Mixers

Simple Syrup

Simple syrup is white sugar and water in equal weights, our house 1:1 by weight: 250g of each makes about 400ml, and a 15ml measure carries about 9g of sugar. It keeps two weeks in the fridge and sweetens most of our sours, fizzes and Collinses, from the Whiskey Sour to the Tom Collins, while adding no taste beyond sweetness.

Quick Facts

ABV0% ABV

Legal categoryNon-alcoholic

OriginVarious (commonly homemade or commercially produced)

Flavour Strengthlight

SeasonYear-round

Our keeping timeHome-made at our house 1:1 by weight: two weeks refrigerated. Commercial: as the bottle says.

Storage

Store sealed in the refrigerator. Keep containers clean to prevent spoilage, especially for homemade syrups.

Allergens

None of the 14 listed allergens.

The ingredient

About Simple Syrup

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

SweetNeutral

Tasting Notes

Clean, neutral sweetness with no added flavour when made with white sugar. Designed to support other ingredients rather than stand out.

Equal weights of sugar and water

Simple syrup is the baseline the other syrups in our recipes are measured against: white sugar and water, 250g of each, which makes about 400ml. Weighed, the ratio holds from one bag of sugar to the next. Measured by the cup it does not, because a cup of sugar weighs less than a cup of water and the gap changes with the grind.

The measure follows the citrus and whatever else sweetens the drink

Most sours balance 20ml of syrup against 25 to 30ml of lemon, as the Whiskey Sour and Pisco Sour do. The measure drops wherever something else brings sugar: a liqueur, a sweet soda or a raspberry liqueur in the Grateful Dead. It rises in the Long Island Iced Tea, where five pours of spirit need covering.

Simple syrup against the citrus in seven of our recipes

Whiskey Sour

Simple syrup: 20ml
Citrus: 25ml lemon
Other sweetness: None

Pisco Sour

Simple syrup: 20ml
Citrus: 30ml lemon
Other sweetness: None

Tom Collins

Simple syrup: 15ml
Citrus: 30ml lemon
Other sweetness: None; 90ml soda lengthens it

Gin Fizz

Simple syrup: 10ml
Citrus: 30ml lemon
Other sweetness: None; 60ml soda

French 75

Simple syrup: 15ml
Citrus: 15ml lemon
Other sweetness: 60ml champagne

Long Island Iced Tea

Simple syrup: 30ml
Citrus: 25ml lemon
Other sweetness: 15ml Cointreau and 30ml cola

Grateful Dead

Simple syrup: 10ml
Citrus: 22.5ml lime
Other sweetness: Triple sec and 22.5ml raspberry liqueur

Drink	Simple syrup	Citrus	Other sweetness
Whiskey Sour	20ml	25ml lemon	None
Pisco Sour	20ml	30ml lemon	None
Tom Collins	15ml	30ml lemon	None; 90ml soda lengthens it
Gin Fizz	10ml	30ml lemon	None; 60ml soda
French 75	15ml	15ml lemon	60ml champagne
Long Island Iced Tea	30ml	25ml lemon	15ml Cointreau and 30ml cola
Grateful Dead	10ml	22.5ml lime	Triple sec and 22.5ml raspberry liqueur

Warm water, no boiling, two weeks in the fridge

Heat the water until you can only just hold a finger in it, move the pan aside, and stir the sugar through until the liquid is clear. Boiling is no help: it drives off water, so a batch that started at 1:1 finishes somewhere towards 2:1 with nothing on the bottle to show it. Cool the syrup, pour it into a clean bottle with a narrow neck so it measures cleanly, and label it with the ratio and the date. In the fridge it keeps two weeks; cloudiness, fizz on opening or mould means it is finished.

Some lines ask for a different syrup on purpose

A recipe that names rich syrup wants the same sugar in two thirds of the volume, usually in a stirred drink where the ice already adds water. Demerara syrup adds a caramel note, and honey syrup adds the honey. Swapping any of them for simple at the same measure changes the drink, so the line says which one it means, and the syrup chart holds every house ratio in one place.

Using it

Using Simple Syrup

Usage

Single drinks take 5 to 40ml, most often 15 or 20ml against 25 to 30ml of lemon or lime. Measure it like the spirit, and taste the first drink from a new batch of citrus. Where a line names rich or demerara syrup, change the measure rather than pouring the same amount.

