Category: Ingredients

  • Simple recipe to make Grenadine Syrup

    Simple recipe to make Grenadine Syrup

    Grenadine

    Sometimes it’s good to cheat…

    Flavoured syrups are a useful component to cocktails as they allow us to add flavour at the same time as adding the sugar that is necessary in many drinks to achieve sweet:sour balance.

    Unfortunately mass production and efforts to achieve economies of scale may be good for many of the big-brand syrup producer’s bottom lines but they have had a pretty negative effect on the quality of many of the products that reach the market. Spinning around to the ingredients list on a syrup bottle you’re more likely to find a long list of artificial flavours, colours, preservatives and other E numbers than anything resembling a simple combination of sugar, water and authentic flavouring. Grenadine is no exception.

    Originally made from pomegranates, modern store bought Grenadine is usually a bright red, artificial ‘red berry’ flavoured syrup sweetened with high fructose corn syrup and is commonly used to provide a berry flavour without the alcohol of berry shrubs or liqueurs.

    If we are going to make Grenadine to use at home then we want the original, proper pomegranate flavour; we could use real pomegranates but instead we are going to cheat and use pomegranate juice – its quick, easy, and still gives us the real fruity flavour we’re after.

    The “Cheaters” Grenadine Syrup Recipe

    What you need

    • Pomegranate juice (we see note below)
    • Fine sugar

    Method

    Very quick and easy; to make the Grenadine all you need to do is mix equal amounts of the Pomegranate juice and fine sugar in a bowl until the mixture is completely dissolved. Once the mixture has dissolved you can transfer the syrup into a bottle and store it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it. It really is that easy!

    Sugar
    Sugar

    .

    Followed by juice...
    Followed by juice…
    then Stir! Stir! Stir!
    then Stir! Stir! Stir!
    The finished product - Grenadine
    The finished product – Grenadine

    Note:

    The key to making sure you make good grenadine this way is to ensure that you are using pure pomegranate juice – you want to make sure that the juice is 100% pomegranate juice so make sure you get a decent product like POM Wonderful. It’s worth paying a little more for a much better flavour.

  • Make Sugar Syrup at Home

    Make Sugar Syrup at Home

    Sugar Syrup (or Simple Syrup as it is also commonly known) is one of the most common sweetening ingredients used in cocktails and also one of the easiest to make at home.

    Sugar is an essential ingredient in cocktails as it allows us to add a sweetener to bitter or sour ingredients and help create a balanced drink. As we are working with liquids when we make cocktails sugar syrup has the advantage of already being dissolved making it mix into our cocktails much faster/easier than if we were using granulated sugar, especially as we will be using ice in the majority of our drinks (I’m sure many of you realise it takes longer for sugar to dissolve in cold liquid than warm).

    All about Ratios

    The standard ratio for simple syrup is 1:1, meaning 1 part sugar to 1 part water. I prefer to make a syrup with a 2:1 sugar:water ratio with gives a slightly thicker, richer flavour; if you are going to make this then remember  to be careful when using it in cocktails as the extra sweetness means you will not need to add as much syrup as you would from the 1:1 ratio (more sugar = use less in drink).

    Put simply, for a 1:1 simple syrup you’ll need 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar. It’s that easy.

    You will need

    • Water
    • Sugar
    • A pot
    • An oven (a camp stove will probably do if you need to MacGyver it)

    Pour your water into your pot and turn the heat on. Wait until the water is hot but not boiling and pour in your sugar -now stir stir stir!

    You want to make sure the sugar dissolves completely but we don’t really want the mixture to boil so now is a good time to turn off the heat.

    Continue stirring until the mixture is completely dissolved.

    Leave your dissolved syrup to cool off and once cold pour it into a bottle, put a lid on and keep it in the fridge until you need to use it. Refrigerated and with a cap on the syrup should last a few months at least.

    Done! I told you it was… simple (I’m sorry).

    If you’re still feeling creative then check out my cheater’s guide to making Grenadine at home.

    Happy mixing.

    // David

  • Essential ingredients for your home cocktail bar [with Free Checklist!]

    Essential ingredients for your home cocktail bar [with Free Checklist!]

    Updated: November 2023

    We’ve had a look at essential equipment for your home bar, so it’s time to take a look at the essential ingredients that will go into your cocktails.

    You can grab your free cocktail ingredients pdf checklist at the end of this post.

    Essential ingredients for your bar

    Working as a cocktail bartender gives you the luxury of entire back bars full of wonderful, exotic ingredients to taste and play around with. Home bars tend to be a bit less well-stocked, as most of us have little things like money/space/time/partners to get in the way, however if you try and stock a few main ingredients you should find that you can make a pretty good selection of good, classic cocktails.

