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Syrups and Sweeteners Sustainability Info for Cocktail Bartenders

Syrups and Sweeteners, Liqueurs and Soda Syrups

Quick Links

  • Orgeat
  • Lime and Other Cordials
  • Misc Syrups
  • Soda Syrups
  • Shrubs
  • Honey and Beekeeping

 

Orgeat

  • Orgeat is traditionally an almond-based syrup used in cocktails such as the Mai Tai. Some bars have moved to other variations of orgeat because almonds are said to use a lot of water, though this is now disputed. 
  • Recipe for orgeat from leftover almond croissants.
  • An article on various alternate orgeats (no recipes).
  • Queen's Park in Birmingham, AL makes orgeat (recipe here) and then uses this orgeat in their Falernum. 
  • Uses for leftover almond solids after making orgeat are found on the Other Produce page - see Nuts.
  • Alternative Orgeat
    • Make orgeat from leftover popcorn [mentioned here from The 18th Room in NYC]
    • Black Sesame Orgeat Recipe from Luuk Gerritsen, along with a drink to use it in
    • The leftovers from this sesame seed orgeat are tahini, from Aisling Gammill 

 

Lime and Other Cordials

  • Jeffrey Morgenthaler's recipe for Lime Cordial
  • Nicholas Box uses this basic cordial recipe with lemon and then uses it as simple syrup in lemonade. 
  • No-zesting required lime cordial recipe from Sidebar in Oakland. 
  • Luuk Gerritsen's Lime Cordial recipe that uses lime tree leaves.
  • Andreas Sanidiotis of Lost + Found Drinkery makes a lime oleo saccharum and adds leftover lime juice to make his cordial. 

 

Liqueurs

  • Coffee liqueur from used coffee grounds 
    • In a New York Times article, Claire Sprouse of Hunky Dory describes the process of using coffee grounds, "Instead, she makes what she calls “old-brew,” running the grounds through a second brew cycle. The bitter, diluted result isn’t something you’d necessarily want to drink out of a coffee mug, but when combined with equal parts sugar, it becomes a syrup ideal for use in an espresso martini or an old fashioned." 
    • Breanne Rupp of Boat Drinks Bar in St. Augustine, Florida also shares her recipe for "foolproof leftover coffee grind liqueur."
  • Falernum recipe from Laura Newman of Queens Park Birmingham that uses their own orgeat as a sub-recipe
  • The falernum from Boston’s Seth Freidus uses citrus husks rather than fresh citrus 
  • The orange liqueur and citrus vodka from Boston’s Seth Freidus uses citrus husks rather than fresh citrus 
  • Apple liqueur made with apple pulp after juicing 

 

Misc. Syrups

  • Nicholas Box uses the Morgenthaler recipe to make maraschino cherries, and then uses the leftover syrup in a cocktail. 
  • Grenadine
    • Some bars make their own grenadine splitting POM pomegranate juice with equal volume of sugar. 
    • Meryll Cawn says you can use leftover syrup from maraschino cherries as grenadine, or to stretch grenadine. 
  • Make pineapple syrup from pineapple skins and scraps after juicing/slicing. 
  • Pineapple core and citrus husk syrup/oleo
  • Make apple core and beer syrup from expiring flat beer from kegs. 
  • You can also make reduced wine syrups similarly from leftover wine. 

 

Storing and Preserving Syrups

Syrups are already a preservation method for fresh ingredients. However what if you've got a lot?

  • Vacuum-seal your syrups and freeze them, as Aisling Gammill recommends. 

 

Homemade Soda Syrups

Making your own syrups for sodas cuts down on the bottles and shipping from commercial brands. 

Ginger Beer

  • Ginger syrup recipe from Nicholas Box of Acorn in Vancouver 
  • Jeffrey Morgenthaler's recipe for fermented ginger beer.

Tonic Water

  • Tonic syrup recipe from Nicholas Box of Acorn in Vancouver that uses citrus scraps 
  • Make a "Trash Tonic" with spent citrus, gentian, and other herbs

Grapefruit Soda

  • Carbonated grapefruit soda recipe using grapefruit juice and oleo saccharum plus some isolated acids on the Trash Tiki website

 

Shrubs

Shrubs are syrups, often fruit or berry-based, with sugar and vinegar. 

Shrub Recipes

  • How to Make Shrub Syrups
  • How to Make Shrubs (aka Drinking Vinegars) Without a Recipe
  • Summer Fruit Shrub
  • How To Make Strawberry Shrub and What to Do With It

 

 

Honey and Beekeeping

  • Resources for Beekeeping 
    • Books
      • Beekeeping for Dummies
      • The Beekeeper's Bible
    • Websites
      • An easy way to get started is to perform a web search for beekeeping in your city. There may be community groups, resources, and local experts to hire. 
      • Bee Built: Beekeeping for Beginners 
      • The Spruce: Beekeeping for Beginners Step By Step
    •  

 

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