How To Make Simple Syrup For Cocktails

If you're interested in making even the most basic of cocktails at home, making your own Simple Syrup is a must. The good news, as its name would indicate, this stuff is indeed simple to make. In fact, two ingredients and 5 minutes are all you need.

Want to conquer more cocktail basics at home? Learn how to salt a margarita glass perfectly!

Simple syrup (or Sugar Syrup) is used for adding sweetness to drink recipes, specifically cocktails, flavored coffees, and iced teas. It is a key ingredient in countless classic cocktail recipes, from margaritas to whiskey sours to mojitos!

Sugar Syrup is made up of equal parts sugar and water. The two are boiled together until the sugar is dissolved and liquefied. You can buy it at the grocery or liquor store or simply make it at home.

HOW TO MAKE SIMPLE SYRUP

To make simple syrup, combine granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring often. As soon as the sugar is dissolved, remove the saucepan from the heat and set it aside to cool completely. 

HOW TO STORE IT

I like to keep my syrup in a glass jar equipped with a pour spout. After the syrup has cooled, use a funnel or carefully pour the syrup into your storage vessel, seal it, and keep it for up to one month in the refrigerator.

SIMPLE SYRUP VARIATIONS

We make all the things here in the Anthony Kitchen, including lots and lots of sweets. A rule of thumb we live by when it comes to sweets is "where there is sugar, there should also be salt."

So, while salt is not an ingredient you would necessarily find in a classic sugar syrup recipe, you might be surprised at what adding a pinch to the boil can do for your cocktails at home!

Of course, there are other easy ways you can spruce up your standard simple syrup recipe.

The many variations and flavors you can create are practically endless. You can easily turn a margarita recipe into a fruity masterpiece by using either our watermelon or strawberry syrup!

You can also change up the flavor of simple syrup by swapping out one sugar for another. For example, brown sugar syrup has recently become a viral rendition thanks to Starbucks' iced coffee drink, the Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso.

Here are some easy ways you can spruce up the standard simple syrup recipe:

• Brown Sugar Syrup | Use brown sugar in the place of granulated sugar.
• Honey Syrup | Use honey in the place of granulated sugar.
• Vanilla Syrup | Add in 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract once the sugar has dissolved.
• Almond Syrup | Add 1 teaspoon of pure almond extract after the sugar has dissolved.

ABOUT RICH SIMPLE SYRUP

Another variation of your standard simple syrup recipe is rich simple syrup.

This syrup is particularly ideal if you'd like to add a good dose of sweetness to a cocktail without watering it down whatsoever.

A rich syrup is a simple syrup with two parts of sugar and one part water. This syrup is thicker, has a richer mouthfeel, and packs twice the sweetness as your standard sugar syrup recipe. It would be ideal for any cocktail you'd like to keep "booze-forward," like an Old Fashioned.

IS THERE A SUBSTITUTE FOR SIMPLE SYRUP?

If you aren't a fan of refined white sugar, you may be on the hunt for a healthier substitute. Agave nectar is probably your best bet. This is the sweetener typically used in a Skinny Margarita!