Orgeat and Nut Syrups from Scratch

Simple syrup sweetens a drink. Orgeat changes a drink. This creamy almond syrup adds body and weight that plain sugar water never reaches, and it carries a soft floral note that makes citrus taste rounder and richer. It is the quiet reason a Mai Tai feels complete, and once your fridge holds a jar, you will find excuses to pour it into sodas, lemonades and coffee as well. The method below is the classic one, built from blanched almonds, sugar, water and orange flower water, with no spirit added. Three more nut syrups follow from the same technique, so one afternoon of work stocks your bar for weeks.

What is orgeat?

Orgeat is a sweet and creamy almond syrup made by soaking ground almonds in water, straining the milky liquid, and sweetening it with sugar and a touch of orange flower water. It adds sweetness, body and a gentle marzipan flavour to drinks, most famously the Mai Tai.

Before you start

Start with blanched almonds if you can find them. Blanched means the skins have been removed, and the syrup comes out pale, clean and delicate. Almonds with skins still on will work, and the syrup will taste a little deeper and look a little darker. Either way, choose raw and unsalted nuts. Roasted and salted nuts belong on a snack plate, not in this jar.

Orange flower water is the second ingredient that matters. It is potent, and a little goes a long way. Half a teaspoon scents a whole batch. A full teaspoon can turn the jar toward perfume, so measure it rather than pouring it freehand. Rose water can take its place for a softer floral note, and many classic recipes use a drop of each.

A fine strainer lined with cheesecloth or a clean nut milk bag is the only special tool you need. The goal is to press out every last drop of almond liquid, because those final thick drops carry the most flavour and the most body.

The classic almond orgeat method

This batch makes about two and a half cups of syrup. It is rich, so a little goes a long way in the glass.

1. Pulse **2 cups of blanched almonds** in a food processor until they are finely ground like coarse meal. Stop before they turn into almond butter.
2. Put the ground almonds in a bowl with **2 cups of cool water**. Cover the bowl and leave it to soak for at least three hours, and up to twelve hours in the fridge for the deepest flavour.
3. Pour the mixture through a strainer lined with cheesecloth set over a large bowl. Gather the cloth and squeeze firmly until the almonds feel dry and crumbly. This milky liquid is your almond milk, and it should measure roughly two cups.
4. Pour the almond milk into a pot with **2 cups of sugar**. Warm it over medium heat, stirring, only until the sugar dissolves completely. Do not let it boil, because boiling can split the milk and cook away the fresh almond flavour.
5. Take the pot off the heat and stir in **half a teaspoon of orange flower water** and **a quarter teaspoon of almond extract** if you want a stronger almond note. Taste it. It should be sweet, creamy and gently floral, never perfumed.
6. Cool the syrup, pour it into a clean jar or bottle, and refrigerate it. Shake the jar before each use, because the almond solids will settle and separate a little as it sits, and that is completely normal.

Hazelnut syrup

Swap the almonds for 2 cups of hazelnuts and toast them first. Spread them on a tray in a warm oven for about ten minutes, until they smell rich and the skins loosen, then rub them in a clean towel to remove most of the skins. Grind, soak, strain and sweeten exactly as above, and leave the orange flower water out if you want the hazelnut to lead on its own. This is the syrup for coffee drinks and chocolate drinks, and a spoonful in hot chocolate is a small revelation.

Pistachio syrup

Use 2 cups of shelled pistachios, ideally unsalted. There is no need to toast them, and their natural colour gives the finished syrup a soft green tint that looks beautiful in a clear glass. Follow the master method, and keep the orange flower water at a quarter teaspoon so the pistachio stays in front. This version loves citrus and agave style drinks, and it pairs with lime in a way that surprises everyone the first time.

Walnut and seed syrups

Walnuts make the darkest and most earthy syrup of the family. Toast 2 cups of walnut pieces lightly, then follow the same method, and expect a syrup with a gentle tannic edge that suits apple, pear and spice. For a nut free jar, use 2 cups of pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds in place of the nuts. Soak them a full twelve hours, blend the seeds with their soaking water before straining for extra body, and finish with orange flower water as usual. The result is green tinged, subtly vegetal and rich enough to stand in for orgeat in most drinks.

How to use nut syrups in your drinks

Use orgeat anywhere a recipe asks for simple syrup and you want more body. Start by swapping half the sweetener, taste, and adjust, because orgeat is richer and sweeter in character than plain syrup even at the same measure. In the Mai Tai tradition, three quarters of an ounce is the classic pour alongside lime and a rum style base, and you will see that measure again when the Virgin Mai Tai joins this site. At home today, try a spoonful in lemonade, a tablespoon shaken with lime juice and soda over ice, or a drizzle over fresh fruit. For the syrup shelf itself, the Simple Syrup Five Ways guide covers the plain jars that sit beside these, and the Shrubs guide covers the bright acid side of the home bar.

Storage and the honest limits

Keep every nut syrup in the fridge in a clean and labelled jar. The almond orgeat keeps about two weeks at its best, and the other nut versions follow the same window. If a jar smells sour or looks mouldy, it goes, with no debate. For longer storage, freeze the syrup in an ice cube tray and move the cubes to a bag. A cube is roughly an ounce, which is roughly one generous drink, and frozen cubes keep their flavour for months. Shake or stir every jar before you pour, and write the nut and the date on the label, because three pale jars in a fridge door all look the same by Friday.

The bottom line

Make the almond batch first and learn the method once. After that, the nut is a choice, not a new recipe, and your home bar gains a whole shelf of syrups from a single technique. That is the real promise of this guide: one method, learned well, poured many ways.