Raspberry Syrup
Raspberry syrup is raspberries and sugar in equal weights, left overnight so the sugar draws out the juice, then pressed through a sieve. The house version uses no heat and keeps one week in the fridge. It sweetens and colours a drink at once, with more fresh acidity than grenadine, and our Clover Club, Knickerbocker and Blinker each take 15ml.
Quick Facts
We bottle it, and we keep it in the fridge and use it within a week.
None of the 14 listed allergens.
About Raspberry Syrup
Flavour Profile
Primary Flavours
Tasting Notes
Fresh raspberry with clear acidity under the sugar: brighter and sharper than grenadine, and less cooked than jam.
Sugar pulls the juice out without heat
Equal weights of raspberries and caster sugar go into a covered bowl in the fridge overnight. The sugar draws water and juice out of the fruit by osmosis, and by morning the berries sit slumped in a red syrup. Pressing them through a fine sieve finishes the job; muslin gives a clear bottle.
Because nothing is cooked, the syrup keeps the smell of fresh raspberries rather than the darker taste of jam. The same fact sets its life: it is raw fruit and sugar, so the house keeping time is one week in the fridge, with the date on the label.
Frozen fruit makes it in any month
Home-grown raspberries crop from June to September, per the British Dietetic Association. Frozen berries make the same syrup in the other eight months, and they suit it, since freezing has already split the cells. Thaw them in the bowl before adding sugar.
Grenadine is the usual swap, and it changes the colour
Several red sweeteners can fill the same place in a drink, and each brings something different with it.
Raspberry syrup against the red sweeteners that take its place (keeping times are ours)
Raspberry syrup
- Made from
- Raspberries and sugar, 1:1 by weight
- Heat
- None
- Keeps
- One week, refrigerated
- Typical measure
- 15ml
Strawberry syrup
- Made from
- Hulled strawberries and sugar, 1:1 by weight
- Heat
- None
- Keeps
- One week, refrigerated
- Typical measure
- 15ml
Grenadine
- Made from
- Pomegranate juice and sugar, 1:1 by weight
- Heat
- Warmed, not boiled
- Keeps
- One week, refrigerated
- Typical measure
- 15ml
Raspberry preserve
- Made from
- Raspberries cooked with sugar until set
- Heat
- Cooked
- Keeps
- Weeks once opened, refrigerated
- Typical measure
- One barspoon
| Made from | Heat | Keeps | Typical measure | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raspberry syrup | Raspberries and sugar, 1:1 by weight | None | One week, refrigerated | 15ml |
| Strawberry syrup | Hulled strawberries and sugar, 1:1 by weight | None | One week, refrigerated | 15ml |
| Grenadine | Pomegranate juice and sugar, 1:1 by weight | Warmed, not boiled | One week, refrigerated | 15ml |
| Raspberry preserve | Raspberries cooked with sugar until set | Cooked | Weeks once opened, refrigerated | One barspoon |
Grenadine reads darker and rounder. Raspberry preserve is thicker and jammier, and replaces both the syrup and any fresh fruit in one spoonful.
Three of our sours are built on it
The Clover Club uses the IBA proportions, 45ml of gin with 15ml each of lemon and syrup, plus 15ml of egg white for the foam. The Knickerbocker goes back to Jerry Thomas's 1862 guide, which sweetened rum, citrus and curaçao with two teaspoons of raspberry syrup; ours uses 15ml. The Blinker follows Ted Haigh, who in 2004 replaced the grenadine of the 1934 original with raspberry syrup to stand up to grapefruit.
Using Raspberry Syrup
Usage
Shake 15ml with the spirit and citrus. In the Clover Club it meets 45ml of gin, lemon and egg white; in the Knickerbocker, aged rum, lime and curaçao; in the Blinker, rye and grapefruit. Drop to 10ml if a batch comes out sweet.
House Recipe
Ingredients
- 250g raspberries, fresh, or frozen and thawed
- 250g caster sugar
Method
- Toss the raspberries with the sugar in a bowl, cover and leave overnight in the fridge.
- Press the fruit and syrup through a fine sieve, or through muslin for a clear syrup.
- Stir until any sugar left in the bowl dissolves, then bottle.
- Label with the date and refrigerate.
Food safety
Nothing here is heated, so keep it cold from start to finish. Pour it away if it fizzes, smells winey or shows mould.
Pro Tip
Taste each batch against lemon before you use it. Raspberries vary in sugar and acid from one punnet to the next, so a sharp batch may want the Clover Club's lemon trimmed slightly and a sweet one wants the syrup cut to 10ml.
Top Tips
- Weigh the berries and the sugar. Equal weights give the house ratio, and a cupful of raspberries never weighs the same twice.
- Outside June to September, use frozen raspberries and let them thaw before sugaring them.
- Strain through muslin for a clear syrup or a fine sieve for a hazy one. The taste is the same.
- Date the bottle and pour it away after a week, or sooner if it fizzes or smells of wine.
Possible Substitutions
- Grenadine: Pomegranate rather than raspberry: the same 15ml slot, a deeper red and a rounder taste
- Raspberries: Three or four pressed in the shaker plus 10ml of simple syrup; strain twice
More to explore
Common Questions
How do you make raspberry syrup?
How long does homemade raspberry syrup last?
Can you make raspberry syrup with frozen raspberries?
Should raspberry syrup be cooked?
Can I use grenadine instead of raspberry syrup in a Clover Club?
Is raspberry syrup the same as raspberry liqueur?
What cocktails use raspberry syrup?
Sources.
Checked between 17 October and 19 October 2026.
- legislation.gov.uk, “Regulation (EC) No 110/2008, Annex II (as retained in UK law)”.
- Brown-Forman, “Chambord” (owner’s brand page).
- Difford’s Guide, “Chambord black raspberry liqueur” (secondary source: alc./vol. 16.5%).
Made with Raspberry Syrup
Featured In These Cocktails
Updated 19 October 2026