Most orgeat is milky white and one-note sweet — almond-flavored sugar water that floats on top of a Mai Tai instead of holding it together. BG Reynolds Orgeat is golden, and built a little rougher on purpose. The almonds go in skins-on, which lends a faint bitterness you'll never catch straight from the bottle but will absolutely notice in the glass, where it keeps the sweetness honest. And it's sweetened with brown sugar instead of plain cane — a thread of molasses that tones down the sharp edge of the almond and gives a funky Jamaican rum something to push against.

That's the whole point of it: an orgeat that makes the rum step off and sing, not one that buries it under marzipan. It's made for a proper Mai Tai with an aged-rum split, and just as at home in a Fog Cutter or an Eastern Sour. A half ounce is the going rate. Off the tiki menu, a bar spoon turns a tired Amaretto Sour into something worth a second round — and it does quietly excellent things to a cup of coffee.

Once opened, refrigerate and use within 90 days — unopened, it keeps for two years from the date of manufacture.