Hi, Friends of Cocktails! If you make cocktails, you have found yourself with so many homemade syrups that you don’t know where to store them all. Not to mention, they can spoil quickly and end up going to waste. That’s why today we’ll take a look at how to tackle that without limiting your creativity for fun cocktails and experiments. The best part is you’ll only need 1 syrup, which means you can use it for all kinds of cocktails, and the secret is tinctures!
We’ll make 9 different tinctures, with two different methods - maceration at room temperature, and sous vide - so you will have options on how to make the tinctures you need, and then we’ll test them in a simple Daiquri twist. At the end we’ll also go over all the pros and cons of making tinctured syrups, so make sure you reach the Bottom of The Glass to see what they are. But first and foremost, where did the idea for this post come from?
Jurgenandrag3181, a Friend of Cocktails, left us a comment on YouTube about tinctures being a hack for quick and flavorful cocktail syrups. And since we have used tinctures before to make Lime-, Limon-, and Arancello, I really liked the idea of a wider range of tinctures so I started experimenting with different preparation methods. But first, we need some base syrup.
I’ll make a 1:1 syrup with gum arabic added for that silky texture and mouthfeel. But even more importantly than that, the gum arabic will act as an emulsifier for the essential oils from the flavoring agents we’ll use for the tinctures. This way every syrup will be well mixed, and you 'll always be ready when someone says “It’s Cocktail Time!”.
Gum Simple Syrup
● 500g Boiling Hot Water
● 50g Gum Arabic
● 500g Acacia Honey
I’m starting by mixing the hot water with the gum arabic, which is hardened sap from the Acacia tree. Once fully stirred it's time to add the sugar and continue mixing until dissolved, which should be pretty easy if you have a magnetic stirrer to do the stirring for you. With that we have our base for today’s episode, gum syrup.
With this we’ll be able to make 9 different syrups with only one bottle going in the fridge. To do that, we first need tinctures, starting with vanilla, mint, coffee, ceylon cinnamon, and lemon peel. I’m using a high ABV vodka for this, so look for something with 50% ABV, which is 100-proof. But you can also bump up the ABV levels with everclear, as long as you make sure you’ve got your numbers correct.
Vanilla Tincture | Mint Tincture | Coffee Tincture | Cinnamon Tincture | Lemon Peel Tincture |
● 3g Vanilla Bean ● 75mL · 2.5oz 100 Proof Vodka | ● 2g Mint Tea ● 75mL · 2.5oz 100 Proof Vodka | ● 3g Coffee Beans ● 75mL · 2.5oz 100 Proof Vodka | ● 3g Ceylon Cinnamon ● 75mL · 2.5oz 100 Proof Vodka | ● 12g Lemon Peels ● 75mL · 2.5oz 100 Proof Vodka |
Split and scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean before infusing. | Use a mortar and pestle to roughly break the coffee bean. | Use a mortar and pestle to roughly break the cinnamon. | Cut the peels into smaller pieces. |
We are leaving these tinctures to infuse for 2 weeks before filtering them. Just remember to give them a shake about once per day, and test how the flavors develop as you go. But with that we have enough to make 2 liters of flavored syrup with each of these tinctures. Before we do that, let’s make some sous vide tinctures to see how they compare. Here we’ll make 4 other flavors, with cloves, tonka bean, nutmeg, and sichuan pepper.
Clove Tincture | Tonka Bean Tincture | Nutmeg Tincture | Sichuan Pepper Tincture |
● 3g Cloves ● 75mL · 2.5oz 100 Proof Vodka | ● 3g Tonka Bean ● 75mL · 2.5oz 100 Proof Vodka | ● 3g Cloves ● 75mL · 2.5oz 100 Proof Vodka | ● 3g Sichuan Pepper ● 75mL · 2.5oz 100 Proof Vodka |
Use a mortar and pestle to roughly break the cloves. | Use a mortar and pestle to roughly break the tonka bean. | Use a mortar and pestle to roughly break the nutmeg. | Use a mortar and pestle to roughly break the sichuan pepper. |
Place each ingredient into a separate sous vide bag along with the vodka and seal them. I recommend a double seal as always, then place them in the sous vide bath set to 60°C or 140°F. Instead of 2 weeks this will be done in 3 hours, then all that’s left is to strain them and bottling them. For storing and bottling you can use the same small jars that you used for the infusions and use a pipette when measuring out the tincture. Another option are bitters bottles - either with a dasher top, or a pipette.
Don’t forget to add labels, so you’ll know what each one is, because you’ll be able to use them for a long long time. If stored well, this should last indefinitely, although after a year or so they might lose the intensity of the flavor. But either way, now that we have our tinctures let’s see how to use them to make flavored syrup or directly flavor our cocktails.
Tincture Flavored Syrup
● 180mL · 6oz Gum Simple Syrup
● 6mL · -0.25oz Tincture
Add your tincture of choice to the syrup, mix, label and that’s it. It really is this quick and simple, butfeel free to try these ratios and adjust them to your liking. If you want a bigger kick of flavor, add a bit more, do your own thing. Now, let’s make a Daiquiri twist using one of these tinctures. I’ll go with the sichuan tincture and I’ll mix it with the evergreen combo of light rum, sugar and lime. Saline is here to boost the flavors.
Sichuan Daiquiri
● 60mL · 2oz Rum
● 22.5mL · 0.75oz Gum Simple Syrup
● 22.5mL · 0.75oz Lime Super Juice
● 1 dash Sichuan Pepper Tincture
● 2 drops 20% Saline Solution
As always I like to chill the shaker first. Then add the ingredients along with plenty of ice, and instead of using a flavored syrup I’ll add a dash of Sichuan Pepper Tincture. Now it’s time to shake the cocktail hard to properly chill and dilute our Sichuan Daiquiri. Double strain it into a coupe glass and that’s it.
Bright, rich and refreshing, with a subtle berry aftertaste. A wonderful Daiquiri twist, but with that we’ve made it to the bottom of the glass. It’s time to go over the pro’s and con’s of tinctures and syrups. We already mentioned less wasted space in the fridge and less syrups going bad. But you’ll actually use less ingredients for the same flavor, saving your money. If you have an iSi Siphon, you can also make quick tinctures too, so it’s a very useful method for a busy bar.
Also with the possibility of adding flavors directly to the cocktail, instead of adding it to the syrups, you can easily combine different flavor pairings. Nutmeg & lemon, orange & coffee, cinnamon & vanilla, you name it. As for the cons, I can actually think of only one: you can’t really make tinctured syrups with fruits. If you’re looking for that, Liber&Co. is here to save the day and to make sure we don’t end on a negative note. I’ll leave their link in the description as well. Until next week, cheers!