Everything should be simple…especially cocktails! That’s where simple syrup comes in.
I got a lovely letter from a reader this week with the following request:
“…I really love cocktails this time of the year but they are so expensive at Moscow restaurants. It would be great to make them at home for my guests. I’m not very creative but I would love something more summery and interesting than just a vodka and tonic. I’d also love to make a Moscow Mule but I can’t find any ginger beer. Can you help?
— Theresa W.”
Well first of all, Theresa, many thanks for the note! I love hearing from readers like you, and I always enjoy solving culinary problems.
And this is a REALLY simple fix. Really, really simple.
It’s called Simple Syrup.
This refrigerator staple is the foundation of many summer cocktails — it’s quick and easy to make, it keeps in the fridge for at least a month and it is a marvelously blank canvas on which you can — and you should — build flavor by infusing the syrup with herbs and fruits.
Simple Syrup is the foundation for great lemonade and limeade as well, ensuring that your beverage strength stays consistent. Combined with fresh juice and garnished with mint or any other summertime herb, this is a great way to prepare refreshing non-alcoholic beverages for the teetotalers in your life.
The recipe could not be simpler. Here it is:
Simple SyrupIngredients:250 ml (2 cups) of plain white sugar Instructions:1. Combine the sugar and water together in a sauce pan. Place over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Recipe notes: some cocktails call for “honey syrup.” Substitute honey for sugar and proceed. |
Some cocktail recipes call for “rich simple syrup.” As the name suggests, this is a sweeter, more concentrated syrup. It’s also dead easy. Just increase the ratio of sugar to water.
Like this:
Rich Simple SyrupIngredients:3 cups of plain white sugar Instructions:1. Combine the sugar and water together in a sauce pan. Place over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Recipe notes: some cocktails — particularly ones that are anchored with the “brown” liquors such as tequila, bourbon, scotch, rye, or brandy may recommend you use a brown sugar simple syrup. Substitute Turbinado for white sugar and proceed as above. |
So, now you’ve got your base (got your base, got your base…) it’s time to get creative.
You can infuse anything into a syrup but here are a few I think are just great and which you will need to mix up the cocktails below.
Ginger Infused Simple SyrupIngredients:2 cups of plain white sugar Instructions:1. Combine the sugar and water together in a sauce pan. Place over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. |
Berry Infused Simple SyrupIngredients:250 ml (2 cups) of plain white sugar 300 grams of fresh as fresh can be berries in season (for best results, use strawberries, sea buckthorn, raspberries, kliokva, and gooseberries, washed Instructions:1. Combine the sugar and water together in a sauce pan. Place over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. |
Herb Infused Simple SyrupIngredients:250 ml (2 cups) of plain white sugar Instructions:1. Combine the sugar and water together in a sauce pan. Place over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. |
Coriander Infused Simple SyrupIngredients:250 ml (2 cups) of plain white sugar Instructions:1. Combine the sugar and water together in a sauce pan. Place over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Recipe notes: You can also use this method with caraway seeds and celery leaves for a fantastic kick to any celery-based drink. |
Citrus Infused Simple SyrupIngredients:250 ml (2 cups) of plain white sugar Note: When I say “zest” I don’t mean the zest and the pith. Use a vegetable peeler to remove just the outer layer of the skin, not the white pith. Use a very sharp kitchen knife to julienne the zest into strips. Instructions:1. Combine the sugar and water together in a sauce pan. Place over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved Recipe Notes:Experiment with combinations such as lemon and mint, basil and lime, grapefruit and pommagranate, orange and ginger. This is the best way to make lemonade, rather than simply slicing the citrus and adding it to water and hoping for the best. Mix the simple syrup, fresh citrus juice, and water in a ratio of 2:1:4 and add ice. |
So, now that your fridge is chocker block with simple syrups of every imaginable variety, its time to mix up cocktails!
The supply side for Moscow is always in flux, isn’t it? To stick to my theme of keeping it simple and affordable, the recipes below are mainly for vodka with a few tequila, rum, and gin recipes thrown in to keep it interesting.
For best results, use fresh fruit juice and chill your cocktail glasses ahead of time.
These are based on existing recipes, but tweaked to ensure that all of the ingredients are available in Russia, the names are my own.
The North-SouthIngredients:45 ml (1-1/2 oz) vodka Instructions:Combine the vodka, elderflower liqueur, pomegranate juice, lime juice and simple syrup to cocktail shaker filled halfway with ice. Cover and shake vigorously. Strain into chilled glass. Garnish with lime and pomegranate seeds. *Purchase elderflower syrup at IKEA |
The Dacha GardenIngredients3 large bunches of green basil, leaves removed from the stems. Instructions1. Combine the basil leaves and cucumber slices in the bottle of a cocktail shaker or jar. |
The Pear TreeInstructions30 ml (1 oz) of ginger-infused simple syrup A splash of club soda Ingredients1. Combine the simple syrup, vodka, and pear nectar in a sturdy glass jar or cocktail shaker filled with ice. 2. Shake the contents vigorously to combine |
The Green LineIngredients45 ml (1-1/2 oz) of vodka Instructions:1. Muddle the all but a few of the tarragon leaves with half of the lemon zest in the bottom of a cocktail shaker or jar. |
The Grand DuchessIngredients:60 ml (2 oz) of best quality gin Instructions:1. Muddle most the mint and half of the cucumber in a cocktail shaker. Note – you can add a little seltzer or brut to this to make it fizz, but I like the cleaner burn. |
The Anna(in honor of Anna Arutunyan) Ingredients60 ml (2 oz) of Aperol Garnish: A long strip of grapefruit zest Instructions1. Combine the egg white, simple syrup, and Aperol in a cocktail shaker without ice. |
Classic Mint JulepIngredients:60 ml (2 oz) of Bourbon Instructions1. Muddle the mint leaves with the simple syrup in a julep-type glass (ideally metal) — leave for 3 minutes. |
The Moscow MuleIngredients60 ml (2 oz) of vodka Candied ginger to garnish Instructions:1. Muddle the ginger and the lime juice with the mint in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. |
So mix up some simple syrup and get cracking on those summer holidays! And send me a line by hitting the comment button below to let me know which one was your favorite!
Enjoy!
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