Love that you continue to tinker with recipes! You introduced me to the Joi concentrate, and I agree that it works well. But in some taste testing with friends, comparing Joi, Trader Joe's almond butter, and fully homemade (blanched then toasted almonds, blended, and strained), the Almond Butter one was the group favorite. The toasted almond flavor of the commercial almond butter stood up in drinks a bit better, and didn't get lost with stronger flavored rums (an OFTD float in particular). The homemade was a bit too rich--would be good for some drinks but not all. As for me and my house, TJ's almond butter is our 60-second orgeat.
Nice! I agree that adding additional rose and orange flower water really helps the flavor in the orgeat. I do have a little hack to speed up the filtering process significantly. Squeeze the almond milk through a nut milk bag, into a pourable cup. something like a measuring cup. Then use an Aeropress to push the milk through either one or two filters. because of the lack of volume in the Aropress, you will have to do two or three phases, so change out your filters between passes.
I'm not ANY kind of expert, but following your lead with the JOI, I've gradually settled on a recipe I can replicate consistently, which I love: On stove, make a simple syrup: (I found if I make it 2:1 rich, it's too thick later) 1 cup sugar 1 cup water After it cools, pour into blender and add: 3+ Tbsp almond concentrate (3 "heaping tablespoons". More doesn't seem to hurt.) 1 tsp rose water 1 tsp orange flower water
I have been making my orgeat from almonds, but the latest batch I roasted the blanched almonds and added few hazelnuts into the mix. I also used 6 drops of bitter almond extract and it came out really really good! I find that the roasting ups the flavor twofold might not be the traditional recipe, but boy it sure is delicious.
Thanks for another great video, Derek! I'm with you on team translucent orgeat. Been meaning to try your original 60 second recipe since you posted it, and when I saw your talking recently about revisiting that recipe I knew I'd be keeping an eye out. Hopefully that JOI comes back in stock on Amazon soon or else I may need to look for it in brick and mortars. Definitely planning to try this soon.
One of the things I like about this channel is it teaches me just how involved I'm willing to get with my cocktails. Buying rosewater, orange flower water, very specific almond milk, very specific filters, a gram scale, and waiting overnight for it to cool vs having a bottle of Liber & Co doordashed to my house in an hour...
I tried out this recipe myself, and I can tell you all that it's a great one you should definitely try. One little PSA I want to drop is that if you make your orgeat out of almond butter instead of almond milk concentrate, the orgeat won't fully clarify. It'll be translucent instead of transparent. Kevin Kos from Cocktail Time found out that when you make orgeat the "right" way (with blended whole almonds), there's enough fat in the milk to precipitate out after filtering out the solids in a sort of lush effect like diluted absinthe, so I figure that's the same phenomenon here. Speaking of which, my first drink I made with the orgeat was an absinthe drink, so I don't know if the clarified nut butter orgeat will turn a cocktail milky, but it didn't affect the the milky pale green color of the absinthe so it should be fine to use in a clear cocktail.
Love this recipe, I’ll have to give it a go! I’ve found that apricot pits are available at all the Chinese grocery stores near me, so I’ve been making my own funky “almond extract” by soaking them in Smith & Cross, and using that with roasted almonds to make my own orgeat, but I have yet to perfect this method
If you're up for revisiting this again, JOI has an Almond Milk Powder coming out soon and I'm curious if that'll be easier to work with or how the ratios would work
I toast/roast the almonds on a pan on the stove and after making orgeat from those almonds i can safely say it is +90% like the Liber & Co. The rose and orange water takes it over the top for me. Longer process but you will get a better result.
Have you looked at almond paste or almond flour? The paste can include sugar but it’s not the “almond butter” flavour. Usually 30-50 percent so can adjust the sweetness (sugar back). The flour is great as it shelf stable and can measure by weight as well. Great recipe btw just thinking out loud with ingredients I’ve used.
I have but there were just too many options. As you said, most of them have sugar. Some of them have other flavorings as well. I"d guess the Joi is a little pricier than many of the pastes you'll find, as it's more expensive than all almond butters. But I ran the numbers and I can get 9 450 ml bottles of Orgeat out of a jar or Joi, so it ends up not saving a significant amount in the end to use other methods. There are other so called "almond milk concentrates" as well but I havent tried them. Never tried the flour but I'd assume you get less flavor since all the oils would be gone.
My rose water, orangle blossom and almond extracts are superconcentrated, i think they would over power totally. How would you say yours are? Thanks for the good info as always ❤
it's all relative. I believe it's less than 0.25ml per 1/2 oz. Not sure how that equates to the dropper size exactly but in those bottles probably around 3 drops each.
