How to make sugar syrup: 3 recipes for the skilled bartender

Making sugar syrup is a kind of science with its own subtleties and tricks.

To begin with, fussing with syrup could be replaced by adding ordinary granulated sugar to a drink and then stirring it, but this is fundamentally at odds with bartending ethics and aesthetics.

The fact is that sugar crystals that have not completely dissolved in the vast majority of cases spoil the appearance of the drink and, accordingly, are considered a manifestation of bad manners and a sign of vulgarity.

Simple or basic sugar syrup

The substance prepared according to this recipe is an indispensable ingredient for such drinks as Al Capone, Whiskey Julep, Galliano Sauer, etc.

List of ingredients

1. Sugar - 100 g

2. Water - 100 ml

The method of preparation

1. Boil water, pour sugar over it and stir until completely dissolved.

2. Next, the liquid should be cooled and filtered, after which it can be used as intended.

If you need to prepare a solution for a dozen or two servings of a cocktail, it is important to keep in mind that the above amount of sugar and water will not make 200, but about 160 ml of the final product.

Ancient sugar syrup

If you want to shine in front of your friends by treating them to cocktails based on recipes taken from books from the time of Queen Victoria or the Art Deco era, you will need a slightly different concept of syrup preparation.

List of ingredients

1. Sugar - 200 g

2. Water - 100 ml

Method of preparation

1. Pour boiling water over the sugar, then put the appropriate container in a water bath and stir the substance until the crystals are completely dissolved.

2. Then, the solution should be cooled and filtered.

At the same time, when making a cocktail, be sure to follow all the parameters of the recipe, even if the output will be a relatively small volume of the prepared drink. The fact is that when old recipes were made, the popular portions of cocktails were somewhat smaller than today, which, by the way, determined the need to use a richer sugar solution.

Rock Candy syrup

Rock candy sugar syrup goes well not only with rum cocktails such as Mai Tai, but also with strong mint mixtures such as French Pearl.

List of ingredients

1. White sugar - 100 g

2. Brown sugar - 100 g

3. Water - 100 ml

4. Vanilla essence - 2-3 drops

Method of preparation

1. The syrup is prepared according to the example of the previous recipe; however, vanilla essence is added to it immediately before straining.

2. In addition, you should take into account that when choosing brown (cane) sugar, it is advisable to opt for the darkest varieties; such as Muscovado or Demerara.

Update: 05.10.2023

Category: Syrup recipes