Tag: demerara sugar

rum

Rum Old Fashioned | A 4 Ingredient Classic Cocktail Made with Decadent Demerara Sugar

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This Rum Old Fashioned sweetened with Demerara sugar is the perfect cocktail to sip on chilly nights. It's a timeless classic that seasoned bartenders savor and yet is simple enough for even the most novice of home bartenders to whip up.

This Rum Old Fashioned sweetened with Demerara sugar is the perfect cocktail to sip on chilly nights. It’s a timeless classic that seasoned bartenders savor and yet is simple enough for even the most novice of home bartenders to whip up.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like! 

The Old Fashioned is a classic cocktail and it’s probably surprising that I haven’t posted the recipe here on Girl & Tonic yet. It’s one of those recipes that I have a hard time sitting down to write out because I have so many other recipe ideas swirling around in my head. I’m sure I’ll write it out one day. But for today, we’re gonna be talking about it’s warm & friendly cousin: the Rum Old Fashioned.

As with any cocktail that is spirit-forward, the quality of your rum here will make or break the drink. Normally, I’m all for penny-pinching. I don’t think you have to buy top-shelf alcohol to make a great cocktail. But save your lower-end rums for drinks that use ingredients with stronger flavor profiles, like a Jungle Bird, a Sea Monster, or a Dark & Stormy.

This Rum Old Fashioned sweetened with Demerara sugar is the perfect cocktail to sip on chilly nights. It's a timeless classic that seasoned bartenders savor and yet is simple enough for even the most novice of home bartenders to whip up.

For this Rum Old Fashioned, you’re gonna want to use that nice bottle of golden, aged rum you’ve had stashed away for a while. Or maybe this will be the perfect excuse for you to splurge a little on a good-quality rum at the liquor store. I personally love having a range of spirits on hand for everyday drinks or special occasions.

Now, a traditional Old Fashioned calls for a sugar cube. You can definitely use a sugar cube in a Rum Old Fashioned. However, since we’re going the rum route, it feels too natural to use Demerara sugar. You can make it into a Demerara simple syrup like I did or you can use a teaspoon of it.

If you make the Demerara syrup, you’ll be able to use it in a lot of other cocktails like the classic Mai Tai or the aforementioned Jungle Bird. It’s also incredible in coffee. Demerara sugar has got a great toffee taste to it. You can sub in turbinado sugar, too.

This Rum Old Fashioned sweetened with Demerara sugar is the perfect cocktail to sip on chilly nights. It's a timeless classic that seasoned bartenders savor and yet is simple enough for even the most novice of home bartenders to whip up.

Sometimes it’s tempting to skip the garnish on a cocktail. I’m guilty of it myself. But don’t skip the orange peel in this one. It adds just the right amount of orange essence without overpowering the drink.

It’s also tempting to forego adding bitters to a cocktail, After all, so many recipes just call for 1-3 dashes or drops of them. They make a big difference in any drink, but especially in this one. My friend refers to bitters as “seasoning for cocktails” and she’s right. You *can* skip bitters in a recipe… but it’s like going without seasoning on a chicken breast or french fries. You could… but why?

Plus, a bottle of bitters is inexpensive will last you for years and years. They’re a worthy investment for any home bartender. You can also experiment with other flavors of bitters such as orange bitters, cardamom bitters (I love!), and chocolate bitters. You could even make a Rum Old Fashioned with a couple dashes of chocolate bitters. Mm. Now that sounds nice.

This Rum Old Fashioned sweetened with Demerara sugar is the perfect cocktail to sip on chilly nights. It's a timeless classic that seasoned bartenders savor and yet is simple enough for even the most novice of home bartenders to whip up.

This is also a cocktail that’s made without a cocktail shaker. Traditionally, cocktails that are spirit-forward are mixed and chilled by stirring them in a mixing glass and then straining them into your glass of choice. Here is a really pretty cocktail mixing glass I’ve had my eye on for a while. You can always just use the cup portion of your cocktail shaker. Or just make the drink right in the glass. I won’t tell anyone.

