In order to make a Tiki drink,you need to have the right ingredients. Two of the most common ones are lime juice and orgeat,both of which are necessary for the classic Mai Tai. In this post,I'm going to teach you how to select limes and make your own orgeat so your cocktails will turn out great.
As a bachelor,I tend to use pre-made juices and syrups. For lime juice I usually go to Wegmans and get a bottle of their cold pressed juice(I also use their grapefruit juice). Unfortunately,they're sometimes out. Now I can go to any grocery store and get a bottle of ReaLime,which is cheap and lasts a good amount of time in the fridge,but since I've gotten into mixing I've become something of a snob and prefer proper lime juice(I never use Rose's). So if they're out,I pop next door to Lidl and get limes for 35 cents each. If you're going to squeeze your own limes,here's what you need to know about how to choose them,and how to squeeze them.
First,you need to select good limes. This is a good lime:
(sorry,I had already cut my limes in preparation of juicing them when I decided to write this article)
Now limes are known for being green,but fully ripe limes are actually yellowish. You can see this one has a nice yellow color to it,and the skin is quite smooth. These are the two things you want to look for in your squeezin' limes;yellow and a smooth skin.
In this pic you can see a smooth lime on the left,and a bumpy one on the right. Despite the fact the right one is larger,the left one is better. Here's why:
As you can see from this pic,the left one with smoother skin has more to the segments(carpels is the fancy name for these) and less rind. The one with the bumpy skin has a thicker rind. This means the one with the thinner rind will give you more juice. The yellowish color also means it will be less tart. This is just what you want for juicing limes for cocktails.
When it comes to squeezing,there are many citrus presses out there,from inexpensive handheld models,to fancy professional ones that will take up counter space. I use a gen-u-wine Trader Vic's Lime Squeezer. I got it in a Mai Tai Bundle that included the squeezer,two nice teal Mai Tai glasses,and a bottle of Mai Tai Mix. The squeezer works really well,and the glasses are very nice,but as I've said before the Mix isn't too great. So if you want to get the Mai Tai Bundle and save a couple bucks,go for it,but give the mix away or save it for a cookout.
Any citrus squeezer will work,but technique is key. Don't crush the limes as hard as you can. Give them a smooth squeeze,but stop when the juice stops flowing steady. Don't try and wring every last drop out of the lime. Squeezing too hard will cause you to crush the pith(inner part of the rind) which will release bitter oils and make your lime juice bitter. While an ounce of juice per lime is considered the standard,I've found it varies between a half and a full ounce. If you don't get a full ounce,don't sweat it. Trying to wring out every little bit of juice out isn't worth it as you'll make it bitter. If you want to maximize the amount of juice you get,pick bigger limes with smoother skin.
Now on to homemade orgeat. I previously did a post reviewing the orgeats I've used. Since orgeat can be hard to find,and pricey,I decided to give homemade a try:
(look,I'm making something in the kitchen that's not in a microwave)
This was the recipe I used:
12oz almond milk
16oz powdered sugar
2.5tsp cognac*
2.5tsp amaretto*
1/4tsp orange blossom water
Combine almond milk and sugar in saucepan and cook over med-low heat(don't let it boil),stirring until completely mixed. Remove from heat,stir in other ingredients,and bottle. Store in refrigerator for up to a month.
*I used Hennessy and Disaronno.
Based off Death & Co's recipe,they used superfine sugar and rose water,I used powdered sugar because it was easy to find and orange blossom water because that's a more common ingredient in most orgeats. It tuned out great. Similar to Fees or 1883,but more almond-y, it worked well in a Mai Tai. It wasn't too hard to make (warning,powdered sugar gets everywhere),and it was definitely cheaper than store bought,but there was one issue. It doesn't last very long. Store bought will keep for a long time in the fridge or even be shelf stable,but homemade is only good for about a month. And I had to buy an entire carton of almond milk,which I don't drink. So rather than waste it,I wound up making a bunch of orgeat and giving it away to my friends. Now if you drink almond milk and usually have it in your fridge,then go for it. But if you're not an almond milk drinker,and aren't planning on having a bunch of parties,then it probably will make sense for you to just use store bought like I do.
I hope you found my little TED talk to be informative. It is my goal to help you make delicious cocktails and not waste your rum. Happy mixing folks!