    Below I’m going to give you a list of the main ingredients for a well stocked home bar, and also the main ingredients that we’ll be using in the training lessons.  I’m going to start off as basic as possible to help keep your costs down, but we’ll go into some more extended lists in later posts as we progress and get a bit more creative. If you’ve already got some old stuff lying around at home feel free to make use of that to start.

    So, without further ado…

    Spirits

    Vodka 

    Any reasonable brand will do, but it’s worth paying a couple of dollars to avoid the bottom shelf and its associated industrial-cleaner taste. I’m a fan of Absolut, Titos and Ketel One.

    Gin

    Preferably a dry style like Beefeater or Bombay Sapphire. We want to keep it simple (for now), so I’d avoid many of the newer brands with ‘exotic’ botanicals as those flavours will influence the cocktails too much.

    Rum (white or light)

    A good light rum, something like Havana 3 Años. If you’re from the USA and can’t buy Cuban,  Mount Gay, El Dorado, and Santa Teresa all make good products.

    Tequila (white / blanco)

    Look for ‘100% Agave’ on the bottle; we want to avoid the nasty ‘mixtos’ brands and their associated taste of gasoline. El Jimador is good, anything with a novelty sombrero = avoid.

    Bourbon / American whiskey

    It’s easier to start with a Bourbon over a rye. Brand-wise,  Makers Mark, Woodford Reserve are good and easy to find.

    Blended Scotch whisky

    You may choose to sip on Single Malt (and who could blame you!), but a blend will be more cost-effective for mixed drinks. Try Johnny Walker Black or Chivas Regal.

    Brandy

    Look for a VS Cognac. You may be lucky and find a deal for one of the big brands (Hennessy, Remy Martin etc)

    Liqueurs

    Triple Sec/Orange liqueur

    The orange flavour is very versatile and is used to flavour many famous cocktails. Cointreau is a nice premium brand but we’ll be using this liqueur quite a lot so don’t be scared to go for something cheaper, like Bol’s or Giffard Triple Sec.

    Maraschino liqueur

    An Italian cherry liqueur, you might recognise the Luxardo bottle.

    Coffee liqueur

    Kahlua or Tia Maria are popular brands that should be easy enough to find.

    Crème de Cassis

    Blackcurrent liqueur, a cocktail brand like Bols or Marie Blizard will do.

    Crème de Cacao

    A light, cacao (chocolate) bean liqueur, less sweet than a straight chocolate liqueur such as Godiva or Mozart. Especially useful for late night ‘desert’ style cocktails. Bol’s is fine to start.

    With the sweet stuff out of the way, it’s time for vermouths and bitters (hint: once opened keep your vermouths in the fridge like you would with wine – they’ll last longer and taste much better).

    Vermouths, apéritifs and bitters

    Dry Vermouth

    Martini dry, Noilly Prat dry are both good products.

    Sweet (red) Vermouth

    Again, Martini, Cinzano, and Noilly Prat are good brands to start with.

    Campari

    An Italian brand of bitter aparatif. It may seem incredibly bitter by itself but will come in handy with some classic drinks like the Americano and the Negroni.

    Angostura Bitters

    Aromatic bitters in the well known bottle. A ‘dash’ or so is added for flavour and balance in many drinks.

    Orange Bitters

    Similar to Angostura bitters (they make their own version), these are aromatic bitters with a strong orange flavour. Angostura, Reagans no. 6 or Fee Brothers are a good start.

    Non Alcoholic Syrups

    Sugar syrup

    You can buy simple syrup or make syrup at home.

    Grenadine

    Traditionally flavoured from Pomegranates, these days its basically ‘Mixed berry syrup + a whole bunch of E numbers’. The Monin brand is cheap and easy to find, or you can make a decent Grenadine syrup at home.

    The rest

    These items tend to be perishable. Instead of buying everything straight away, pick them them up as needed.

    Ice

    Cubed ice (and quite a lot of it too as we need fresh ice in each glass and each shaker). Make yourself or buy bags.

    Limes and lemons

    Needed for garnishes, and even more importantly, for fresh juice. Hint: a decent half lemon gets around 25ml juice, and half a lime squeezed can get around 15ml.

    Oranges

    For garnishes, twists.

    Juice

    Orange, apple, cranberry pineapple, grapefruit etc depending on what you plan on making. You don’t have to buy Tropicana but get the best you can afford, avoid the cheap blends (eg: “Tropical” with 85% Apple and 15% Mango).

    Roses Lime Cordial

    Salt and pepper

    Sugar and sugar cubes

    And that’s it.

    The list may seem long but it’ll let you make a lot of good drinks and give you room for a bit of creativity.

    If you have any questions about specific brands or anything else, feel free to leave a comment below.

    / David

    Free cocktail ingredients checklist