House Made Simple Syrups-”The Real McCoy”
The bartenders at Gate 11 Distillery are creative mixologists who fully embrace the notion of craft cocktails. One of the ways we reach and maintain the high standards we set for ourselves is to make many of the simple syrups used in our cocktails in-house. You can use this same approach to help create classic cocktails with your home bartending.
When our bartenders create a new cocktail, the recipe often calls for a fruit or a botanical syrup. Whenever possible, we try to use house-made ingredients. You can easily do this at home. Making a simple syrup is actually very easy. Remember to follow the ratio 1 to 1.
Light Simple Syrup is made by mixing equal parts of sugar to water and cooking to a full boil. Cool and transfer the syrup to a suitable container. Dark Simple Syrup uses dark brown sugar instead of white. Make sure to refrigerate these fresh house-made syrups after each use. They have a limited shelf-life than commercial syrups because they do not contain preservatives.
You can make fruit syrups by adding fresh or frozen fruits to the above recipe. Making your own house-made simple syrups can improve the flavor and presentation of your DYI cocktails. Remember to trust your own taste buds. Have fun with these simple recipes which will impress your family and friends.
At Gate 11, we have a few favorites I will share with you now.
Honey Lavender Simple Syrup – (used in our Bumble Bee Sting)
Make a lavender tea with dried lavender petals and water. After the tea is steeped, strain the petals from the liquid. Use this tea instead of water and add an equal amount of honey (remember 1:1) and boil. When the liquid is thickened you have honey lavender simple syrup. We add some lemon juice and our gin to make this cocktail favorite.
Burnt Sugar Simple Syrup – (used in our Burnt Rumber)
This one takes the extra step of browning the sugar. (Think about browning flour to make a roux.) Heat sugar in a saucepan and stir constantly to light brown color. Next, add water and boil. For the Burnt Rumber, we add rum of course.
Rosemary Simple Syrup –
Use the recipe for a light simple then add some rosemary before boiling. You will need to strain the rosemary before use, The flavor is a favorite in the Fall. Try adding it to a Gimlet for a new twist.
Try creating some of these simple syrups to enhance your home bartending skills and impress your guests!