I was going to comment similarly. Overpoweringly rose, you'd taste nothing else. I think this could be due to Fee's product? Not bashing, I love most of their bitters, and purchased their OFW. My initial opinion was that it was pretty watery and not flavourful. Months later when needing rose water, I got both of a different brand and wow, much more powerful.
If time/labor was not an issue, do you prefer this version of orgeat or the more labor intensive version (recipe from ~1 year ago where you milked the almonds from Trade Joes yourself)?
Has anyone in the uk tried this recipe? It would be great to try my own orgeat. If so, which brand of almond concentrate did you use? We can’t seem to get Joi. I’m currently sourcing Liber and Co orgeat from a UK website (a rare find over here) and I love the flavour.
Given your slow “nut bag” orgeat recipe using both blanched and toasted almonds from Trader Joe’s , I thought maybe you would blend a little bit of almond butter in with the Joy almond paste - enough to provide a bit of toasted flavor, but not enough to be “oily.” Have you tried it? If so, why did it fail?
You could definitley do that to get that flavor profile, and if I had a "house style" orgeat I'd consider that as well as vanilla and different sugars, but this one is really about being somewhat generic but also really good. So it works in all recipes.
I've made his previous 60 second orgeat 3 times and love it. If you like latitude 29 it's totally worth filtering the almond milk to get a clear product.
I have tried syrups in the small crew bottle a few times and have had terrible experience. Free pouring leaves drips and syrup around the rim that are anoying and have to be cleaned each time. Syrup hardens and seals the cap extra tight as well. Tried the pouring top from them but it’s gets clogged everytime with thick syrups. Have just gone back to sauce bottles for syrups and crew bottles for pre batches cocktails. How is everyone else avoiding this?
I’ve only ever used store bought almond sirup for Mai Tais. How does a store bought Orgeat compare to store bought almond sirup? And how does store bought orgeat compare to homemade orgeat?
This is essentially homemade with blanched almonds. Just removing a step by getting rid of making you own almond milk from whole almonds and using a paste/butter/concentrate instead. Almost all commercial orgeats are different from one another, so there's not a broad comparison. But this version is as good or better than any commercial version, IMO.
I put about 33% Demerara in mine. Ultimatemaitai calls for demerara syrup but I just put in that much more of my demerara-ized orgeat. I also add salt (1/4t, IIRC) into my orgeat. I tried all Demerara, and it was overpowering.
This method will not always yield clear Orgeat. Sometimes it will be clear and most often it won’t, but this method is not the best to try to get something absolutely clear. The filters you use make a difference as well as just allowing the filtered liquid to sit and separate while some the remaining solids drop, and then pouring off the top.
@makeanddrink thanks! I actually just ordered a Chemex since it's also a great coffee maker and will be filtering with those filters once it comes in.
What's so funny about this is that you could just buy a pack of blanched almonds, blend them with water and filter, then warm that milk on stove and add some sugar, brandy, and orange blossom water and your done. You've almost come full circle Derek lol.
@@lokmtb8503 I'll take your word for it. The organic unsweetened coconut flakes I bought the other day suck compared to the non-organic coconut flakes from the same brand.
Whoa! Game changer on using the shaking tin to hold the bottle!!!! Well done.
Love that you continue to tinker with recipes! You introduced me to the Joi concentrate, and I agree that it works well. But in some taste testing with friends, comparing Joi, Trader Joe's almond butter, and fully homemade (blanched then toasted almonds, blended, and strained), the Almond Butter one was the group favorite. The toasted almond flavor of the commercial almond butter stood up in drinks a bit better, and didn't get lost with stronger flavored rums (an OFTD float in particular). The homemade was a bit too rich--would be good for some drinks but not all. As for me and my house, TJ's almond butter is our 60-second orgeat.
Nice! I agree that adding additional rose and orange flower water really helps the flavor in the orgeat.
I do have a little hack to speed up the filtering process significantly. Squeeze the almond milk through a nut milk bag, into a pourable cup. something like a measuring cup. Then use an Aeropress to push the milk through either one or two filters. because of the lack of volume in the Aropress, you will have to do two or three phases, so change out your filters between passes.
I'm not ANY kind of expert, but following your lead with the JOI, I've gradually settled on a recipe I can replicate consistently, which I love:
On stove, make a simple syrup: (I found if I make it 2:1 rich, it's too thick later)
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
After it cools, pour into blender and add:
3+ Tbsp almond concentrate (3 "heaping tablespoons". More doesn't seem to hurt.)
