Homemade Simple Syrup

Anyone who enjoys a good drink — alcoholic or not — should know how to make homemade simple syrup. It’s always a good idea to have a jar on hand to mix into cocktails, to sweeten iced tea, coffee or lemonade and even to brush onto desserts. You can flavor sugar syrup with fruits, herbs and spices, try out different sugars or just keep it plain. Here’s everything you need to know!

About this homemade simple syrup recipe

Depending on the recipe, simple syrup is as essential as booze and bitters! It’s fantastic for beverages because the sugar is already dissolved, so the sweetener just mixes right in. You might already be familiar with coffee syrups from your favorite latte at the coffee shop, and this is the same concept!

Learning how to make your own simple syrup is totally game-changing. Once you know, your whole world opens up. It is one of the easiest things you can learn when it comes to making cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks at home — it’s called “simple” for a reason. Anyone could make it. Even though you can buy it pre-made at the store, it is most certainly not worth the $12+ to buy it!

Making simple syrup is incredibly easy! If you own a measuring cup, a spoon, a pot and sugar and have running water, you can easily learn how to make simple syrup — all you need are equal parts sugar and water (though there is a bit more nuance than that!).

Every coffee drinker, cocktail (and mocktail) maker and baker needs to memorize this almost effortless recipe, then try its many variations. It’s an excellent way to improve all your drinks, from cocktails to coffee. And if you don’t have time to mix it up on the stove, I have a few amazing, time-saving options for mixing up simple syrup without heat.

Ingredients

Simple syrup comes together with just two simple ingredients you probably already have at home — that’s it! No need to buy it ever again, trust me.

1. sugar
2. water

Best sugar for simple syrup

Sugar is the most essential ingredient for homemade syrups. Most of the time, simple syrup is a clear liquid made from granulated sugar, AKA white sugar. However, you can use any type of sugar for simple syrup: white sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar. You can even make honey syrup with honey instead of sugar. It’s a delicious switch-up for regular sugar.

Perhaps it goes without saying, but any kind of sugar with some color to it (such as brown sugar) will make a difference in the final color. For a clear version, stick to granulated sugar or cane sugar.

If you plan to add food coloring, like for purple lavender syrup, or if you want to make a light-colored infusion, such as pretty, pale peach syrup, then you should stick to white sugar.

Another way to change up your syrup is to try different kinds of sugar. I typically go for white sugar or brown sugar, but you can also try turbinado, muscovado or demerara for a richer taste.

Best water for simple syrup

Just as with any recipe with a short ingredient list, every ingredient matters more. The water you use can make a big difference. If your tap water is safe and tastes good to drink on its own, tap water will work well!

However, filtered or distilled water will yield even better, purer results. You can also boil water to purify it, but you want to do this before adding sugar, so we don’t mess with the sugar-to-water ratio. If you are adding any kind of infusion, such as fresh fruit or spices, both distilled and filtered water will help your syrup last longer in the fridge.

The ideal ratio

When it comes to simple syrup, you can have a lot of fun with ratios, which affects the consistency and therefore the sweetness. A thicker consistency helps a syrup to keep longer than a month because the sugar acts as a preservative.

• 1:1 ratio — the most common: In the U.S., most people use a 1:1 ratio of sugar to water, which yields a syrup with a similar consistency to water. If you boil a 1:1 ratio, some of the water and sugar will evaporate, resulting in a thicker consistency, but boiling it isn’t necessary.
• 2:1 ratio — rich simple syrup: You can make a thicker, sweeter consistency of this recipe called, “rich syrup,” which is more common in Europe. The benefits are that it won’t cause as much dilution. In other words, when mixing drinks, you can use less because it is so much sweeter.
• 1.5:1 ratio: This one hits somewhere in the middle of the two. or a 2:1 ratio of sugar to water will make a more viscous mixture.

How to make simple syrup: Four ways

There are a few ways to make this easy cocktail sweetener. It can be made on the stove, in the blender or by shaking it. I even make it in the microwave sometimes!

1. On the stove

Making this easy sweetener on the stove is an excellent choice, especially for infusing other flavors. Some recipes call for you to boil the sugar and water together, which I don’t recommend because the sugar can evaporate and this can affect the texture of your final syrup. Simply dissolve the sugar and you’re done!

1. Throw the sugar and water into a pot over medium heat.
2. Stir to dissolve the sugar, then remove from the heat. It really is that easy!
3. Once cooled, transfer the mixture to a mason jar. You can keep it in the fridge for up to one month in a sealed container.

2. Microwave simple syrup

This is my favorite method! Microwave simple syrup is handy when you don’t want to get out a big pot.

