Mixers

Caramel Syrup

Caramel syrup is sugar cooked to deep amber, then loosened with hot water into a pourable, non-alcoholic syrup; made 1:1 by weight at home, it lasts two weeks refrigerated. Unlike caramel sauce it has no butter or cream, so it dissolves cleanly in a cold drink. Our two toffee-apple drinks take 15ml each.

Quick Facts

ABV0% ABV

Legal categoryNon-alcoholic

Flavour Strengthmedium bold

Our keeping timeHome-made: two weeks refrigerated. Commercial: as the bottle says once opened.

Storage

Sealed in the fridge once made or opened: sugar keeps it stable, not immortal.

Allergens

None of the 14 listed allergens. The house syrup is sugar and water. Caramel sauces made with butter or cream contain milk, and bought syrups vary: check the bottle.

The ingredient

About Caramel Syrup

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

CaramelToffeeBurnt sugar

Tasting Notes

Cooked sugar’s full register: toffee sweetness up front, a bitter edge behind it if the pan went dark enough.

Caramel syrup is browned sugar made pourable

Caramel syrup starts with sugar melted and cooked until it browns, then loosened with hot water so that it pours and dissolves in a cold drink. Browning is chemistry, not colour alone: as sucrose breaks down it forms hundreds of new compounds, among them diacetyl, which tastes of butter, and bitter notes that stop the result reading as plain sweetness.

The house version stops at deep amber

Melt 200g of caster sugar in a heavy pan, swirling rather than stirring, until it is deep amber. Take it off the heat and add 200g of hot water slowly; it spits. Return it to a low heat until any caramel that has set dissolves, then cool and bottle about 300ml, which keeps two weeks in the fridge. Molten sugar sticks to skin and burns far worse than boiling water, so keep hands clear and use a deep pan.

Caramel syrup against the sweeteners it is mistaken for

House caramel syrup

Made from: Caramelised sugar and water, 1:1
Dairy: None
Keeps: Two weeks, refrigerated
In a cold drink: Mixes cleanly

Caramel sauce

Made from: Caramel with butter or cream
Dairy: Milk
Keeps: As the label says
In a cold drink: Thick; separates

Rich demerara syrup

Made from: Demerara and water, 2:1
Dairy: None
Keeps: One month, refrigerated
In a cold drink: Dark sugar, no bitterness

Simple syrup

Made from: White sugar and water, 1:1
Dairy: None
Keeps: Two weeks, refrigerated
In a cold drink: Sweetness only

Sweetener	Made from	Dairy	Keeps	In a cold drink
House caramel syrup	Caramelised sugar and water, 1:1	None	Two weeks, refrigerated	Mixes cleanly
Caramel sauce	Caramel with butter or cream	Milk	As the label says	Thick; separates
Rich demerara syrup	Demerara and water, 2:1	None	One month, refrigerated	Dark sugar, no bitterness
Simple syrup	White sugar and water, 1:1	None	Two weeks, refrigerated	Sweetness only

It replaces the syrup rather than adding to it

Both our caramel drinks pair it with bourbon and cloudy apple. The Hot Toffee Apple stirs 15ml into 50ml of bourbon and 150ml of warmed juice; the Toffee Apple Sour shakes the same 15ml with 25ml of lemon, which is what keeps it from cloying. Where a recipe already has simple syrup, use caramel in its place rather than alongside, or the drink is sweetened twice.

Using it

Using Caramel Syrup

Usage

Our Hot Toffee Apple and Toffee Apple Sour both take 15ml with bourbon and cloudy apple juice. It replaces plain syrup rather than joining it, and it wants acid or bitterness opposite: the sour's 25ml of lemon is there for that.

House Recipe

Ratio1:1 by weight (sugar to hot water)

MakesAbout 300ml

Our keeping timeTwo weeks refrigerated

Ingredients

200g caster sugar
200g hot water (200ml), from the kettle

Method

Melt the sugar in a heavy pan over a medium heat, swirling rather than stirring, until it is deep amber.
Take the pan off the heat and add the hot water slowly, in stages; it will spit.
Return it to a low heat and stir until any caramel that has set dissolves.
Cool, bottle, label with the date and refrigerate.

Food safety

Molten caramel is far hotter than boiling water and sticks to skin: use a deep pan, add the water off the heat and keep your hands clear. Discard the syrup if it clouds, fizzes or grows mould.

Pro Tip

If the Hot Toffee Apple tastes sweet but not of toffee, the caramel was pulled too pale. Take the next batch a shade darker and the same 15ml carries more flavour for no more sugar.

Top Tips

Take the sugar to deep amber before the water goes in. A pale caramel has made too few flavour compounds to show in a cold drink.
Use water from the kettle and add it off the heat, in stages; molten caramel is far hotter than boiling water and spits.
Judge by colour and smell rather than the clock: deep amber and burnt are seconds apart.
In a sour, use it in place of the sugar syrup, not on top of it.

Possible Substitutions

Demerara Syrup: Rich 2:1: a dark-sugar sweetness without caramel's bitter edge

Production Method

Sugar melted and cooked to deep amber, then loosened off the heat with the same weight of hot water and stirred smooth over a low heat.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

What is caramel syrup?

Caramelised sugar dissolved back into water so that it pours. Sugar is heated until it browns to deep amber, then hot water goes in off the heat and the two are stirred into a syrup. It is non-alcoholic and dairy-free, and it sweetens a drink while adding caramel's cooked, faintly bitter note.

Is caramel syrup the same as caramel sauce?

No. Caramel sauce is made with butter or cream, so it contains milk, is thick, and will not mix evenly into a cold shaken drink. Caramel syrup is caramelised sugar and water only. Our Toffee Apple Sour asks for the pourable kind sold for coffee, not the sauce.

How do I make caramel syrup?

Melt 200g of caster sugar in a heavy pan over a medium heat, swirling rather than stirring, until it is deep amber. Off the heat, add 200g of hot water from the kettle slowly and in stages, then return it to a low heat and stir until any set caramel dissolves. It makes about 300ml.

Why does my caramel syrup taste only of sugar?

It came off the heat too early. Caramelisation breaks sugar down into hundreds of new compounds, including buttery-tasting diacetyl and the bitter notes that make caramel taste of something, and a pale caramel has made too few of them. Cook the next batch darker, watching the colour closely.

How long does homemade caramel syrup last?

Two weeks in the fridge, the same as house simple syrup at the same 1:1 ratio. Keep it sealed, and discard it at the first sign of cloudiness, fizz or mould. For a bought bottle, follow the label once it is opened.

Does caramel syrup contain dairy?

The house syrup does not: it is sugar and water and nothing else. Caramel sauces, and some syrups sold as toffee or butterscotch, add butter or cream, which bring milk. Check the label of any bought bottle before serving it to someone who avoids dairy.

What drinks use caramel syrup?

Two of ours, both built on bourbon and apple. The Hot Toffee Apple adds 15ml to 50ml of bourbon and 150ml of warmed cloudy apple juice; the Toffee Apple Sour shakes 15ml with bourbon, lemon and a little cloudy apple juice. In each it joins the spirit to the fruit.

Make something

Made with Caramel Syrup

Featured In These Cocktails

Hot Toffee Apple Toffee Apple Sour

Often Used With

Guide by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 11 October 2026

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