Upper Crust

A sweet syrup made from almonds, sugar, and rose water or orange flower water. Sometimes other nut derived syrups are referred to as orgeat. You can make this yourself! There's a few recipes, this one if from liquid Intelligence. Combine 660g very hot water with 200g nuts of your choice (almonds are traditional). Blend together at high speed, then strain through a fine strainer or cheescloth. Add salt if you'd like. Then combine 500g nut milk with 500g sugar, blend to combine. If the emulsion breaks, use a stick blender to quickly recombine (or shake hard before using). If you're up for it, add 1.75g Ticaloid 210s and 0.2g xanthan gum to stablize the emulsion. If you can't find Ticaloid, use a mixture of gum arabic and xanthan gum in a ratio of 9:1. This recipe doesn't use rose or orange flower water, if you'd like you can add small teaspoon of either.

The most common fruit juice used in cocktails. This citrus juice is about 6% acid; pure citric acid. Lemon juice should be used the day it is squeezed, some like it freshly squeezed and others like it a few hours old.

A liqueur distilled from Marasca cherries, that grow along the Dalmatian coast.

Slightly sweeter than London Dry gin, but dryer than genever, this 'missing link' gin may or may not be the inspiration for the Tom Collins.

A brandy produced in the wine-region surrounding Cognac, France. Cognac must be twice distilled and aged for at least two years in French oak.

A yellow citrus fruit. The peel is often used as a garnish while the juice incorporated into the drink for a tart flavor profile (citric acid).

Granulated sugar is a sucrose formed with glucose and fructose join by covalent bonding. Sugar is soluble in water, increasing the surface area (smaller grain size) or heating the water, dissolves sugar faster. Some cocktails use sugar directly but more use it indirectly in syrups/liqueurs.