Simple Syrup cocktails
26 classic recipes from our canon that use simple syrup — Simple Syrup sits in our syrups & sweeteners shelf.
Old Fashioned
Spirit, sugar, bitters — the original cocktail, distilled to its essentials.
Ingredients
- ◆45 ml bourbon
- ◆10 ml simple syrup
- ◆2 dashes angostura bitters
Method
- 1Stir bourbon, syrup and bitters with ice until chilled.
- 2Strain over a large cube in a rocks glass.
- 3Express an orange peel over the top.
PRO TIP
Stir, never shake — you want silk, not froth.
Garnish — Orange peel
Daiquiri
Rum, lime and sugar in perfect tension — deceptively simple, endlessly refreshing.
Ingredients
- ◆60 ml white rum
- ◆20 ml lime juice
- ◆10 ml simple syrup
Method
- 1Shake everything hard with ice for 10–12 seconds.
- 2Double-strain into a chilled coupe.
PRO TIP
Chill the coupe first — a warm glass kills a drink this delicate.
Garnish — Lime wheel
Mojito
Mint, lime and soda over rum — a Havana classic built for hot afternoons.
Ingredients
- ◆45 ml white rum
- ◆20 ml lime juice
- ◆10 ml simple syrup
- ◆6 leaves mint
- ◆to top club soda
Method
- 1Gently press the mint with lime juice and syrup — don't shred it.
- 2Add rum and ice, stir.
- 3Top with soda and stir once more.
PRO TIP
Slap the mint sprig between your hands before garnishing to wake up the aroma.
Garnish — Mint sprig
Espresso Martini
Cold, sharp and caffeinated — the dinner-party pick-me-up with a glossy crema.
Ingredients
- ◆50 ml vodka
- ◆30 ml kahlua
- ◆30 ml espresso
- ◆10 ml simple syrup
Method
- 1Pull a fresh shot of espresso and let it cool slightly.
- 2Shake everything very hard with ice — the harder the better.
- 3Double-strain into a chilled coupe.
PRO TIP
A hard, long shake is what builds that signature foam cap.
Garnish — Three coffee beans
Whiskey Sour
Bourbon, lemon and a silky egg-white cap — tart, rounded and timeless.
Ingredients
- ◆45 ml bourbon
- ◆25 ml lemon juice
- ◆20 ml simple syrup
- ◆1 egg white
Method
- 1Dry-shake everything without ice to build the foam.
- 2Add ice and shake again until cold.
- 3Strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass.
PRO TIP
A few drops of bitters on the foam, dragged with a pick, makes it look the part.
Garnish — Angostura bitters
Sazerac
Rye stirred with Peychaud's in an absinthe-rinsed glass — New Orleans' spirit-forward classic.
Ingredients
- ◆rinse absinthe
- ◆50 ml rye whiskey
- ◆7 ml simple syrup
- ◆2 dashes peychaud's bitters
Method
- 1Rinse a chilled rocks glass with absinthe and discard the excess.
- 2Stir rye, syrup and Peychaud's with ice until cold.
- 3Strain into the glass, neat, and express a lemon peel over the top.
PRO TIP
Served without ice — the absinthe is a rinse, not a pour.
Garnish — Lemon peel, discarded
French 75
A gin sour topped with Champagne — celebratory, sharp and dangerously easy.
Ingredients
- ◆30 ml gin
- ◆15 ml lemon juice
- ◆15 ml simple syrup
- ◆60 ml champagne
Method
- 1Shake gin, lemon and syrup with ice.
- 2Strain into a chilled flute.
- 3Top gently with cold Champagne.
PRO TIP
Add the Champagne last and slow, or it foams over.
Garnish — Lemon twist
Mint Julep
Bourbon and mint over a mountain of crushed ice — the drink of the Kentucky Derby.
Ingredients
- ◆8 leaves mint
- ◆15 ml simple syrup
- ◆60 ml bourbon
Method
- 1Gently press the mint with the syrup in a julep cup.
- 2Fill with crushed ice and add bourbon.
- 3Churn with a spoon until the cup frosts.
PRO TIP
Press the mint, don't shred it — and pack the ice high.
Garnish — Mint bouquet
Caipirinha
Cachaça muddled with lime and sugar — Brazil's national drink, rustic and zesty.
Ingredients
- ◆1, in wedges lime
- ◆20 ml simple syrup
- ◆60 ml cachaca
Method
- 1Muddle the lime wedges with the syrup in a rocks glass.
- 2Fill with crushed ice and add the cachaça.
- 3Stir well.
