For today, a recipe most cocktails would probably use, and a few drinks that use it – simple syrup; plus some iced teas in “adult” and “mocktail”, 2 sangrias (tailoring existing products) and reliable recipes for Frozen Margarita and Strawberry Daiquiri.
Because of its use in alcoholic beverages and the places that serve them, it is also sometimes called bar syrup. Slightly different, but also used in bars, is gomme syrup, where gum arabic is used as an emulsifier to prevent the syrup from crystallizing – add a little corn syrup (also to prevent crystals forming) and/or vodka/flavourless spirit (to prevent bacteria growing), to your simple syrup to achieve similar results. In both cases the syrup is used as the form of sugar in the drinks – granulated sugar does not dissolve easily in cold drinks (or alcohol), making these preferred.
While I was doing some reading on it, I also discovered that it is very possible to flavour them – the one today is vanilla flavoured – but for yours, either make them unflavoured or consider options like: ginger, lavender, citrus (either with zest or lemongrass).
Over-baked cakes can be “rescued”, by adding a little liqueur to simple syrup and drizzling over the too-dry cake. Simple syrup is mostly made in a 1:1 or 2 sugar : 1 water, ratio. I prefer the 2:1 as it is more standard for professional use and the higher concentration of sugar allows it to be stored at room temperature with little risk of mould or bacteria forming.
Vanilla simple syrup
1,5 litres (6 cups) sugar
750ml (3 cups) water
2 vanilla pods
Split and scrape the pods and place the pods and seeds in the water. Bring the water to the boil over medium heat, stir in the sugar until dissolved and remove from the heat. Bottle in 2 sterilized bottles (750ml each) with a vanilla pod in each. In attractive bottles these would make a cool enough gift – and with a little more thought and effort, something really impressive, and home-made!
No point in making the syrup without any suggestions on how to use it, so how about:
Adult Iced Green tea with mint and lemon
strong green tea made with 10 teabags in 1 litre boiling water, chilled
500ml lemon flavoured mineral water
6 tots of gin
3 sprigs of mint, bruised
up to 50ml simple syrup
1 lemon, in small wedges
Mix and serve
Kiwi Litchi Sangria
1 litre (Cape Table) kiwi sangria
500ml litchi flavoured mineral water
500ml lemon flavoured mineral water
1-2 kiwifruit, peeled & sliced, 5mm
½ lemon, sliced thinly, 2mm
4-6 tots vodka
Strawberry Rose sangria
750ml (Boland Kelder) Rose wine
50ml rose water
500ml berry flavoured mineral water
500ml ginger ale
50ml simple syrup
4 tots brandy or 8 tots strawberry liqueur (omit syrup, if using liqueur)
In all cases above, simply mix and serve.
Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri
500g frozen strawberries (you can freeze them yourself)
250g ice cubes (it’s easier to weigh than measure)
150ml Bacardi white rum
75ml Rose’s Lime Cordial
75ml Butler’s strawberry liqueur
200ml (straw)berry juice
extra strawberries/mint leaves for garnish
Place all the ingredients in a liquidizer and run the motor until the mixture has an even texture. Serve in sugar-rimmed cocktail glasses. It makes 1,2 litres, but have enough ingredients for several more rounds!
I made 6 different drinks the day I was testing these – and boy am I glad I was already home… Obviously the proportions are guidelines, amend to your preferred taste, and enjoy responsibly!