House Recipe

Ratio1:1 by weight

MakesAbout 400ml

Our keeping timeTwo weeks refrigerated

Ingredients

250g caster or granulated sugar
250g water (250ml)

Method

Warm the water in a pan until hand-hot; it does not need to simmer.
Take it off the heat, add the sugar and stir until the liquid runs clear.
Leave it to cool, then pour it into a clean bottle.
Label the bottle with the ratio and the date, and refrigerate it.

Food safety

Use a clean bottle and keep it in the fridge. Pour it away if it turns cloudy, fizzes when opened, or shows any mould.

Pro Tip

When a sour comes out sweeter than it should, taste the syrup before the citrus. A batch left to simmer has reduced towards 2:1, and nothing on the bottle will say so.

Top Tips

Weigh both sides: 250g of sugar to 250g of water. A cup of sugar weighs less than a cup of water, so a ratio by volume makes a weaker syrup.
Warm the water to hand-hot and take it off the heat before the sugar goes in. It dissolves without simmering.
Write 1:1 and the date on the bottle. Two weeks in the fridge, then a fresh batch.
With only rich syrup to hand, pour two thirds of the measure. With only simple where a recipe wants rich, pour half as much again and accept a slightly longer drink.

Possible Substitutions

Sugar (Granulated): harder to dissolve
Demerara Syrup: adds molasses notes
Honey Syrup: adds floral sweetness
Rich Syrup: use about two thirds of the measure

Production Method

Made by dissolving sugar in an equal weight of water, our house ratio of 1:1 by weight. Heated gently to dissolve, then cooled before use.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

What is simple syrup?

Sugar dissolved in water ahead of time, so it blends straight into a cold drink. Ours is white sugar and water in equal weights, the ratio our recipes assume whenever a line says simple or sugar syrup. It tastes of nothing but sugar, which is the point: it balances citrus without pulling the drink towards another flavour.

What ratio is simple syrup?

1:1 by weight: 250g of sugar to 250g of water. Some books give it by volume, a cup of each, which makes a weaker syrup because a cup of sugar usually weighs less than a cup of water. Recipes that want the stronger syrup say rich or 2:1 on the line.

How do you make simple syrup?

Warm 250g of water until hand-hot, take it off the heat, add 250g of caster or granulated sugar and stir until the liquid runs clear. Cool it, bottle it and label it. Shaking the two hard in a sealed jar also works with cold water, given a few minutes.

How long does simple syrup keep?

Two weeks refrigerated, sealed, in a bottle that was clean to start with, which is our house rule for every plain 1:1 syrup. We keep a 2:1 rich syrup a month because it holds less free water. Pour it away sooner if it turns cloudy, fizzes when opened or shows any mould.

Does simple syrup need to be refrigerated?

Homemade, yes. At 1:1 there is enough free water for yeasts and moulds to grow at room temperature, so the bottle lives in the fridge from the day it is made. Shop-bought sugar syrups are made to keep on a shelf until opened; follow the label once the cap is off.

Can I use caster or granulated sugar?

Either. Once dissolved they are the same white sugar, and caster only dissolves a little faster. Demerara or another brown sugar makes a different syrup with a caramel note and colour, which our recipes treat as a separate ingredient with its own line and its own 2:1 ratio.

How much sugar is in a measure of simple syrup?

About 9g in 15ml and about 12g in 20ml, the measure most of our sours use. A 1:1 syrup is half sugar by weight and a little denser than water, so each millilitre carries roughly 0.6g. A 2:1 rich syrup carries nearer 0.9g a millilitre, which is why the two are not poured at the same measure.

Can I swap simple syrup for rich syrup?

Yes, by changing the measure. Rich in place of simple: two thirds as much. Simple in place of rich: one and a half times as much, which brings a little extra water with it. The Rum Sour recipe gives its own version, suggesting 2:1 demerara syrup at about two thirds of the simple measure for a darker drink.

What is the difference between orgeat and simple syrup?

Simple syrup is white sugar and water in equal weights and tastes only of sweetness. Orgeat is an almond syrup, and ours is almond milk and sugar in equal weights with a little orange flower water, so it brings almond flavour, body and the tree-nut allergen. They do not swap: a Mai Tai made with simple syrup loses its almond.

Make something

Made with Simple Syrup

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Updated 17 October 2026

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