Syrups and Drams

this blog is dedicated to collecting basic recipes for syrups and drams, for use in bartending recipes that you might find in bartending books and such. i'm collecting them for my own use, but feel free to look around. i'll try and give credit where credit is due - though that will take some time. obviuosly, i'm going to try many of these syrups myself, and change the recipes as i go along. some of them are as of yet untested by me, so beware!

ginger syrup

8 oz fresh chopped ginger
2 c water
2 c sugar

bring to a boil until sugar dissolves. let sit without cooking for 12-24 hours. drain, and then reboil for five minutes. cool, then strain and store.

allspice syrup

Place 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water and 6 level tablespoons crushed dried allspice berries into a saucepan. Heat until sugar dissolves. Simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let stand 1 to 2 hours. Strain and refrigerate.

from wiki.webtender.com

grenadine syrup

method 1:

Pour two cups of pomegranate juice (not pomegranate juice cocktail) into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium-low heat until reduced by half. Add one cup of sugar, and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool; if desired, add high-proof vodka or grain alcohol as a preservative (it also keeps well, and doesn’t freeze solid, in a plastic container in the freezer).

from Killer Cocktails by David Wondrich

method 2:

Take one cup of pomegranate juice, and place it in a jar with one cup of granulated sugar. Seal tightly and shake like hell until all of the sugar is dissolved. Add another ounce or two of sugar and repeat. Voila - a simple grenadine. [Optional: Add an ounce of high-proof vodka or grain alcohol as a preservative. You can also store this in a plastic container in the freezer; the high volume of sugar keeps it from freezing, and you can just tip out a little frigid syrup each time you need it.] Add food red food coloring if desired.

from cocktailchronicles.com - at least, thats the last post i can find on the trail, lol.

method 3:

2.25 lbs pomegranates
1 pint water
sugar (see instructions)
red food coloring (optional)

Separate the pomegranate seeds from the membranes and skin. In a heavy saucepan, cover pomegranate seeds with 1 pint of water and simmer, stirring until juice sacs release their juice, about 5 minutes. Pour through a cheesecloth-layered sieve into a bowl, pressing the juice from the seeds. Discard seeds.

Measure the strained pomegranate juice and add an equal amount of sugar. Pour into saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Add food coloring, if using. Pour into a decorative stoppered bottle.

taken from peggy filippone at about.com

orgeat syrup

500 gr blanched whole almonds
800 ml water
700 gr table sugar
100 ml vodka or brandy
2 tbsp orange or rose flower water

Place the almonds in a bowl and cover with cold water and allowed them to soak for 30 minutes. Drain and discard this water, then crush the almonds using a rolling pin, or you could use a food processor to chop them to a fine grind. If you need to, you can add some of the water to the food processor. Transfer the crushed almonds to a large bowl and mix them with the water, let stand for one to two hours. Place a damp cloth or cheese cloth in a mesh filter, over another bowl, and strain the almond and water mixture squeeze the cloth to extract all the liquid.

Put the chopped almonds back into the almond water, let it stand for another hour and then strain again. Repeat a third time if you wish. This is will get all the oils out of the almonds.

Note: To speed up the process you can gently heat the almond water to 50°C (125°F). If you do this, you can cut the soak times to about 15 minutes.

Pour the strained liquid into a pan, discard the almond pulp, add the sugar and cook over gentle heat, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat when the sugar is completely dissolved. Allow to cool for 15 minutes and then add the brandy or vodka and the orange flower water. Store the orgeat in a clean glass bottle.

Once the orgeat has cooled down it is ready to use.

from artofdrink.com (though it's cited elsewhere)

when i have time, i'll boil the ingredients down to "normal" measurements, and simplify the explanation.

simple syrup

the easiest recipe of them all:

1 cup water
1 cup sugar

simmer until sugar is dissolved. let cool and store in the fridge.

*this recipe has been tested, obviously. absolutely essential to making good drinks without the use of artificial sour mix.

falernum syrup

zest from 10 limes
10 cloves
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 liter white rum

marinate 24 hrs, strain and store in a cool place.

mix 8 oz. of rum marinade with 1 quart simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water).

recipe from Dale Degroff

cinnamon syrup

3 cinnamon sticks
1 c. water
1 c. sugar

Bash the hell out of the cinnamon sticks until they look a bit coarser than ground coffee (1/8″ pieces). Use a mortar and pestle or rolling pin in a ziplock. Add everything to a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover and simmer for two minutes. Remove from the heat and let the mixture steep for 2 hours. Strain through a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth. Bottle and keep in the refrigerator for a month or so.

recipe from KaiserPenguin

sage syrup

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup dried sage leaves

bring all to a simmer (make sure sage leaves are submerged), and simmer for 10 minutes.
let cool and strain carefully to remove leaves and store.

*tested - the recipe is not good. will have to try fresh sage leaves. will also have to try steeping instead of boiling. after you bring to a boil, turn off heat after adding sage leaves, and let rest for 24 hrs. after this, simmer very lightly for a few minutes before cooling and storing.

vermouth

recipe by a anonymous "jack".

Start out with a dry white wine, or a red wine that you've sweetened (to taste?).

The most common herbs in Vermouth are also common cooking herbs: cloves, cinnamon, aniseed, star anise, citrus peel, ginger, coriander, sage (good for it's bitterness), chamomile (you can get that one from an herbal tea), juniper berries, and hops (one friend of mine has made a collection of Vermouths using only one type of hop in each -- but he doesn't boil them to preserve the aroma). From the garden you can get rose petals and raspberries.

Combine the dry herbs (a teaspoon of each to start), smell them, then make adjustments according to taste. If you only have some of the herbs, don't worry -- you don't need them all. In fact, you should just select the ones you like the flavor of.

Once you have a dry herb blend that you like, put it in a saucepan and add just enough of the wine to cover the herbs. Put the lid on and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes on a low heat. Using the wine instead of water will get the slightly oxidized flavor without risk of ruining all the wine. Let this mess cool overnight (covered) and then strain the herbs out of the liquid, which is now a Vermouth-flavored essence. Just add the essence to the wine until you get the taste intensity you want. Adding a splash of brandy (about 60-ml per 750-ml bottle) is all you need to fortify it.

If one herb doesn't come out as strong as you want, simmer that herb alone in some of the wine, then add it back. Sometimes a touch of oak from some chips adds a nice flavor, too. If allowed to age, the herbal flavor will mellow with time, so if you make it too strong just wait or dilute with some more of the plain wine base.

taken from: http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/request185.asp

when i'm able to try the recipe out, i'll update this to see how it turns out.

honey syrup

1 cup honey
1 cup water

simmer until honey is dissolved. let cool and store.

lavender syrup

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp dried lavender blossoms

Bring to a boil and allow to steep for 30 minutes. Cool and store.

lavender infused vodka - 750 ml bottle of vodka - infuse a small handful of dried vodka for a week. strain and store.