Apricot Nectar
A thick, sweet apricot-based juice, used to add stone-fruit flavor and body.
Origin
A canned/bottled juice product built around apricot's naturally thick, fiber-rich pulp, which doesn't clarify into a thin juice the way apples or grapes do.
History
Because apricots don't yield a thin, clear juice when pressed the way apples or grapes do, thanks to their high pectin and fiber content, producers developed "nectar" as a category: fruit puree thinned with water and a little sugar, rather than a true pressed juice. This became a common commercial product for a range of stone fruits (apricot, peach, pear) throughout the 20th century, sold largely as a ready-to-drink beverage before finding a second life as a bartender's shortcut for stone-fruit flavor and body in cocktails that would otherwise need fresh puree.
Flavor profile
Thick, sweet, and distinctly apricot, with more body than a clear juice thanks to the retained fruit pulp.
Tasting notes
Concentrated apricot flavor, sweeter and heavier in texture than fresh apricot juice would be, adding both sweetness and a noticeable thickness to a drink rather than just flavor alone.
Substitutes
- Peach nectar, for a very similar texture and a closely related stone-fruit flavor.
- Apricot preserves thinned with a little water, as a homemade approximation.
- Pureed fresh or canned apricots, blended and strained, for a fresher-tasting but less shelf-stable substitute.
Common cocktails