Bianco e Nero, Orgeat and Tamarind Soda from 1936
Reader ratingsAlmond orgeat syrup and tamarind syrup topped with soda water over one piece of ice: an alcohol-free Italian thirst-quencher a Lugano bartender printed in 1936.
- Recipe makes
- 1 drink, about 8 fl oz
- Prep
- Total
Bianco e nero, orgeat and tamarind syrup with soda, in a balloon glass beside a few almonds.
The story behind the recipe
Bianco e Nero, white and black, is two syrups and soda water: a tenth part orgeat, the milky almond syrup, a tenth part dark tamarind syrup, one piece of ice and soda water to fill a stemmed balloon glass. Elvezio Grassi of the Bar Argentino in Lugano printed it in 1936 in 1000 misture, among his “Dissetanti,” thirst-quenchers, and there is no alcohol in it.
The page with two drinks
It shares its page with the Aranciata Torinese, an orangeade with a splash of anisette, so the reader of 1936 could pick the glass with a little alcohol or the one with none. Orgeat goes back to the almond milks of earlier centuries, like the Orgeat with orange-flower water on this site. The name is our guess at the look, the pale and the dark; Grassi doesn’t explain it. More bar drinks for the guest who wasn’t drinking are told in What Did Bartenders Mix for Non-Drinkers in the 1920s?
Read more about this recipe
Making it today
Orgeat syrup is sold for cocktails, and tamarind syrup at Middle Eastern, Indian and Latin American grocers. Tamarind is sour as well as sweet, so the drink tastes of almond with a fruity, tart edge rather than of sugar alone.
Bianco e nero (Dissetante). Si versa in un ballon: 10% Sciroppo Orzata. 10% Sciroppo Tamarindo. 1 pezzo di ghiaccio. 80% Seltz. Servite.
Our translation: Pour into a balloon glass: 10% orgeat syrup, 10% tamarind syrup, 1 piece of ice, 80% soda water. Serve.
Recipe makes: 1 drink, about 8 fl oz
Ingredients
For 1 drink, about 8 fl oz. Quantities are shown as written.
Quantities as written here, for 1 drink, about 8 fl oz.
- Orgeat syrup3/4 fl oz
- Tamarind syrup3/4 fl oz
- Ice cube1
- Soda water, chilled6 1/2 fl oz
Measurement notes
Ingredients as written here
- 3/4 fl oz orgeat syrup
- 3/4 fl oz tamarind syrup
- 1 ice cube
- 6 1/2 fl oz soda water, chilled
Equipment
Stemmed balloon glass, about 10 fl oz
Bar spoon
Instructions
Pour the orgeat syrup and the tamarind syrup into a stemmed balloon glass and add the ice cube.
Pour in the chilled soda water, stir once with a bar spoon and serve.
Nutrition
130calories per serving
- Recipe makes
- 1 drink, about 8 fl oz
Estimated from typical label values for orgeat and tamarind syrups (about 270 kcal per 100 ml), for one drink.
Recipe notes
When adjusting quantities
This is one glass. Build each glass separately.
Notes
Quantities mentioned in these notes don’t change when you adjust the batch.
Grassi’s “ballon” holds 220 to 250 grams, so the shares here add up to about 8 fl oz. He doesn’t stir it; one turn of the spoon mixes the heavy syrups into the soda. Check that your orgeat is sold as a syrup, not a liqueur.
Scaling changes the ingredients only; glassware, ice and timings need their own judgment. To adapt this recipe further, try the recipe tool at TuneMyRecipe (opens in a new tab), our sister site.
Sources and attribution
Elvezio Grassi, 1000 misture (Bologna: Licinio Cappelli, 1936), p. 147, “Bianco e nero (Dissetante)”; translation ours
Recipe details
- Drink
- Alcohol-freeMocktail
- Drink family
- Sodas & Soft Drinks
- Region
- Italian
- Source decade
- 1930s
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Occasion
- Dry January
- Season
- Summer