If you’ve ever found yourself Googling ‘how to make sugar syrup’ halfway through a cocktail recipe, this guide is for you. Here, you’ll find instructions for six home-made ingredients, from sour mix to orgeat…
For every fruit, vegetable, spice, herb or unassuming shrub, there’s a potential syrup to be made. Beets, celery, allspice, mint, ginger, blackberry, fig, rose, pine – whatever it may be, bartenders have the skills to capture their essence in liquid form, and we applaud them for it.
As amateur bartenders, however, we prefer to leave the balsamic vinegar-laced tinctures to the pros – partly out of respect for the craft, but mostly because we’ll use them once and leave them lingering at the back of the fridge until we notice they’ve turned mouldy. Whoops.
With some recipes, though, there’s no skirting around the basics. Below, you’ll find the prep time, ingredients, method, storage and suggested cocktails for six well-known cocktail syrups and tinctures. The ingredients are measured in parts, so you can make as much or as little as you need.
Sugar syrup
Also known as simple syrup, this staple cocktail sweetener is found in a huge array of cocktail serves, and it couldn’t be easier to make at home. Pro tip: The longer you boil it, the thicker the resulting syrup will be. For a richer syrup, use a 2:1 ratio of caster sugar to water.
Prep time: 5 mins
Ingredients: 1 part caster sugar, 1 part water
Method: Add the sugar and water to a small saucepan over medium heat and bring it to the boil. Then turn the heat low and stir constantly until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid turns clear. Leave to cool before bottling.
How to store it: Store in the fridge. It’ll last approximately one month.
Suggested cocktails: There are so many to choose from – light, fresh serves such as the Tom Collins and Mojito, as well as richer cocktails like the Old Fashioned.
Honey syrup
Similar to simple syrup, this process allows you to add honey to cocktails with ease. For a vegan-friendly version, switch the honey out for agave nectar.
Prep time: 5 mins
Ingredients: 1 part honey, 1 part water
Method: Bring the water to the boil, either in a saucepan, taking care to remove it from the heat afterwards, or just by boiling the kettle. Then add the honey and stir until it dissolves. Leave to cool before bottling.
How to store it: Store in the fridge. It’ll last approximately one month.
Suggested cocktails: Try the Bees Knees, Penicillin, or AirMail.
You’ll need orgeat if you want to make a Mai Tai
Orgeat
A Tiki cocktail staple, orgeat tastes like liquid marzipan. You can make orgeat by steeping raw almonds in water if you’d prefer – the process is a little laborious and requires more kitchen kit – but we’ve chosen to use almond milk for ease.
Prep time: 5 mins
Ingredients: 2 parts unsweetened almond milk, 1 part caster sugar, orange flower water to taste
Method: Heat the almond milk and sugar in a saucepan over a low to medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and add the orange flower water. The amount you add really depends on the quantity of syrup you’re making, but you won’t need much – 1/2 tsp per 250ml water. Allow to cool before bottling.
How to store it: Store in the fridge. It’ll last approximately one week; longer if you add brandy.
Suggested cocktails: The Mai Tai is a classic, but there are a whole host of contemporary recipes that rely on orgeat’s almond deliciousness.
Sour mix
Citrus is a key ingredient in a huge array of cocktails, but squeezing fresh lemons and limes for every drink takes time. Homemade sour mix is essentially simple syrup cut with lemon and lime juices, and it’s super handy to have in a pinch.
Prep time: 10 mins
Ingredients: 2 parts sugar, 2 parts water, 1 part freshly squeezed lime juice, 1 part freshly squeezed lemon juice
Method: Add the sugar and water to a small saucepan over medium heat and bring it to the boil. Then turn the heat low and stir constantly until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid turns clear. Leave to cool before adding your freshly squeezed citrus juice. Shake to combine.
How to store it: Store in the fridge. It’ll last approximately one week.
Suggested cocktails: Amaretto Sour, Whisky Sour, Margarita, Sidecar… They’re all a breeze with home-made sour mix.
Upgrade your Espresso Martini with vanilla syrup
Vanilla syrup
Super easy to make and a dream addition to dessert-style cocktails, vanilla syrup is worth adding to your bar basics arsenal. It’s also delicious in your morning coffee. For a warming spice kick, try adding cinnamon sticks to the saucepan.
Prep time: 5 mins
Ingredients: 1 part caster sugar, 1 part water, vanilla extract to taste
Method: Add the sugar and water to a small saucepan over medium heat and bring it to the boil. Then turn the heat low and stir constantly until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid turns clear. Remove from the heat, add the vanilla extract, and then leave to cool. The amount you add really depends on the quantity of syrup you’re making – a handy guideline is 1 tbsp per 200ml water.
How to store it: Store in the fridge. It’ll last approximately one month.
Suggested cocktails: Add to dessert-style serves, such as the Espresso Martini and Irish Coffee.
Grenadine
Possibly the most widely-recognisable cocktail syrup – although not always for the tastiest of reasons (cough, Tequila Sunrise, cough) – grenadine is made from the juice of pomegranates. It’s a tart, sweet, red syrup that forms the backbone of a host of classic serves.
Prep time: 5 mins
Ingredients: 1 part pomegranate juice, 1 part caster sugar
Method: Add the pomegranate juice and caster sugar to a saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Wait to cool before bottling.
How to store it: Store in the fridge. It’ll last approximately three weeks; longer if you add vodka.
Suggested cocktails: Endless options – from the punchy El Presidente to the tart-sweet Pink Lady, (and that retro non-alc classic, the Shirley Temple).
Nothing wrong with a Tequila Sunrise
Oleo Saccharum
You can make oleo-saccharum with nearly any citrus fruit; lemons, grapefruit, oranges, take your pick. Don’t be put off by the fancy name, it’s just a way of accessing the intense flavour locked inside the peel. Pro tip: avoid the pith when zesting, or it’ll turn bitter.
Prep time: Min 4 hours
Ingredients: 2 parts citrus peels, 1 part caster sugar
Method: Remove the zest from your citrus in wide strips using a vegetable peeler. Add the sugar and mash well with a muddler. Leave for between 4 and 24 hours – the longer you leave it, the stronger it’ll be – and then ‘strain’ the peels by pressing down on them with a sieve to extract the oil. Bottle and chill in the fridge.
How to store it: Store in the fridge. It’ll last approximately one week.
Suggested cocktails: Perfect for Punches, such as the Milk Punch and Fish House Punch.
And if this all sounds like far too much work, you can always buy syrups from Master of Malt.