Simple Syrup

I'm a bit of a cocktail fanatic, which means that I place almost as much weight on the strength of a restaurant's bar list as its menu when making dining-out decisions. That said, the fancy creations I crave often come with an equally precious price point, so I'm always looking for a way to replicate my favorite boozy treats at home. For this reason, I prefer keeping the basic accoutrements on hand for concocting a simple cocktail when a craving hits.

I turn to simple syrups to flavor and sweeten cocktails, and when I'm looking for a particularly punchy ginger kick, I often pull out a bottle of my homemade ginger simple syrup. And while ginger simple syrup's most obvious application is in the cocktails I crave, I've managed to find a whole host of secondary uses.

Keep reading to see what they are — and get the ginger simple syrup recipe.

Simple syrup is one hot ingredient right now, and what's so great about it is that it takes minimal effort to create something special and useful. We've been noticing unique and exciting flavor combinations and recipes, like rhubarb and rosewater syrup, popping up all over the place.

To make your own flavored simple syrup, all you need to do is add whatever flavoring component (citrus zest, lavender buds, rose water) you desire into the boiling sugar water and let it infuse (the longer you let it cook together, the stronger the flavoring will be), then strain the syrup and store it. Now we can't stop daydreaming about all of the possible flavor combinations out there that we can't wait to use in Summer cocktails, iced tea, and homemade sodas. For some flavor combinations we can't wait to try, read on.

All day yesterday, I couldn't wait to get home after work. I was planning on making a blackberry margarita. I spent some time researching recipes before I left; there's a lot of interesting blackberry margaritas out there, from thyme-infused ones to others that are muddled with mint. After hitting up the market and Bevmo, I arrived home ready for my marg and realized I had no limes!

I couldn't make a margarita without fresh lime juice, so I set out to create a blackberry-lemon cocktail. Gin was my base spirit, although you could substitute vodka. The resulting concoction hit the spot. It was fruity and boozy in the best kind of way. Want to see what I came up with? You know what to do: keep reading!

Simple syrup plays a key role in sweetening cocktails. The classic syrup is equal parts sugar and water. When a drink calls for simple syrup, I normally bring the sugar and water to a boil, let it cool, and use according to the libation's recipe.

However, what happens when you don't have time to heat and cool the syrup? Recently I found myself in this predicament, and I remembered a tip that I learned from Tony Abou-Ganim at the Food & Wine Classic.

He says that when you need simply syrup in a hurry, fill a jar with the sugar and water. Shake vigorously until it's combined and use. Voila, quick simple syrup! No boiling necessary, how easy is that?

My Greek feast is taking place on Saturday after a day of wine tasting, but our Dionysus-themed girls weekend begins on Friday night. To kick start the event, I'll greet each girl with a cocktail when she arrives. My sister has purchased golden Greek laurels for everyone to wear in their hair, so my cocktail is inspired by this party gift. It's called a Lemony Laurel and is a sunny, refreshing concoction that combines a lemon and bay leaf syrup with citrus vodka and Galliano. It sounds like a heavenly beverage that would be delicious enough for a goddess to drink! Get the recipe I'll be using when you read more

Uncouth as it may sound, whiskey and lemon was the combination that first opened my eyes to the world of alcoholic beverages.

It was freshman year of high school, and the only drink in the world that I hated more than coffee was anything with alcohol in it. Then I developed a nighttime cough that no medicine would cure, and my mother started making me a drink of hot lemon juice, honey, and a splash of whiskey. The whiskey was warming on the way down and had a musky, smoky scent; the lemon left a tart, tongue-puckering finish.

That experience turned out to be just the beginning. Flash forward a decade and a half, and while I now appreciate everything from Campari to absinthe, the combination of whiskey and lemon still holds a special place in my heart. I especially love it in an icy, lemonade-like version for picnics or other Summer outings. See a recipe for warm weather refreshment when you read more.