1 tsp rose water
1 tsp orange flower water
This is nuts!
Boo
No this is almonds
Almonds do not meet the botanical definition of a true nut, but you do. 😏
I have been making my orgeat from almonds, but the latest batch I roasted the blanched almonds and added few hazelnuts into the mix. I also used 6 drops of bitter almond extract and it came out really really good! I find that the roasting ups the flavor twofold might not be the traditional recipe, but boy it sure is delicious.
Thanks for another great video, Derek! I'm with you on team translucent orgeat. Been meaning to try your original 60 second recipe since you posted it, and when I saw your talking recently about revisiting that recipe I knew I'd be keeping an eye out. Hopefully that JOI comes back in stock on Amazon soon or else I may need to look for it in brick and mortars. Definitely planning to try this soon.
One of the things I like about this channel is it teaches me just how involved I'm willing to get with my cocktails. Buying rosewater, orange flower water, very specific almond milk, very specific filters, a gram scale, and waiting overnight for it to cool vs having a bottle of Liber & Co doordashed to my house in an hour...
Even faster when you just go to a bar and order a drink!
@@makeanddrink lol exactly! Drinking is dynamic not binary
That "taffy" is pretty much marzipan, the remaining nut solids congealing, and yes it is delicious!
I tried out this recipe myself, and I can tell you all that it's a great one you should definitely try. One little PSA I want to drop is that if you make your orgeat out of almond butter instead of almond milk concentrate, the orgeat won't fully clarify. It'll be translucent instead of transparent. Kevin Kos from Cocktail Time found out that when you make orgeat the "right" way (with blended whole almonds), there's enough fat in the milk to precipitate out after filtering out the solids in a sort of lush effect like diluted absinthe, so I figure that's the same phenomenon here. Speaking of which, my first drink I made with the orgeat was an absinthe drink, so I don't know if the clarified nut butter orgeat will turn a cocktail milky, but it didn't affect the the milky pale green color of the absinthe so it should be fine to use in a clear cocktail.
Love this recipe, I’ll have to give it a go! I’ve found that apricot pits are available at all the Chinese grocery stores near me, so I’ve been making my own funky “almond extract” by soaking them in Smith & Cross, and using that with roasted almonds to make my own orgeat, but I have yet to perfect this method
If you're up for revisiting this again, JOI has an Almond Milk Powder coming out soon and I'm curious if that'll be easier to work with or how the ratios would work
How does the revised recipe compare to Liber & Co? (because that stuff is delicious)
It’s much different. They have a more toasted almond flavor.
I toast/roast the almonds on a pan on the stove and after making orgeat from those almonds i can safely say it is +90% like the Liber & Co.
The rose and orange water takes it over the top for me. Longer process but you will get a better result.
This confirms that my jars of Joi were old. Your Joi looks like a thick paste while mine is like a solid chunk! Damn Amazon.
Have you looked at almond paste or almond flour? The paste can include sugar but it’s not the “almond butter” flavour. Usually 30-50 percent so can adjust the sweetness (sugar back). The flour is great as it shelf stable and can measure by weight as well.
Great recipe btw just thinking out loud with ingredients I’ve used.
I have but there were just too many options. As you said, most of them have sugar. Some of them have other flavorings as well. I"d guess the Joi is a little pricier than many of the pastes you'll find, as it's more expensive than all almond butters. But I ran the numbers and I can get 9 450 ml bottles of Orgeat out of a jar or Joi, so it ends up not saving a significant amount in the end to use other methods. There are other so called "almond milk concentrates" as well but I havent tried them.
Never tried the flour but I'd assume you get less flavor since all the oils would be gone.
I like milky looking orgeat (and Mai Tais)!
@makeanddrink small typo in the last line of the desription. Everything else says 1/4 tsp flavorings per 100g syrup but the last line says ml.
*Joi Almond Milk Concentrate direct:* shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=1443715&u=3812038&m=92755&urllink=&afftrack=
*Joi Almond Milk Concentrate from Amazon:* amzn.to/3WZeXpF
*Blanched Almond Butter:* amzn.to/3SME7p7
Do you recommend to add some drops of cognac to add shelf life?
I do not
nutty!
That brand of almond milk concentrate is all sold out. Can you recommend an alternative?
My rose water, orangle blossom and almond extracts are superconcentrated, i think they would over power totally. How would you say yours are? Thanks for the good info as always ❤
The ones I’m using are pretty standard for the United States, so I can’t really compare to something else without trying.
