Bar Basics · Syrups & Mixers
How to make simple syrup for cocktails and mocktails, plus rich demerara, honey, honey-ginger, cinnamon, rosemary, lavender, ginger, spiced cranberry, and real grenadine, with ratios, shelf life, and five drinks.
Simple syrup is the most-used ingredient behind the bar after citrus, and homemade flavored syrups are the fastest way to make both cocktails and mocktails taste special. Here’s how to make simple syrup and nine more, with exact ratios and shelf life, followed by five drinks that show each off (each with a zero-proof twin; tap 🌿 Mocktails at the top).
| Syrup | Ratio / method | Keeps (fridge) | Use it in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple syrup | 1 cup sugar + 1 cup warm water, stir until clear | 2–4 weeks | Daiquiris, collins, almost everything |
| Rich demerara syrup | 2 cups demerara + 1 cup hot water, stir until dissolved | 1–3 months | Old fashioneds, stirred whiskey drinks |
| Honey syrup | 1 part honey + 1 part warm water | 1 month | Bee’s Knees, Gold Rush |
| Honey-ginger syrup | Honey syrup simmered 10 min with ½ cup sliced ginger, strained | 2 weeks | Penicillin, ginger fizzes |
| Cinnamon syrup | Simple syrup simmered 5 min with 3 broken cinnamon sticks, steeped 30 min | 3 weeks | Fall drinks, cider cocktails |
| Rosemary syrup | Hot simple syrup steeped 20 min with 3 rosemary sprigs | 2 weeks | Palomas, cranberry drinks, spritzers |
| Lavender syrup | Hot simple syrup steeped 10 min with 1 tbsp culinary lavender | 2 weeks | Lemonades, gin fizzes |
| Ginger syrup | 1 cup sugar + 1 cup water + 1 cup sliced ginger, simmered 15 min | 2–3 weeks | Mules, zero-proof heat |
| Spiced cranberry syrup | 1 cup cranberries + 1 cup sugar + 1 cup water + orange peel + cinnamon, simmered until berries pop, strained | 2 weeks | Holiday smashes and punches |
| Real grenadine | 1 cup pomegranate juice + 1 cup sugar, warmed until dissolved (+ a few drops of orange-flower water) | 3–4 weeks | Jack Rose, Shirley Temples, sunrises |
Maple and agave: use maple syrup straight, and thin agave nectar 1:1 with water to make agave syrup.
Stir equal parts sugar and warm water until clear. There’s no need to boil it. Funnel it into a clean bottle, label it with the date, and keep it in the fridge.
Twice the sugar, and demerara instead of white, gives a thicker, toffee-flavored syrup that adds body to spirit-forward drinks like the old fashioned. It keeps longer, too, because more sugar means less spoilage.
Floral syrups need a light hand. Steep culinary lavender in hot syrup for only 10 minutes; any longer, or any more in the drink, and it tastes like soap.
Strain it through a fine sieve, and always buy culinary (food-grade) lavender.
Cocktail recipeZero-proof recipe
Gin, lemon, lavender syrup, and soda.
Garnish: Lavender sprig, lemon wheel
Garnish: Lavender sprig, lemon wheel
How the swap works: Chamomile's gentle floral body stands in for gin's botanicals and pairs naturally with lavender.
Enjoy responsibly, of legal drinking age only ·Zero-proof twin ·
Rosemary syrup is the most versatile herb syrup: piney, savory, and festive. It deepens grapefruit, cranberry, and apple, and it’s in half our holiday drinks.
Cocktail recipeZero-proof recipe
Tequila, grapefruit, lime, and rosemary syrup.
Garnish: Rosemary sprig, grapefruit wedge, half salt rim
Garnish: Rosemary sprig, grapefruit wedge, half salt rim
How the swap works: Rosemary's resinous edge plus grapefruit's bitterness give the drink the depth tequila would.
Enjoy responsibly, of legal drinking age only ·Zero-proof twin ·
Real grenadine is pomegranate juice and sugar, warmed until dissolved. It’s tart, fruity, and deep ruby, nothing like the neon-red corn syrup in most stores.
The Jack Rose, a 1920s classic of apple brandy, lemon, and grenadine, is the best way to taste the difference.
Cocktail recipeZero-proof recipe
Apple brandy, lemon, and real grenadine.
Garnish: Lemon twist
Garnish: Lemon twist
How the swap works: Apple cider brings apple brandy's fruit and tea brings its structure; real pomegranate grenadine does the rest.
Enjoy responsibly, of legal drinking age only ·Zero-proof twin ·
Break the cinnamon sticks to expose more surface, simmer for 5 minutes, then let them steep for 30. It makes anything with apple taste like fall.
Use true cinnamon (Ceylon) for a softer, sweeter syrup or cassia (the common kind) for a bolder one. A quarter ounce in a tall glass of cider and bourbon is plenty.
Cocktail recipeZero-proof recipe
Bourbon, apple cider, cinnamon syrup, and a splash of soda.
Garnish: Apple fan, cinnamon stick
Garnish: Apple fan, cinnamon stick
How the swap works: A squeeze of lemon and alcohol-free bitters keep extra cider from tasting like plain juice.
Enjoy responsibly, of legal drinking age only ·Zero-proof twin ·
Ginger syrup is the zero-proof bartender’s secret weapon: its heat mimics the burn of alcohol. Slice the ginger thin (no need to peel) and simmer it for 15 minutes. More ginger gives more fire.
A rickey is the simplest showcase: spirit, lime, a little syrup, and a lot of soda, with no shaker required.
Cocktail recipeZero-proof recipe
Gin, lime, ginger syrup, and lots of soda.
Garnish: Lime wheel, fresh ginger slice
Garnish: Lime wheel, fresh ginger slice
How the swap works: More ginger syrup for heat and a few crushed juniper berries for gin's pine note.
Enjoy responsibly, of legal drinking age only ·Zero-proof twin ·
Use clean bottles, label each with the syrup and date, and keep them in the fridge. A small splash of vodka helps preserve syrups for cocktails, but leave it out of anything for kids or zero-proof drinks.
Put your syrups to work: easy cocktail recipes, how to make mocktails, and the fall cocktails that lean on cinnamon and maple.
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1:1 sugar to water by volume (or weight). Rich syrup is 2:1. Our recipes use 1:1 unless they say 'rich.' If you swap in rich syrup, use about two-thirds as much.
In a clean, sealed bottle in the fridge, 1:1 simple syrup lasts about 2–4 weeks; rich 2:1 syrup lasts 1–3 months. Infused syrups with fresh herbs or fruit last 1–2 weeks. Toss anything cloudy or moldy.
No. Stir sugar into hot tap water or warm water until dissolved. Boiling only matters for infusions (spices, ginger, cranberries) where you're extracting flavor.
Honey syrup, maple syrup, or agave syrup all work. Maple and honey are sweeter, so use about three-quarters as much. Each brings its own flavor, so pick one that suits the drink.
Real grenadine is pomegranate juice and sugar: tart, fruity, and deep ruby. Most store-bought versions are corn syrup, flavoring, and red dye. Homemade takes 10 minutes and tastes far better.
Drinks with grenadine →
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