Ingredients
- 4 oz Almond Liqueur
- 2 oz Orange Juice
- 1 oz Lemon Juice
Instructions
Pour Ingredients:
- Pour 4 oz of almond liqueur, 2 oz of orange juice, and 1 oz of lemon juice into a highball glass.
Add Ice:
- Fill the glass almost to the top with ice cubes.
Serve:
- Stir gently and serve immediately.
Notes
Estimated Nutrition:
Where it came from
The Muddy Water is a back-bar build that lives close to an Amaretto Sour with extra orange. Same family of marzipan-and-citrus that turned the Amaretto Sour into one of the bestselling cocktails of the 1980s, with the orange juice doing extra heavy lifting.
It is a one-bottle drink in essence. If amaretto and a citrus juicer are within reach, the rest is timing. The name is back-bar shorthand for the murky look the drink takes on when the orange juice meets the amaretto and clouds in the glass.
Best served long over ice on a warm afternoon, not as a stirring-cocktail evening pour. The dilution is part of the drink.
What it tastes like
Marzipan and toasted almond up front, fresh orange in the middle, a clean lemon snap on the finish. Sweeter than an Amaretto Sour because the OJ pulls the drink toward fruit punch.
Around 13 percent ABV in the glass once over ice. Drinks lighter than the four-ounce pour suggests because the citrus does most of the work.
The technique
Build directly in a highball over cracked ice. Four ounces amaretto, two ounces fresh orange juice, one ounce fresh lemon juice. Stir gently with a bar spoon. Garnish with an orange wheel and a thin lemon wheel.
Use fresh-squeezed orange and lemon juice, ideally same morning. Bottled juice is sweeter and flatter and pulls the drink toward kid-soda.
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Ingredient Spotlight
The bottles that make or break this drink.
The amaretto
- Use
- Disaronno or Lazzaroni amaretto.
- Skip
- Amaretto-flavoured syrup. The drink wants the alcohol weight.
- Why
- Amaretto is the load-bearing wall. It carries the flavour, the colour, and most of the body.
The orange juice
- Use
- Fresh-squeezed Valencia or navel orange juice.
- Skip
- Long-life cartoned orange juice. Different drink.
- Why
- Fresh orange juice has a brightness that bottled cannot fake. The drink is a long pour and the juice does most of the second half of the work.
The lemon juice
- Use
- Fresh-squeezed lemon juice, one ounce.
- Skip
- Bottled lime cordial.
- Why
- Lemon is the snap on the finish. Without it the drink stays sweet all the way down and gets cloying.
Three Variations
Three real ways bartenders riff on this drink. Same idea, three different jackets.
The standard build
- Muddy Water, long
- Four ounces amaretto, two ounces orange juice, one ounce lemon juice over cracked ice in a highball. Standard pour.
The Aussie summer build
- Muddy Water, on the beach
- Same build, drop the lemon to half an ounce, top with two ounces of soda water. Lighter and longer for hot afternoons.
The frozen build
- Muddy Water, slushy
- Drop the build into a blender with a cup of crushed ice and a teaspoon of grenadine. Blend smooth, pour into a hurricane glass. Drinks like a cocktail-bar slushy.
What if I don't have…
Quick substitutions for when the bottle shop is closed.
Two ounces orgeat syrup plus two ounces light rum. Loses some warmth, keeps the marzipan note. Different drink, similar flavour shape.
Cartoned orange juice plus a teaspoon of orange marmalade. The marmalade adds back the bitterness fresh juice would carry.
Bottled lemon juice plus a few drops of orange bitters. Fresh is better, bottled survives the round.
A rocks glass over a single big cube. The drink loses its long-pour character but keeps the ratios.
Frequently Asked Questions
Direct answers to what people search for after Googling this drink.
What is in a Muddy Water cocktail?
Four ounces almond liqueur, two ounces orange juice, one ounce lemon juice, built over cracked ice in a highball glass. Three ingredients, one stir, one garnish.
How strong is a Muddy Water?
Around 13 percent ABV in the glass once over ice. The amaretto is 28 percent ABV neat, but the citrus dilutes it down to a long-drink strength.
What does it taste like?
Marzipan and toasted almond up front, orange in the middle, a clean lemon snap on the finish. Sweeter than an Amaretto Sour because of the orange juice.
Why is it called Muddy Water?
Back-bar shorthand for the murky tawny look the drink takes on once the orange juice meets the amaretto and clouds in the glass. Not a heritage name.
Can I use cartoned orange juice?
Fresh is better. Cartoned works in a pinch, but it is sweeter and flatter and pulls the drink toward kid-soda. Add a teaspoon of orange marmalade to get back some of the bitterness.
Can I make it without the lemon?
Not recommended. The lemon is the snap on the finish. Without it the drink stays sweet all the way down.
What glass should I serve it in?
A tall highball or a Collins glass over cracked ice. A hurricane glass works for the frozen variation. Skip the cocktail glass: this drink is built to be long.
Can I batch it for a party?
Yes. Combine the amaretto in a jug ahead of time. Add the citrus juices at service so the orange and lemon stay bright. Pour over fresh ice in each glass.
What can I garnish it with?
An orange wheel and a thin lemon wheel together at the rim. A maraschino cherry sits on the side of the orange wheel for extra colour.
What other cocktails are similar?
An Amaretto Sour for the marzipan-and-citrus core, an Italian Job for the amaretto-and-orange variant, and a Disaronno Sunrise for the long-pour cousin.
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