Mixers

Syrups

A cocktail syrup is sugar already dissolved in water, sometimes with honey, fruit or spice doing part of the work, so that sweetness pours and measures in a cold drink. Our house ratios are fixed: our simple syrup, 1:1 by weight, lasts two weeks refrigerated, the 2:1 syrups a month, and fruit or infused syrups keep a week. Which syrup a recipe names changes how much sugar and how much water reach the glass.

Quick Facts

ABV0% ABV

Legal categoryNon-alcoholic

Our keeping timeHome-made, refrigerated: 1:1 two weeks, 2:1 one month, fruit and infused syrups one week.

Storage

Refrigerated in a clean, sealed bottle.

Allergens

None of the 14 listed allergens. Plain sugar syrups contain none; orgeat contains almonds, so check each syrup's own page.

The ingredient

About Syrups

A syrup is sugar that has already dissolved

Sugar dissolves readily in warm water and barely at all in cold spirit, so a shaken or stirred drink takes its sugar as a liquid. That also turns sweetness into a measure: 15ml of a known syrup is the same amount of sugar every time, which a spoonful of crystals is not. The ratio of sugar to water, the kind of sugar, and anything steeped in the water are what separate one syrup from the next.

Two ratios cover the plain syrups

Simple syrup, white sugar and water weighed out evenly, is the default whenever a recipe says sugar syrup. Rich syrup doubles the sugar against the same water, and so do our demerara syrup and cane syrup: thicker, about half again as sweet by the millilitre, and good for a month in the fridge. Honey syrup uses the same 2:1, honey to water, but lands close to simple syrup in sweetness because honey is itself up to a fifth water.

Two sweeteners arrive ready-made. Agave syrup is diluted with an equal volume of warm water for some recipes and poured neat in others, and maple syrup goes in as it comes, at roughly the strength of a 2:1 syrup.

Fruit, spice and flower syrups keep a week

The flavoured syrups carry a taste as well as sugar: passion fruit, raspberry, strawberry, apple cider, cinnamon, vanilla, rose, chocolate, butterfly pea and honey ginger. Fruit or a steeped spice brings its own perishability, so the house rule is a week in the fridge for all of them. Caramel syrup is the exception: cooked sugar and water alone, it keeps two weeks like simple syrup.

Orgeat is almond and sugar, and carries the almond allergen with it. The same rules cover the cordials and mixes made the same way: grenadine, falernum, lime cordial and chamomile cordial keep a week; Donn's Mix runs on fresh grapefruit juice and is made the same day; saline solution is salt, not sugar, and keeps indefinitely.

One chart sets every ratio and keeping time

Every syrup, cordial and mix we make at home follows the ratios in this chart, weighed unless a row says otherwise, and its keeping times, refrigerated. Each recipe line names its syrup, and each syrup's own page carries the full method and yield.

Every house-prepared syrup, cordial and mix: ratio and keeping

Simple Syrup

Ratio: 1:1 sugar to water, by weight
Keeps for: Two weeks refrigerated

Rich Syrup

Ratio: 2:1 sugar to water, by weight
Keeps for: One month refrigerated

Demerara Syrup

Ratio: 2:1 demerara to water, by weight
Keeps for: One month refrigerated

Cane Syrup

Ratio: 2:1 unrefined cane sugar to water, by weight
Keeps for: One month refrigerated

Honey Syrup

Ratio: 2:1 honey to warm water, by weight
Keeps for: One month refrigerated

Agave Syrup

Ratio: 1:1 agave syrup to warm water, by volume
Keeps for: Two weeks refrigerated

Caramel Syrup

Ratio: 1:1 caramelised sugar to hot water, by weight
Keeps for: Two weeks refrigerated

Honey Ginger Syrup

Ratio: 2:1 honey to ginger water, by weight
Keeps for: One week refrigerated

Cinnamon Syrup

Ratio: 1:1 sugar to water, by weight, steeped with cassia
Keeps for: One week refrigerated

