Are you of legal drinking age in your country?

No

Articles

How to Make Simple Syrup for Cocktails

Simple syrup, sugar syrup, whatever you want to call it, the idea is simple: creating a syrup by dissolving sugar in water. Simple syrup serves as a sweetener in your cocktails. Since normal sugar would end up in the bottom of a glass, a syrup will dissolve better in liquid.

The best way to make simple syrup is to measure your sugar and water in volume. The sugar and water need to be an equal part, 1:1. You can use any kind of sugar. Most of the time, bartenders use granulated sugar as it is colorless. In our example, we used brown sugar, but that will give a brown caramel color. It all depends on your preference and how it will influence the color of your cocktail.

Ingredients

  • Water
  • Sugar

Equipment

  • Saucepan
  • Ladle/ spoon
  • Empty glass bottle
  • Funnel

How to prepare

  1. Place the water in a saucepan and bring it to a boil on high heat
  2. Then you add the sugar, lower the heat, and let the sugar simmer until it is fully dissolved (don’t let it boil as the syrup will become too thick and sweet
  3. Remove the pan from the heat and let it fully cool down to room temperature

Storage

Normally, when preserving food people add sugar in it. Since Simple Syrup is made out of sugar it has a decent shelf life. The important thing is to prepare it with really hot water and store it in a good container. The best option is to use a glass jar instead of a plastic container. Its shelf life is not indefinitely, so make sure to make a reasonable quantity. If the syrup is stored in a refrigerator than most of the time it can hold up to 1 month.

Tip: Use an empty Senior bottle to store the simple syrup. It holds 750ml so when preparing the syrup, simply use 750ml water and 750 grams of sugar.

Flavored simple syrups

To infuse herby flavors in a cocktail, you can muddle herbs which release aromas that get into the cocktail. Another easier option is to make the infusion ahead of time and store for later use. Not only herbs can be infused but also vegetables, fruits and flowers. Infusing flavors into a simple syrup helps you gain control to make a more well-balanced cocktail.

Some example of simple syrup variations are:

  • Fresh mint
  • Rosemary
  • Cinnamon
  • Wild hibiscus
  • Rose
  • Chocolate

There are so many types of simple syrups and the great thing is that you are free to experiment with flavors. Making unique syrups with bold flavors is what will take your cocktail to the next level.