PRO TIP
Muddle gently — crush the juice out, not the bitter white pith.
Garnish — Lime wedge
Bramble
A gin sour over crushed ice, bled through with blackberry liqueur — a modern British classic.
Ingredients
- ◆50 ml gin
- ◆25 ml lemon juice
- ◆12 ml simple syrup
- ◆15 ml blackberry liqueur
Method
- 1Shake gin, lemon and syrup with ice.
- 2Strain over crushed ice in a rocks glass.
- 3Drizzle the blackberry liqueur over the top in a circle so it bleeds down.
PRO TIP
Crème de mûre is the classic blackberry liqueur — pour it last for the bleed.
Garnish — Lemon slice and blackberries
Pisco Sour
Pisco, lime and a silky egg-white cap finished with bitters — South America's signature sour.
Ingredients
- ◆60 ml pisco
- ◆30 ml lemon juice
- ◆20 ml simple syrup
- ◆1 egg white
- ◆3 drops angostura bitters
Method
- 1Dry-shake pisco, lemon, syrup and egg white without ice.
- 2Add ice and shake again until cold.
- 3Strain into a chilled goblet and dot bitters over the foam.
PRO TIP
Drag a pick through the bitters dots for the classic feathered pattern.
Garnish — Angostura bitters
Gin Basil Smash
Gin smashed with fresh basil and lemon — herbaceous, vivid green and modern.
Ingredients
- ◆60 ml gin
- ◆22 ml lemon juice
- ◆22 ml simple syrup
- ◆10 leaves basil
Method
- 1Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice.
- 2Shake vigorously to bruise the basil.
- 3Double-strain into a chilled rocks glass over ice.
PRO TIP
A modern German classic — the basil should perfume the whole drink.
Garnish — Basil sprig
Old Cuban
A grown-up mojito — aged rum, mint and lime lengthened with Champagne and bitters.
Ingredients
- ◆45 ml dark rum
- ◆22 ml lime juice
- ◆30 ml simple syrup
- ◆6 leaves mint
- ◆2 dashes angostura bitters
- ◆60 ml prosecco
Method
- 1Shake everything except the sparkling wine with ice.
- 2Double-strain into a chilled coupe.
- 3Top gently with prosecco or Champagne.
PRO TIP
Audrey Saunders' modern classic — aged rum makes it elegant, not beachy.
Garnish — Mint sprig
Southside
A minted gin sour — like a mojito's sharper, gin-drinking cousin.
Ingredients
- ◆60 ml gin
- ◆30 ml lemon juice
- ◆15 ml simple syrup
- ◆6 leaves mint
Method
- 1Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice.
- 2Shake hard to break up the mint.
- 3Double-strain into a chilled coupe.
PRO TIP
Double-strain so no mint shards end up in the glass.
Garnish — Mint leaf
Gin Fizz
Short, shaken and effervescent — a gin sour lengthened with a splash of soda.
Ingredients
- ◆45 ml gin
- ◆30 ml lemon juice
- ◆10 ml simple syrup
- ◆60 ml club soda
Method
- 1Shake gin, lemon and syrup hard with ice.
- 2Strain into a chilled glass with no ice.
- 3Top with cold soda.
PRO TIP
Unlike a Collins, a Fizz is served short and without ice in the glass.
Garnish — Lemon wheel
Ramos Gin Fizz
Gin, citrus, cream and orange-flower whipped to a towering cloud — the famous two-minute shake.
Ingredients
- ◆45 ml gin
- ◆15 ml lemon juice
- ◆15 ml lime juice
- ◆30 ml simple syrup
- ◆60 ml heavy cream
- ◆1 egg white
- ◆3 dashes orange flower water
- ◆2 drops vanilla extract
- ◆to top club soda
Method
- 1Shake everything except the soda with ice for a full two minutes.
- 2Double-strain, return to the shaker, and hard-shake again without ice.
- 3Strain into a highball and top slowly with soda to lift the foam.
PRO TIP
The long shake is the whole point — it builds the signature standing foam.
Garnish — None
New York Sour
A whiskey sour crowned with a float of red wine — dramatic-looking and surprisingly harmonious.
Ingredients
- ◆60 ml rye whiskey
- ◆30 ml lemon juice
- ◆22 ml simple syrup
- ◆few drops egg white
- ◆15 ml red wine
Method
- 1Shake whiskey, lemon and syrup with ice.
- 2Strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass.
- 3Float the red wine over the back of a spoon.
PRO TIP
A dry, fruity red floats best and bleeds down beautifully.