Vanilla Sugar Syrup

Ratio: 1:1 syrup steeped with a vanilla pod
Keeps for: One week refrigerated

Butterfly Pea Syrup

Ratio: 1:1 syrup steeped with dried flowers
Keeps for: One week refrigerated

Rose Syrup

Ratio: 1:1 syrup with rose water to taste
Keeps for: One week refrigerated

Chocolate Syrup

Ratio: 1:1 sugar to water by weight, with cocoa
Keeps for: One week refrigerated

Raspberry Syrup

Ratio: 1:1 raspberries to sugar, by weight, no heat
Keeps for: One week refrigerated

Strawberry Syrup

Ratio: 1:1 hulled strawberries to sugar, by weight, no heat
Keeps for: One week refrigerated

Grenadine

Ratio: 1:1 pomegranate juice to sugar, by weight
Keeps for: One week refrigerated

Passion Fruit Syrup

Ratio: 1:1 purée to sugar, by weight
Keeps for: One week refrigerated

Apple Cider Syrup

Ratio: 500ml cloudy apple juice reduced by half, with 200g demerara
Keeps for: One week refrigerated

Orgeat Syrup

Ratio: 1:1 almond milk to sugar, by weight
Keeps for: One week refrigerated

Falernum

Ratio: 2:1 syrup steeped with lime, clove, ginger and almond
Keeps for: One week refrigerated

Lime Cordial

Ratio: 1:1 sugar to fresh lime juice, by weight
Keeps for: One week refrigerated

Chamomile Cordial

Ratio: 1:1 sugar to chamomile infusion, by weight, with citric acid
Keeps for: One week refrigerated

Elderflower Cordial

Ratio: 375g sugar to 750ml water, steeped with elderflowers, lemon and citric acid
Keeps for: Up to four weeks refrigerated

Donn’s Mix

Ratio: 2:1 grapefruit juice to cinnamon syrup, by volume
Keeps for: The same day

Gardenia Mix

Ratio: Equal volumes of unsalted butter and honey, with cinnamon syrup, vanilla syrup and allspice dram
Keeps for: The same day, at room temperature

Saline Solution

Ratio: 1:4 salt to water, by weight (20%)
Keeps for: Indefinitely, sealed

Ingredient page	Ratio	Keeps for
Simple Syrup	1:1 sugar to water, by weight	Two weeks refrigerated
Rich Syrup	2:1 sugar to water, by weight	One month refrigerated
Demerara Syrup	2:1 demerara to water, by weight	One month refrigerated
Cane Syrup	2:1 unrefined cane sugar to water, by weight	One month refrigerated
Honey Syrup	2:1 honey to warm water, by weight	One month refrigerated
Agave Syrup	1:1 agave syrup to warm water, by volume	Two weeks refrigerated
Caramel Syrup	1:1 caramelised sugar to hot water, by weight	Two weeks refrigerated
Honey Ginger Syrup	2:1 honey to ginger water, by weight	One week refrigerated
Cinnamon Syrup	1:1 sugar to water, by weight, steeped with cassia	One week refrigerated
Vanilla Sugar Syrup	1:1 syrup steeped with a vanilla pod	One week refrigerated
Butterfly Pea Syrup	1:1 syrup steeped with dried flowers	One week refrigerated
Rose Syrup	1:1 syrup with rose water to taste	One week refrigerated
Chocolate Syrup	1:1 sugar to water by weight, with cocoa	One week refrigerated
Raspberry Syrup	1:1 raspberries to sugar, by weight, no heat	One week refrigerated
Strawberry Syrup	1:1 hulled strawberries to sugar, by weight, no heat	One week refrigerated
Grenadine	1:1 pomegranate juice to sugar, by weight	One week refrigerated
Passion Fruit Syrup	1:1 purée to sugar, by weight	One week refrigerated
Apple Cider Syrup	500ml cloudy apple juice reduced by half, with 200g demerara	One week refrigerated
Orgeat Syrup	1:1 almond milk to sugar, by weight	One week refrigerated
Falernum	2:1 syrup steeped with lime, clove, ginger and almond	One week refrigerated
Lime Cordial	1:1 sugar to fresh lime juice, by weight	One week refrigerated
Chamomile Cordial	1:1 sugar to chamomile infusion, by weight, with citric acid	One week refrigerated
Elderflower Cordial	375g sugar to 750ml water, steeped with elderflowers, lemon and citric acid	Up to four weeks refrigerated
Donn’s Mix	2:1 grapefruit juice to cinnamon syrup, by volume	The same day
Gardenia Mix	Equal volumes of unsalted butter and honey, with cinnamon syrup, vanilla syrup and allspice dram	The same day, at room temperature
Saline Solution	1:4 salt to water, by weight (20%)	Indefinitely, sealed