So, what do you prefer: a Rum Old Fashioned or the classic whiskey Old Fashioned? I’d love to hear your preference in the comments!

Ingredients for a Rum Old Fashioned

  • 1 1/2 oz aged rum (good quality)
  • 1/4 oz Demerara syrup or sugar
  • 3-4 dashes of aromatic bitters
  • swatch of orange peel

How to Make a Rum Old Fashioned

Add the rum, Demerara sugar or syrup, and bitters to a mixing glass with ice. Stir well to combine and chill. Strain it over a large ice cube in a lowball glass. Twist the orange peel over the drink in order to release the oils. Place the orange peel in the drink. Enjoy.

Rum Old Fashioned

Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 3 mins
Course Drinks
Servings 1

Equipment

  • mixing glass

Ingredients
  

  • 1½ oz aged rum
  • ¼ oz Demerara syrup*
  • 3-4 dashes aromatic bitters
  • 1 orange peel

Instructions
 

  • Add the rum, Demerara sugar or syrup, and bitters to a mixing glass with ice.
  • Stir well to combine and chill.
  • Strain it over a large ice cube in a lowball glass.
  • Twist the orange peel over the drink in order to release the oils. Place the orange peel in the drink. Enjoy.

Notes

*Here’s a super simple recipe for Demerara syrup. Seriously. It’s 2 ingredients and one of them is water.
Keyword aged rum, angostura bitters, bitters, demerara sugar, demerara syrup, orange blossom water, orange peel, rum, rum old fashioned, sugar
The Rum Old Fashioned - Pin for Pinterest - A Classic Cocktail That's Perfect for Fall
rum

Mai Tai |A Classic Cocktail Recipe That’s Been Lost in the Mix

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Learn how to make a classic mai tai, the most infamous tiki drink that dates back to the 1940s. Comparable in fame perhaps only to the Piña Colada, the Mai Tai is a drink that everyone's heard of. But the classic Mai Tai recipe is a far cry from the ones frequently mixed up at chain restaurants and bars.

The Mai Tai is a classic, if not THE classic, tiki cocktail. Comparable in fame perhaps only to the Piña Colada, the Mai Tai is a drink that everyone’s heard of. It’s popular for good reason. It’s freaking delicious. But the classic Mai Tai recipe is a far cry from the ones frequently mixed up at chain restaurants and bars.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like! 

Today, most Mai Tais served at chain restaurants are going to be made with artificial syrups & mixes, multiple fruit juices, and are extremely sweet. If that’s your thing, that’s cool. But if you’re been around Girl & Tonic for a minute, you’ve caught on to the fact that I’m not typically a sweet fruity drink kinda girl.

That’s one reason I stayed away from this classic tiki drink. In fact, I’ve never had one until I made one myself. My town has zero tiki bars, much less a craft cocktail bar, so any time I want to have a good cocktail, I’ve either gotta make it myself (not complaining) or drive an hour+ to the next town that’s got a much cooler cuisine and drink scene.

The only thing I’m bummed about is that I waited THIS long to make a Mai Tai. It’s a good thing Texas summers last until October because I need to enjoy the drink on several more occasions.

Learn how to make a classic mai tai, the most infamous tiki drink that dates back to the 1940s. Comparable in fame perhaps only to the Piña Colada, the Mai Tai is a drink that everyone's heard of. But the classic Mai Tai recipe is a far cry from the ones frequently mixed up at chain restaurants and bars.

Similar to drinks like the Daiquiri and Whiskey Sour, the Mai Tai’s reputation has been tarnished by the use of commercial syrups and anything but fresh ingredients. Thankfully, the rise in craft cocktails in recent years has led to a resurrection of the original recipes of classic drinks.

The Mai Tai is a creation claimed by the two original tiki masters, Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic. You can read more about how these two men created the tiki culture in this great article by Thrillist. I think I’m gonna go with Trader Vic though, because he famous said that anyone who doesn’t believe that he created the Mai Tai “is a dirty stinker”. I don’t wanna be a stinker.

