is older and simpler, being brandy, orgeat and bitters, and it shows what the syrup tastes like with almost nothing in the way. The Fog Cutter and the Scorpion both use it, and the Army & Navy puts it with gin and lemon. The pattern is drinks with enough citrus to cut the sweetness, because orgeat unbalanced by acid turns heavy quickly.
Pro Tip
If your Mai Tai tastes flat, it’s usually the orgeat. Quality matters.
Top Tips
- Shake the bottle every time. It is an emulsion rather than a solution and the oil rises.
- Read the ingredients for almonds. Some bottles are flavouring with no nut in them at all.
- Tell guests it contains nuts. A tiki drink is the last place people expect to find an allergen.
Possible Substitutions
- Amaretto (alcoholic, less floral)
- Almond syrup (simpler, less aromatic)
Production Method
Produced by extracting flavour from almonds (or almond essence), blending with sugar and water, and finishing with floral waters such as orange blossom.
History & Context
Orgeat originated as a medicinal barley drink before evolving into an almond syrup in France. It became a cornerstone of tiki cocktails in the mid-20th century, prized for its nutty sweetness and texture.
Common Questions
What is orgeat?
An almond syrup finished with orange flower water, sweet and floral together. The name comes from the Latin for barley, which the syrup was originally made from and has not contained for centuries. Modern orgeat is almonds, sugar, water and a floral note.
What does orgeat do in a Mai Tai?
It supplies the almond and most of the body. A Mai Tai is aged rum, lime, curaçao and orgeat, and without the syrup it is rum and lime with a garnish on it. The oil in the orgeat is also what gives the drink its silky texture.
Real or flavoured orgeat?
Real, where the choice exists. A bottle made with almonds carries oil that gives body and a cloudy finish, and a flavoured one gives sweetness and the smell of almond with a thin texture behind it. Read the ingredients, since the category name guarantees nothing.
How long does orgeat keep?
A few weeks refrigerated if homemade, and months for a commercial bottle with preservatives, which should be refrigerated once opened. The oil in it can go rancid, so a bottle that smells faintly of paint rather than almond is finished regardless of the date on it.