Mixers

Chocolate Syrup

Chocolate syrup is cocoa held in sugar syrup so it can be poured and mixed cold; ours is 1:1 sugar and water by weight with cocoa powder and a pinch of salt, good for seven days chilled. It is non-alcoholic, which makes it the chocolate in mocktails where crème de cacao, at 24%, would bring alcohol. Our Chocolate Orange Mocktail takes 20ml.

Quick Facts

ABV0% ABV

Legal categoryNon-alcoholic

Flavour Strengthmedium bold

Our keeping timeCommercial: as the bottle says, refrigerated once opened. Home-made: one week refrigerated.

Storage

Refrigerated once opened or made: the cocoa solids are the perishable part.

Allergens

None of the 14 listed allergens. The house syrup is cocoa, sugar, water and salt. Bought syrups differ in their ingredients: check the bottle.

The ingredient

About Chocolate Syrup

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

CocoaDark sugarVanilla

Tasting Notes

Straightforward cocoa sweetness: as deep as the powder that made it, with none of a liqueur’s heat.

Chocolate syrup holds cocoa in sugar

Cocoa powder does not mix well into a cold drink: stirred straight in, it floats and clumps. Holding it in a warm sugar syrup first gets round that, and that is all chocolate syrup is: cocoa, sugar and water, sometimes with salt or vanilla. Sold mainly for coffee and milk drinks, it gives a bar an alcohol-free route to chocolate.

Five minutes on a low heat

The house batch whisks 30g of cocoa powder, 100g of caster sugar and a pinch of salt into a paste with a splash of the water, then adds the rest of 100g of water and warms it gently, without boiling, for about five minutes until glossy. That makes about 200ml, enough for eight mocktails, and it will hold for a week refrigerated. Shake it before every pour, because the cocoa settles.

Chocolate syrup against the chocolate liqueurs

House chocolate syrup

Strength: No alcohol
Base: Cocoa in 1:1 sugar syrup
Keeps once open: One week, refrigerated
Use: Mocktails, coffee, milk drinks

Crème de cacao

Strength: 24%
Base: Cocoa in a sweetened spirit
Keeps once open: A year or more
Use: Drinks with alcohol

Chocolate liqueur

Strength: About 17%
Base: Spirit, often with cream
Keeps once open: A year or more; cream bottles to the date
Use: Richer drinks with alcohol

Bottle	Strength	Base	Keeps once open	Use
House chocolate syrup	No alcohol	Cocoa in 1:1 sugar syrup	One week, refrigerated	Mocktails, coffee, milk drinks
Crème de cacao	24%	Cocoa in a sweetened spirit	A year or more	Drinks with alcohol
Chocolate liqueur	About 17%	Spirit, often with cream	A year or more; cream bottles to the date	Richer drinks with alcohol

In a mocktail it does a liqueur's job

The Chocolate Orange Mocktail is built on 20ml of it, shaken with 75ml of fresh orange juice and 22.5ml of single cream. The syrup decides the bitterness, so the quality of the cocoa shows. Where alcohol is welcome, crème de cacao does the same job at 24%; the sugar balance shifts, so taste before serving.

Using it

Using Chocolate Syrup

Usage

Our Chocolate Orange Mocktail pours 20ml with 75ml of fresh orange juice and 22.5ml of single cream. It goes in shaken, since cocoa settles, and stands in for a chocolate liqueur wherever a drink must stay alcohol-free.

House Recipe

Ratio1:1 by weight (sugar to water), plus cocoa

MakesAbout 200ml

Our keeping timeOne week refrigerated

Ingredients

100g caster sugar
100g water (100ml)
30g cocoa powder
A pinch of salt

Method

Whisk the cocoa, sugar and salt with a splash of the water into a smooth paste in a pan.
Whisk in the rest of the water and warm it over a low heat for about five minutes, until smooth and glossy, without boiling.
Cool, bottle, label with the date and refrigerate.
Shake it before every pour, because the cocoa settles.

Food safety

The cocoa solids are the perishable part: keep it in the fridge and discard it if it smells sour, fizzes or grows mould.

Pro Tip

Taste a bought syrup from a spoon before building a drink on it. If sugar comes first and chocolate a long way after, the drink will taste the same; the house syrup, 30g of cocoa to 100g of sugar, gives a darker, more bitter result.

Top Tips

Whisk the cocoa to a paste with a splash of the water first; added dry to the full volume, it lumps.
Shake the bottle before every pour. The cocoa is suspended, not dissolved, and sinks while it stands.
Warm it gently and never let it boil.

Possible Substitutions

Crème de Cacao: Where alcohol is welcome: a 24% liqueur, so rebalance the sugar
Chocolate Liqueur: Where alcohol is welcome: about 17%, and some bottles are cream-based

Production Method

Cocoa powder whisked to a paste with sugar, salt and a little water, then the rest of the water added and warmed gently, without boiling, until smooth and glossy.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

What is chocolate syrup?

Cocoa held in a sugar syrup so it pours and mixes into cold drinks. The house version whisks 30g of cocoa powder and a pinch of salt into 100g each of sugar and water over a low heat. It is non-alcoholic, sweet and dark, and it is the chocolate in drinks that must stay alcohol-free.

Is chocolate syrup the same as crème de cacao?

No: crème de cacao is a liqueur, 24% in our recipes, with its sugar and chocolate carried in alcohol. Chocolate syrup has the flavour and none of the strength. Swap the syrup in for a mocktail; swap the other way only where alcohol is wanted, and taste for sweetness either way.

How do I make chocolate syrup?

Whisk 30g of cocoa, 100g of caster sugar and a pinch of salt with a splash of water into a smooth paste. Whisk in the rest of 100g of water and warm it over a low heat for about five minutes, until glossy, without boiling. Cool, bottle and refrigerate; it makes about 200ml.

Why does chocolate syrup separate?

Cocoa powder is fine particles held in the syrup, not dissolved into it, so it sinks whenever the bottle stands. Shake it before every pour rather than only the first. Otherwise the early drinks come out thin and the last ones thick with cocoa.

How long does homemade chocolate syrup keep?

Use it within a week and store it chilled; the cocoa solids are the perishable part. Discard it if it smells sour, fizzes or grows mould. Shop-bought, it keeps until the date printed on it; after opening, refrigerate it if the label says so.

Does chocolate syrup contain dairy?

Ours is free of it: cocoa, sugar, water and salt. Bought syrups differ, and the Chocolate Orange Mocktail's own recipe line warns that some contain milk or soya, so read the label. The mocktail itself contains single cream, so it is not dairy-free whichever syrup goes in.

What drinks use chocolate syrup?

In our library, the Chocolate Orange Mocktail: 20ml of syrup with 75ml of fresh orange juice and 22.5ml of single cream, where it decides how bittersweet the drink tastes. It also suits coffee and milk drinks wherever chocolate is wanted without alcohol.

Make something

Made with Chocolate Syrup

Featured In These Cocktails

Chocolate Orange Mocktail

Often Used With

Guide by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 11 October 2026

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