Trader Vic, born Victor Bergeron, said he created this drink in the spur of the moment when entertaining some Tahitian friends. Supposedly, one of them took a sip and said “Maita’i roa a’e” which means something along the lines of “the best” and “out of this world”.

The Mai Tai was made to showcase an incredible 17-year-old Wray and Nephew rum. There was no internet to break back then, so I guess you could say that the Mai Tai broke the world. It literally ran out of that rum. Then the recipe started calling for 15-year-old Wray and Nephew rum. And then the world ran dangerously low on that rum, too. People just couldn’t get enough of the Mai Tai. So the recipe was adapted to a mix of Jamaican rum and Martinique rum.

Learn how to make a classic mai tai, the most infamous tiki drink that dates back to the 1940s. Comparable in fame perhaps only to the Piña Colada, the Mai Tai is a drink that everyone's heard of. But the classic Mai Tai recipe is a far cry from the ones frequently mixed up at chain restaurants and bars.

Interestingly enough, the Mai Tai recipe didn’t have any pineapple or orange juice until the mid-1950s when Trader Vic modified the drink to appeal to wider tourist crowds who were frequenting the Hawaiian location of his bar. That recipe was called the Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai but over the decades it began to be used in place of the classic Mai Tai recipe.

The original recipe required garnishing the Mai Tai with half a lime and a sprig of mint to symbolize a palm tree on an island. Trader Vic apparently hated the little umbrella garnishes and wanted them nowhere near his drinks. I like ’em because I like all things miniature, but to honor the man, I restrained myself this time.

Also, I’ve gotta say it– every time I see the word Mai Tai, I think of Matt Birk asking Andy Dalton if he can make him one in this Bad Lip Reading video. Skip to 0:43 if you want to know what I’m talking about.

If you make this classic Mai Tai recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram! And if you’ve had both a modern-day Mai Tai and a classic Mai Tai, let me know in the comments how they compare.

Learn how to make a classic mai tai, the most infamous tiki drink that dates back to the 1940s. Comparable in fame perhaps only to the Piña Colada, the Mai Tai is a drink that everyone's heard of. It's well-known for good reason. It's freaking delicious. But the classic Mai Tai recipe is a far cry from the ones frequently mixed up at chain restaurants and bars.

Ingredients for a Classic Mai Tai Recipe

  • 2 oz good, aged rum
  • 3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
  • 1/2 ounce orange liqueur
  • 1/4 ounce orgeat (here’s a recipe for homemade orgeat syrup)
  • 1/4 ounce rich demerara simple syrup (with a 2:1 ratio of water to sugar)
  • garnish– sprig of mint
  • garnish– a spent shell of a lime

How to Make a Classic Mai Tai

Add all of the ingredients, except the lime shell and mint sprig) to a cocktail shaker filled with crushed ice (crucial, according to Trader Vic). Shake well. Pour all of the contents into a glass– yep, don’t strain out the shaken ice. Garnish with the lime shell and mint by placing the lime shell cut-side down and arranging the mint to look like a palm tree on an island.

Classic Mai Tai Recipe

This recipe is for a classic Mai Tai, the ones that Trader Vic shook up all those years ago. The traditional garnish is a lime shell and a mint sprig arranged to look like a palm tree on an island.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 3 mins
Course Drinks
Servings 1

Equipment

  • cocktail shaker

Ingredients
  

  • 2 oz aged rum
  • ¾ oz freshly-squeezed lime juice
  • ½ oz orange liqueur
  • ¼ oz orgeat (see note for homemade recipe)
  • ¼ oz Demerara syrup (see note for recipe)
  • 1 spent lime half, to garnish
  • 1 sprig mint, to garnish

Instructions
 

  • Add all of the ingredients, except the lime shell and mint sprig) to a cocktail shaker filled with crushed ice.
  • Shake well.
  • Pour all of the contents into a glass– don't strain out the shaken ice.
  • Add more crushed ice to the glass if necessary.
  • To create the traditional garnish that looks like a palm tree on an island, carefully poke a hole in the top of one of the spent lime shells. Place the shell cut-side down on top of the drink. Stick the lime sprig in the hole. Remove the bottom leaves of the mint to make it look more like a palm tree.