Every batch is made the same way

Heat the water to hand-hot, move it off the hob, then add the sugar and stir until no grains remain; a 2:1 syrup may need a low heat to finish. Neither should boil, because boiling drives off water and strengthens the syrup past its label. Cool it, bottle it in something clean with a narrow neck for accurate pouring, write the ratio and the date on it, and keep it in the fridge. Crystals in a cold 2:1 syrup are sugar coming out of solution and melt back in warm water; cloudiness, fizz or mould are spoilage.

Using it

Using Syrups

Usage

Measured in millilitres, usually 5 to 30ml a drink. Read the recipe line for the ratio before pouring: 10ml of a 2:1 syrup holds about 9g of sugar against 6g in 10ml of simple, so the two are not swapped at the same measure.

Pro Tip

When a drink tastes thin rather than sour, check which syrup went in before adding more. A 1:1 syrup where the recipe wanted 2:1 leaves it short of sugar and long on water, and a top-up only adds more water.

Top Tips

Weigh the sugar and the water for every syrup. A ratio by volume drifts with the size of the crystal; a ratio by weight does not.
Label each bottle with its ratio and the date it was made. Simple, rich and diluted agave look the same in the fridge.
Warm the water and keep the syrup off the boil. Boiling drives off water and leaves a stronger syrup than the label says.
Make fruit and infused syrups in small batches. They keep a week, so 400ml is plenty unless the drink is poured every night.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

What is syrup in a cocktail?

Sugar already dissolved in water. Loose crystals hardly melt into cold spirit and sink to the foot of the glass, so recipes take their sugar as a liquid measured in millilitres. Some syrups swap the white sugar for honey, agave or demerara, or steep fruit and spice in the water to carry a flavour as well.

Simple syrup or rich syrup: what is the difference?

The ratio. Simple syrup is equal weights of sugar and water; rich syrup doubles the sugar. Measure for measure, the 2:1 holds roughly 50% more sugar and less water, so pour two thirds as much where it replaces simple, and expect it to keep a month rather than two weeks.

How long does homemade syrup keep?

Refrigerated and sealed: two weeks for a 1:1 syrup, a month for anything at 2:1, and a week once fruit, juice or an infusion is involved. The stronger the syrup, the less water there is for yeasts and moulds to use. Throw out any batch that clouds, fizzes as you open it or grows mould.

Does syrup need to be kept in the fridge?

Homemade syrup does, every time. Bottled syrups are made shelf-stable and only need chilling after opening, as their labels say. The neat sweeteners differ: honey and agave keep in the cupboard, while maple syrup has no preservative and belongs in the fridge once opened.

Can I use sugar instead of syrup?

Only when the method gets it into solution: a bitters-soaked cube worked into a splash of water ahead of the spirit, or a spoonful stirred into something hot. In a cold shaken drink it stays gritty. A level teaspoon, about 4g, carries roughly the sugar of 7ml of simple syrup.

Is orgeat a syrup?

Yes, an almond syrup, and the one on the list that nothing else replaces. It carries the almond allergen that plain syrups do not, so anyone avoiding tree nuts should leave it out rather than substitute. Our house orgeat is almond milk and sugar in equal weights, and like the other flavoured syrups it keeps a week.

Why are syrup ratios measured by weight?

Because the weight of a cupful of sugar changes with the grind and how tightly it settles, while water is always a gram a millilitre. Weighing 250g of each gives the same syrup from one bag to the next, and a syrup made that way sweetens the same drink the same way every time.

From the Guides

Autumn cocktails: apple, whisky and sloe gin drinks for September to November: Three syrups made in one afternoon last the season.Simple syrup and the other ingredient terms

Make something

Made with Syrups

Guide by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 12 October 2026

Back to Ingredients Guide