1. Fill a heat-proof measuring cup half-way with water, then warm it up in the microwave, about a minute or so.
2. Then stir in the sugar while it’s still hot.
3. Add an ice cube to cool it down if you need to use it ASAP.
4. Store in a sealed container in the fridge.

3. In the blender

If you don’t want to wait for a hot mixture to cool down, you can use a blender to agitate the sugar and water, which forces the sugar crystals to dissolve faster.

1. Place water and sugar into a blender.
2. With the lid on tightly, blend well.
3. Store in a covered jar or dish in the fridge.

4. By shaking

Similar to the blender method, you can agitate the sugar and water mixture by hand, by shaking it in a mason jar.

1. Place water and sugar into a jar.
2. Put the lid on tightly.
3. Shake hard until the sugar has dissolved. Voila!
4. Store in an airtight container.

Uses for simple syrup

This liquid sweetener can be used in a number of ways. It works really well in cold drinks, so you don’t have to stir sugar around until it dissolves.

• Use it to sweeten coffee, especially iced coffee.
• Mix it into iced tea to make sweet tea.
• Stir it into cocktails (and mocktails) like the classic old-fashioned cocktail or a sour cocktail like a margarita or mojito.

You can even use it in baked goods. In fact, bakers often use it to moisten cake layers before decorating them. Simple syrups, especially flavored ones like strawberry syrup and chocolate syrup, can also be drizzled over pancakes, waffles, French toast, ice cream and desserts.

Flavored simple syrup infusions

This basic simple syrup recipe is very customizable and works well as a blank canvas for hundreds, if not thousands, of flavor combinations. For example, grenadine is a common variation that shows up in lots of cocktail recipes. Sour mix is essentially a concentrated lemon-lime simple syrup that can be used in cocktails like margaritas, whiskey sours and more.

Experimenting with infusions is one of my favorite ways to mix different flavors into my drinks. You can use most fruits, herbs, spices and even vegetables as infusions and dream up your own combinations. Here are a few quick ideas:

• Spices: Add whole spices like cinnamon sticks, vanilla beans ^*, star anise, nutmeg or peppercorns to make a spiced syrup. Try cinnamon dolce syrup or chai syrup for cocktails and coffee drinks.
• Herbs: Mint syrup gets infused with fresh mint leaves and is perfect for mint juleps. You can also make it with other fresh herbs like basil, rosemary or thyme.
• Berries and other fruit: You can use fresh or frozen fruits to make tons of delicious syrups. It helps to boil them down and reduce them into a liquid, then stir in sugar. Try this cherry syrup or banana syrup.
• Vegetables: It’s not weird to use vegetables at all! For example, jalapeño syrup makes excellent spicy drinks and pumpkin syrup is great in the fall. Cucumber and rhubarb are two more common veggie infusions.
• Extracts: If you don’t have time for an infusion, you can add a tiny amount of flavored extracts, like vanilla extract ^* or lemon extract. This sugar cookie syrup is delicious with almond extract.

Storage tips

Simple syrup will keep the longest in an airtight, food-safe container, such as a jar or bottle. Store it, sealed, in the fridge for up to one month.

A mason jar is perfect for this because you can easily dip in a spoon to measure or pour it out into a jigger ^*. I love using these pour-spout lids for mason jars when I plan to make a lot of cocktails.

favorite syrup storage

16-ounce mason jars

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swing top glass bottles

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syrup dispenser bottles

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Simple syrup substitutes

You can use a number of pantry staples as a substitute.

Other liquid syrups: Honey, maple syrup and agave nectar ^* are all liquid sweeteners you can use instead.

• Pure honey brings in the taste of citrus and flowers, but it can seize in cold liquid, so it should be melted down with hot water to make a honey syrup called “runny honey.” Try it in the honey lemon whiskey sour or a brown derby.
• Maple syrup doesn’t need to be warmed up, and it brings in the pure, sweet flavor that we love on our pancakes. Try it in a maple old-fashioned cocktail.
• Agave nectar ^* is also an easy liquid sweetener. It pairs well with tequila and mezcal, which also come from agave plants. Use it in any margarita or a paloma.

Pure sugars: Pure sugar and sugar cubes can also be stirred into a cocktail. However, they work best in warm drinks like tea, coffee or a hot toddy. They will take too long to stir into cold drinks, which is why we make syrups in the first place!

Sugar-free syrup: You can even make sugar-free simple syrup if you need an option with less sugar. This recipe uses stevia.

FAQ

Simple syrup recipes

The best part about simple syrup is that you can flavor it in so many ways. Once you learn how to make this cocktail syrup, you’ll be on your way to making amazing cocktails at home! Life will definitely be sweeter. Here are a few of the simple syrup recipes you can find on my website.

Video by Chris Henry Co.