Same, not sure how anyone would tolerate it with that much of the orange blossom water and rose water I use
it's all relative. I believe it's less than 0.25ml per 1/2 oz. Not sure how that equates to the dropper size exactly but in those bottles probably around 3 drops each.
I was going to comment similarly. Overpoweringly rose, you'd taste nothing else. I think this could be due to Fee's product? Not bashing, I love most of their bitters, and purchased their OFW. My initial opinion was that it was pretty watery and not flavourful. Months later when needing rose water, I got both of a different brand and wow, much more powerful.
Do you have a link to that syrup bottle container? I tried finding it through your amazon link, but only saw the variation w/o the twist off bottom!
They’re Crew Bottle Supply and you can only get the from their website or local bottle shops.
If time/labor was not an issue, do you prefer this version of orgeat or the more labor intensive version (recipe from ~1 year ago where you milked the almonds from Trade Joes yourself)?
I like this one better.
Has anyone in the uk tried this recipe? It would be great to try my own orgeat. If so, which brand of almond concentrate did you use? We can’t seem to get Joi. I’m currently sourcing Liber and Co orgeat from a UK website (a rare find over here) and I love the flavour.
Hmm, Whole Foods, one can make almond butter there and perhaps use it here?
Can we get a video on a blue Hawaiian?
Given your slow “nut bag” orgeat recipe using both blanched and toasted almonds from Trader Joe’s , I thought maybe you would blend a little bit of almond butter in with the Joy almond paste - enough to provide a bit of toasted flavor, but not enough to be “oily.” Have you tried it? If so, why did it fail?
You could definitley do that to get that flavor profile, and if I had a "house style" orgeat I'd consider that as well as vanilla and different sugars, but this one is really about being somewhat generic but also really good. So it works in all recipes.
What do you think of this compared to Latitude 29? It looks clear like theirs!
You'll have to judge that for yourself 🤔
I've made his previous 60 second orgeat 3 times and love it. If you like latitude 29 it's totally worth filtering the almond milk to get a clear product.
Would it work if I just grind my own almonds and make the "butter" out of that?
Yes, but would be just as easy (or easier) to just make almond milk by blending raw almonds with water and straining.
I have tried syrups in the small crew bottle a few times and have had terrible experience. Free pouring leaves drips and syrup around the rim that are anoying and have to be cleaned each time. Syrup hardens and seals the cap extra tight as well. Tried the pouring top from them but it’s gets clogged everytime with thick syrups. Have just gone back to sauce bottles for syrups and crew bottles for pre batches cocktails. How is everyone else avoiding this?
I’ve only ever used store bought almond sirup for Mai Tais. How does a store bought Orgeat compare to store bought almond sirup? And how does store bought orgeat compare to homemade orgeat?
This is essentially homemade with blanched almonds. Just removing a step by getting rid of making you own almond milk from whole almonds and using a paste/butter/concentrate instead.
Almost all commercial orgeats are different from one another, so there's not a broad comparison. But this version is as good or better than any commercial version, IMO.
Anyone try Demerara sugar with homemade orgeat? Overkill? I’ve been thinking of trying it with my next batch.
I put about 33% Demerara in mine. Ultimatemaitai calls for demerara syrup but I just put in that much more of my demerara-ized orgeat. I also add salt (1/4t, IIRC) into my orgeat.
I tried all Demerara, and it was overpowering.
I'm having a challenge getting my strained orgeat clear. Is it possible I'm blending too long? Typically doing 30 seconds.
This method will not always yield clear Orgeat. Sometimes it will be clear and most often it won’t, but this method is not the best to try to get something absolutely clear. The filters you use make a difference as well as just allowing the filtered liquid to sit and separate while some
the remaining solids drop, and then pouring off the top.
@makeanddrink thanks! I actually just ordered a Chemex since it's also a great coffee maker and will be filtering with those filters once it comes in.
Next up…Falernum!
Where are you sourcing those great s rew bottom bottles???
Crew Bottle Co
What's so funny about this is that you could just buy a pack of blanched almonds, blend them with water and filter, then warm that milk on stove and add some sugar, brandy, and orange blossom water and your done. You've almost come full circle Derek lol.
For the record, love all your videos. The best recipe for orgeat is still the Educated Barfly's method (see his youtube).
Can’t do that in 60 seconds!
@@makeanddrinkyou got me there!
Your video must have been a hit, it's currently sold out on Amazon and usually the Organic version of a product is just not as good!
The organic version of a product with only one ingredient will likely be just as good.
@@lokmtb8503 I'll take your word for it. The organic unsweetened coconut flakes I bought the other day suck compared to the non-organic coconut flakes from the same brand.