How to Make Simple Syrup - This Doesn't Suck: Home Bartending

Hey steemit! If you read my intro post then you know that I'm big into cocktails. That's why I started making videos about making cocktails at home. One of the most important things I learned was just how important sweetness is to a good drink.

To be clear, I'm not talking the kind of sweetness you get from those super touristy tiki drinks that are full of cheap sugar and liquor or those frozen daiquiris you get on the street in Las Vegas. They are insanely sweet and that's usually on purpose: to help hide lower quality alcohol.

The sweetness in a good cocktail should complement the other ingredients, not hide them. And that's where a simple syrup comes into play. It really is nothing more that sugar water, and it can make or break a cocktail. A classic Old Fashioned should have simple syrup. Without it, it's not an Old Fashioned. It's the difference between a classic cocktail and a shot of whiskey.

While the regular simple syrup usually uses pure cane granulated sugar, you should experiment with different sweeteners. A demarara sugar gives you an entirely different flavor than pure cane sugar. If you really want to go nuts, use agave syrup. Agave gives a unique flavor to the syrup and complements tequila and mescal really well. Maple simple syrup works great with aged whiskey and if you have coffee in your cocktail, maple will make it come alive.

Don't be afraid to play around with flavors in your simple syrup either. All you have to do is add whatever you want in the syrup while it's cooling off to room temperature. Herbs, fruit, teas... you name it and you can probably make a syrup with it.

My favorite is adding vanilla bean to the mix and making vanilla syrup. I love vanilla in most things and it works great with aged liquors since it helps bring out the vanilla flavors you can find in many barrel aging liquors. Rosemary works really well in gin drinks so try throwing that in the mix. Any herbs can give you a good flavor. But the main thing is to have fun with it and experiment.

NOTE:
I should say that while you can make a simple syrup with cold water and there's nothing wrong with that, I wouldn't recommend it, especially if you want to infuse it with some herbs or other ingredients. Use hot water that's just below boiling. I don't like boiling water or cooking it on the stove because you risk caramelizing the sugars and cooking the other ingredients, which can change the flavors. My tool of choice is a great electric tea kettle that lets me choose the temperature of the water. If you don't have a kettle, just watch the water as you heat it up and pull it off the heat as it starts to boil.

Two last things...
REFRIGERATE IT AT ALL TIMES.
If you want to extend the shelf life of your syrup, add just a tiny amount of vodka or other neutral spirit to the finished product. If you don't add too much it won't give it an alcohol burn but it will help it stay longer. If your syrup starts to look cloudy, it's time to throw it out.

I hope this video helps if you want to start making your own drinks at home and if you have any questions or anything you think I should cover, let me know.