Notes

To make homemade orgeat, you can check out my 2 different recipes here. Or buy some quality orgeat on Amazon.
Here’s a Demerara syrup recipe. Alternatively, rich simple syrup (2:1 sugar to water ratio) can be used in place of Demerara syrup.
Keyword aged rum, dark rum, demerara syrup, lime, lime juice, orange liqueur, orgeat, rum
rum

Jungle Bird | The Tiki Cocktail That’s Not Too Sweet

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The Jungle Bird cocktail is a perfectly balanced tiki drink. It's not too sweet, thanks to the addition of Campari. It's a meeting ground for people who love sweet drinks and people who don't.

I’ve been holding out on y’all for too long. The Jungle Bird is my favorite cocktail at the moment and it has been for some time. This recipe has sat on my “To Post” list since late spring and it’s now the middle of summer and I don’t know how that happened and I’m really sorry, okay? I’m gonna make it right.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like

Thinking of a Jungle Bird cocktail actually makes my mouth water. There’s something about the flavor of this drink that is so unique to me. When it first hits your tongue, you taste the pineapple. It’s bright and sweet. But then it becomes warm and rich, thanks to the dark rum and Demerara syrup. The Campari catches up at the end. It leaves a delectable bitter taste on your tongue that makes you want to take another sip.

The Jungle Bird cocktail is a perfectly balanced tiki drink. It's not too sweet, thanks to the addition of Campari. It's a meeting ground for people who love sweet drinks and people who don't.

The Jungle Bird was supposedly created in the 1970s at the Hilton Hotel’s Aviary Bar in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was served as the welcome drink for guests arriving at the hotel and was wildly popular then. However, the recipe disappeared into relative obscurity until Campari started peaking the interests of American imbibers in the 2010s. This article on ThirstMag.com explores more of the history of the Jungle Bird and includes several recipe variations. One day I want to try all of these.

Tiki bars and tiki cocktails are a TREND right now. They have been for the past few years but now they’re piping hot right now. The OG tiki bar was Don the Beachcomber in Hollywood that opened up at the end of 1933, mere days after the ending of Prohibition. Since then, tiki bars and drinks have gone in and out of style but it seems like they’ll be around for a while longer. In case some of you like reading the history articles I post, this article by The Atlantic examines the rise, fall, and resurgence of tiki bars in America. It’s an interesting read. Difford’s Guide has a great article, too, and details the history of tiki culture.

The Jungle Bird cocktail is a perfectly balanced tiki drink. It's not too sweet, thanks to the addition of Campari. It's a meeting ground for people who love sweet drinks and people who don't.

Tiki cocktails don’t typically call for Campari. Actually, this is the only one I know of that does. Tiki cocktails are known for being fruit-forward and pretty sweet. I feel like people usually fall into two categories: people who enjoy sweet drinks and people who don’t.

That’s what makes the Jungle Bird the perfect drink. The combination of the pineapple juice, rum, & Demerara syrup makes it undeniably tropical and sweet. But the Campari’s bitterness balances it all out. It’s the best of all worlds.

The Jungle Bird cocktail is a perfectly balanced tiki drink. It's not too sweet, thanks to the addition of Campari. It's a meeting ground for people who love sweet drinks and people who don't.

In addition to being fruity and sweet, tiki cocktails are also known for their complexity, in terms of both flavor and difficulty. They usually have a lot of ingredients that are harder to come by, so the Jungle Bird is a pretty simple tiki drink, in comparison.

A quick note on the ingredients: the original recipe calls for traditional simple syrup, but I chose to use Demerara syrup. The original recipe also calls for dark rum but I’ve used Kraken spiced rum before and it is GOOD! Don’t use white rum, though. It’ll get lost. Save the white rum for your Daiquiris or Easy Coladas.