Garnish — None
John Collins
The original tall gin cooler — lemon, sugar and soda over plenty of ice.
Ingredients
- ◆45 ml gin
- ◆30 ml lemon juice
- ◆15 ml simple syrup
- ◆60 ml club soda
Method
- 1Build all ingredients in an ice-filled highball.
- 2Stir gently.
PRO TIP
Made with Old Tom gin it becomes a Tom Collins.
Garnish — Lemon slice and cherry
Champagne Cocktail
A bitters-soaked sugar cube drowned in Champagne with a cognac lift — old-world celebration.
Ingredients
- ◆5 ml simple syrup
- ◆2 dashes angostura bitters
- ◆10 ml cognac
- ◆to top champagne
Method
- 1Add syrup and bitters to a chilled flute, then the cognac.
- 2Top slowly with cold Champagne.
PRO TIP
Traditionally a sugar cube soaked in bitters — syrup keeps it simpler.
Garnish — Lemon twist
Illegal
Mezcal and overproof rum with falernum and lime — smoky, tart and built to bite.
Ingredients
- ◆30 ml mezcal
- ◆15 ml white rum
- ◆15 ml falernum
- ◆1 bar spoon maraschino liqueur
- ◆22 ml lime juice
- ◆15 ml simple syrup
- ◆few drops egg white
Method
- 1Shake all ingredients vigorously with ice.
- 2Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, or over rocks in a clay mug.
PRO TIP
Overproof Jamaican rum and espadín mezcal give it the backbone.
Garnish — None
Russian Spring Punch
Vodka, cassis and lemon topped with sparkling wine — a fizzy, berry-bright cooler.
Ingredients
- ◆25 ml vodka
- ◆25 ml lemon juice
- ◆15 ml creme de cassis
- ◆10 ml simple syrup
- ◆to top prosecco
Method
- 1Shake everything except the sparkling wine with ice.
- 2Strain into an ice-filled tall glass.
- 3Top with prosecco or Champagne.
PRO TIP
A Dick Bradsell creation — the same mind behind the Espresso Martini.
Garnish — Blackberries and lemon
Pisco Punch
Pisco with pineapple, citrus and a splash of wine — a 19th-century San Francisco legend.
Ingredients
- ◆60 ml pisco
- ◆22 ml pineapple juice
- ◆15 ml simple syrup
- ◆15 ml lemon juice
- ◆30 ml white wine
Method
- 1Lightly muddle a few cloves with the syrup.
- 2Add the remaining ingredients except the wine and shake with ice.
- 3Double-strain into a goblet and float the wine on top.
PRO TIP
A few muddled cloves add the warm spice that defines it.
Garnish — Pineapple
Sherry Cobbler
Sherry shaken with sugar and citrus over crushed ice — a refreshing Victorian icon.
Ingredients
- ◆90 ml sherry
- ◆1 tsp simple syrup
- ◆2 quarter wheels orange
Method
- 1Shake the sherry, sugar and citrus wheels briskly with ice.
- 2Strain into a cup packed with crushed ice.
PRO TIP
An amontillado or palo cortado sherry gives the best nutty depth.
Garnish — Berries and citrus wheels
Gimlet
Gin, lime and sugar in tight balance — crisp, pale and bracingly tart.
Ingredients
- ◆60 ml gin
- ◆20 ml lime juice
- ◆15 ml simple syrup
Method
- 1Shake all ingredients with ice until well chilled.
- 2Double-strain into a chilled coupe.
PRO TIP
Fresh lime over lime cordial — brighter, cleaner, less candied.
Garnish — Lime wheel
Whiskey Smash
A bourbon sour smashed with mint and lemon — like a julep and a sour had a summer fling.
Ingredients
- ◆6 leaves mint
- ◆22 ml lemon juice
- ◆15 ml simple syrup
- ◆60 ml bourbon
Method
- 1Muddle the mint with lemon and syrup.
- 2Add bourbon and ice, shake hard.
- 3Strain over crushed ice in a rocks glass.
PRO TIP
Muddle the mint just enough to release the oils — over-muddling turns it bitter.
Garnish — Mint sprig
Tom Collins
A tall, fizzy gin sour — lemonade with a backbone, built for the porch.
Ingredients
- ◆45 ml gin
- ◆25 ml lemon juice
- ◆15 ml simple syrup
- ◆to top club soda
Method
- 1Shake gin, lemon and syrup with ice.
- 2Strain into an ice-filled highball.
- 3Top with club soda and stir once.
PRO TIP
Build it tall — the soda is half the drink.
Garnish — Lemon wheel and cherry
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