Orgeat
An almond-and-orange-flower syrup. The single most important ingredient in the Mai Tai and one of the defining flavors of the exotic-cocktail category. Pronounced *OR-zhat,* with a soft zh like the s in measure.
Orgeat (from the French orge, barley—the original medieval version was barley-based) is a thick, slightly viscous syrup made by infusing chopped almonds in water, then sweetening heavily and finishing with orange flower water for aromatic complexity. The flavor is unmistakable: rich, nutty, slightly floral, with a marzipan-adjacent sweetness that no other cocktail ingredient quite matches.
Orgeat is the flavor of the Mai Tai. It’s the central modifier in Trader Vic’s 1944 recipe and the defining ingredient of the drink’s character; without it, you have a different cocktail entirely. It also appears in the Fogcutter, the Scorpion, the Saturn, and various other exotic-cocktail standards.
A bottle of decent orgeat is one of the most important items in a serious home bar. The Mai Tai is the entry point; once you have it, dozens of other recipes become possible.
The recipe page covers both: ingredients and process for making it yourself (~3–4 hours, mostly waiting time, meaningfully better than even the best bottled options), and a short list of the commercial brands worth seeking out if you’d rather buy.