We get the Army & Navy cocktail from David Embury’s 1948 cocktail book, The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks. Though it includes orgeat, a rich almond-flavored syrup that you might recognize from the mai tai, this fragrant gin sour is not a tiki drink. The citrus and botanical dimensions play nicely with the luscious toasted almond here. Classic Army & Navy recipes are made without bitters, but the additional seasoning of orange and Angostura bitters rounds off the edges of the lemon juice and gives the nutty orgeat a slightly more earthy touch.
Note: Our quick Easy Orgeat starts with almond milk as a base and is a bit less sweet than what you’d find commercially. If you’d like to use store-bought orgeat instead, we recommend starting with just ½ oz. per drink.