"I don't have orgeat…"

Almond syrup with orange flower water; gives a Mai Tai its body and nuttiness.

• Homemade orgeat

  close

  Use 1:1

  Toasted almonds, sugar, orange flower water, a splash of rum to preserve.

• Almond syrup + 2 drops orange flower water

  workable

  Use 1:1

  Coffee-shop almond syrup is thinner and sweeter; cut the other sweetener slightly.

• Amaretto

  workable

  Use 0.75x, and drop the drink's simple syrup

  Adds alcohol and a candied edge — noticeably sweeter.

• Marzipan-infused simple syrup

  last resort

  Use 1:1

  Warm marzipan into hot simple, strain. Quick fix in a pinch.

Lime, clove, ginger and almond spice syrup — the seasoning in a Zombie or Corn 'n' Oil.

• Homemade falernum

  close

  Use 1:1

  Lime zest, clove, ginger, almond, overproof rum, sugar. Keeps for a month.

• Cinnamon syrup + 1 dash allspice dram + lime zest

  workable

  Use 1:1

  Hits the spice notes without the almond.

• Ginger syrup + 2 drops almond extract

  last resort

  Use 1:1

  Sweeter and simpler; add an extra squeeze of lime.

Two parts fresh grapefruit juice to one part cinnamon syrup — the Zombie's backbone.

• Make it: 2 parts grapefruit : 1 part cinnamon syrup

  close

  Use 1:1

  Takes two minutes if you already have cinnamon syrup.

• Grapefruit juice + pinch of cinnamon in simple syrup

  workable

  Use 1:1

  Whisk hard; the cinnamon will want to float.

Warm spine under rum-heavy drinks.

• Simmer 2 cracked cinnamon sticks in 1:1 simple, steep 2 hrs

  close

  Use 1:1

  Best result and nearly free.

• Demerara syrup + cinnamon tincture

  workable

  Use 1:1

  Richer molasses note; good in aged-rum drinks.

Dry orange liqueur; not the same as triple sec.

• Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao

  close

  Use 1:1

  The default modern stand-in and arguably better than the original.

• Cointreau

  workable

  Use 0.75x plus a bar spoon of rich simple

  Brighter and drier; slightly less body.

• Grand Marnier

  workable

  Use 1:1

  Cognac base pushes the drink darker and sweeter.

• Generic triple sec

  last resort

  Use 1:1

  Thin and sugary; acceptable only if nothing else is around.

High-ester funk and alcoholic lift; also the float you set on fire.

• Smith & Cross or Hamilton 114

  close

  Use 1:1

  Both hit the funk and the proof.

• Aged Jamaican rum + a few drops of overproof

  workable

  Use 1:1

  Keeps the ester profile, softens the burn.

• Any 151 rum

  last resort

  Use 0.75x

  Proof without character; expect a hotter, flatter drink.

Cane-juice rum with a grassy, vegetal snap.

• Cachaça

  close

  Use 1:1

  Closest widely available cousin; also cane juice based.

• Aged Martinique rum (vieux)

  workable

  Use 1:1

  Rounder and oakier but the same DNA.

• Light Spanish-style rum

  last resort

  Use 1:1

  Loses the grassiness entirely — the drink becomes something else.

Tart tropical sweetness in the Hurricane, Nui Nui and Wayward Son.

• Passion fruit purée + equal weight sugar

  close

  Use 1:1

  Frozen purée works perfectly and freezes in cubes.

• Passion fruit nectar reduced with sugar

  workable

  Use 1:1

  Reduce by half so it isn't watery.

• Mango or guava syrup + extra lime

  last resort

  Use 1:1

  Different fruit, similar role; needs more acid.

Concentrated warm baking spice; a quarter ounce changes a whole drink.

• Homemade: allspice berries steeped in overproof rum, sweetened

  close

  Use 1:1

  Two weeks of steeping, then sweeten with demerara syrup.

• Cinnamon syrup + 1 dash Angostura

  workable

  Use 1:1

  Spice-adjacent; not as pungent.

Real grenadine is pomegranate, not red dye.

• Pomegranate juice cooked 1:1 with sugar + splash of orange flower water

  close

  Use 1:1

  Ten minutes on the stove, keeps two weeks.

• Pomegranate molasses thinned with simple

  workable

  Use 0.5x

  Much more tart — use less.

The acid backbone of nearly every tiki drink.

• Fresh lemon juice

  workable

  Use 1:1

  Rounder and less floral; works in a Daiquiri, less well in a Mai Tai.

• Lime + a little lemon, 3:1

  close

  Use 1:1

  Stretches a short supply of limes with almost no flavor loss.

• Bottled lime juice

  last resort

  Use 1:1

  Cooked, dull, slightly bitter. It will taste like it.

Bottled velvet falernum is lower proof and sweeter than a house syrup.

• House falernum syrup

  close

  Use 0.75x

  More concentrated spice; pull the amount back slightly.