Almond Milk Horchata

Horchata is that thick, sweet, cinnamony drink you'll find in a large jug at most Mexican restaurants. It's generally  made with ground rice or sometimes nuts like almonds. It often has a thick, chalky texture (kind of like Pepto-Bismol), especially when made with rice. I keep trying to order it, but have finally given up. For me, horchata is too hard to drink. It's a little too sweet and thick to swallow.

Have you heard of RumChata? RumChata is a delightful rum-based cream liqueur from Wisconsin that tastes like horchata. Unlike traditional horchata, RumChata is made with real cream. (Of course it's made with real cream! It's produced in the state that has previously banned the use of margarine to protect butter/dairy sales). I don't know if RumChata has become popular throughout the United States, but it's definitely a popular drink among my friends and family back in Wisconsin. One of my friends even used it to make RumChata cupcakes, which she said were delicious!

I first learned about RumChata from my mom when I went home to visit during graduate school. After dark, with our bare feet resting on the bricks of the firepit, gazing over the placid lake, we chatted and drank RumChata on ice out of yellow plastic cups with smiley faces that my mom bought "to make you feel happy in the morning!" A few months later, she gave me a bottle of RumChata as a gift. It was mostly full when I moved to Houston, but I finished it a few months ago. I contemplated buying another bottle but decided against it because I didn't want the pressure to finish it by August and it definitely won't last in storage for a year. So, I decided to try to make my own. That was a failure (to me, rum, even high quality rum, kind of tastes like plastic, so it was not at all enjoyable), but the horchata alone was delicious. I'll leave the RumChata to the experts.

Objective
Make a simple horchata with less sugar than the real thing.

Materials
4 cups vanilla almond milk* (or plain + 1 tsp vanilla)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
splash of vanilla
ice cubes
cinnamon (for garnish)

Methods
1. In a blender, combine the almond milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Pulse a few times to mix or until the sugar dissolves. Alternatively, whisk until the sugar dissolves (this works particularly well for a single serving so that there is less cleanup).
2. Pour 1 cup into a cocktail shaker with ice cubes. Strain into a glass with a fresh ice cube. Repeat with 3 more glasses to serve 4 or store the rest in the fridge.
3. If desired, sprinkle with cinnamon prior to serving. To be extra fancy, garnish with a cinnamon stick.

Results
Yum! This is not at all thick. As you would expect it's the consistency of almond milk. The flavor isn't too sweet with a hint of vanilla and cinnamon. Though a little more creaminess would be ok, this is my ideal horchata!

Discussion and Future Directions
I've definitely had my fair share of horchata since I first made this recipe. I've also been good about sharing it with others. C was skeptical to try it after our first attempt at homemade horchata (we started with rice) failed miserably. This one, he was happy to sip!

I used almond milk because I like the flavor and texture. This could easily be made with other alternative milks like soy or rice. To make it richer and creamer, you could use dairy (maybe 2 cups almond milk and 2 cups whole milk or  3 cups almond milk and 1 cup half-and-half). Use whatever you've got on hand. Cheers!

*Update 5/4/14: I recommend using Almond Breeze almond milk. I just tried Silk's vanilla almond milk and it's incredibly sweet. If you are using Silk, you might want to omit the sugar...