If you’ve been wanting to jump on the Campari bandwagon or if you’re trying to use up the bottle you bought back in ’18 and haven’t touched since, I implore you to try this recipe. It’s the perfect introduction to Campari. Once you’re able to appreciate the bitterness in the Jungle Bird, try making a Campari To-Kill-Ya or a Gin Campari Sour.

The Jungle Bird cocktail is a perfectly balanced tiki drink. It's not too sweet, thanks to the addition of Campari. It's a meeting ground for people who love sweet drinks and people who don't.

Ingredients for a Jungle Bird Cocktail

  • 1 1/2 oz dark rum (can substitute spiced rum)
  • 3/4 oz Campari
  • 1 1/2 oz pineapple juice
  • 1/2 oz lime juice
  • 1/2 oz Demerara syrup (can substitute plain simple syrup)

How to Make a Jungle Bird Cocktail

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well, about 20 seconds. Strain into a lowball glass filled with ice. The pineapple juice will create a nice foam. Garnish with a pineapple frond and pineapple wedge.

Jungle Bird Cocktail Recipe

The Jungle Bird is a classic tiki cocktail recipe that's the perfect balance between sweet, tart, and bitter.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 3 mins
Course Drinks
Servings 1

Ingredients
  

  • 1½ oz dark rum (can sub spiced rum)
  • ¾ oz Campari
  • 1½ oz pineapple juice
  • ½ oz lime juice
  • ½ oz Demerara syrup* (can sub plain simple syrup)

Instructions
 

  • Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
  • Shake well, about 20 seconds.
  • Strain into a lowball glass filled with ice.
  • Garnish with a pineapple frond and pineapple wedge.

Notes

The longer you shake, the frothier the pineapple juice will get.
*For a Demerara syrup recipe, click here. It’s 2 ingredients and super easy. Promise.
Keyword campari, dark rum, demerara syrup, lime juice, pineapple juice
rum

Easy Colada Recipe | A Healthier, Bubblier Take on a Classic Piña Colada

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Easy Colada Recipe | A Healthier, Bubblier Take on a Classic Piña Colada

This Easy Colada recipe is something I originally created for Rochelle over at AdventuresFromElle.com. Rochelle writes from a Caribbean experience and is currently in Jamaica as a medical doctor. Her site is chock-full of tips for exploring and Jamaica “like a local on a budget”. You can also follow her adventures on Instagram.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like! 

When I asked Rochelle what flavor direction she was wanting to go in for my guest post on her blog, she said a Jamaican cocktail with Caribbean flavors, like rum and coconut. Yep. I’m down for a drink like that.

With summer in full-force here in Texas, tropical drink ideas were swirling around in my head. I debated about creating something uber creative and original but instead decided to take *the* most popular tropical cocktail and make it a little easier and a little healthier.

Most people have had a Piña Colada. It’s probably the most well-known tiki cocktail out there, and for good reason. Pineapple and coconut are two flavors that were meant to be together. I remember making virgin Piña Coladas as a kid with my parents. They were a rare treat that I treasured. Come to think of it, maybe that’s where my love of cocktails truly began… 🧐 

Easy Colada Recipe | A Healthier, Bubblier Take on a Classic Piña Colada

Traditional Piña Coladas utilize coconut cream and while it’s delicious, Coco Lopez (the favorite choice for coconut cream) has 130 calories per 1 ounce. Eesh. I’m not usually a calorie-counter but when I was thinking of ways to transform this classic recipe, I knew this was the part that I could easily jazz up.

Enter sparkling coconut water. It’s got a light coconut flavor and is easy on the sugar and calories. In fact, 1 ounce only has about 7 calories. That’s a huge difference! OH, and did I mention it’s bubbly? I’m sure you got that from the “sparkling” part, but I just wanna highlight that. I think it’s my favorite trait of this Easy Colada recipe. If you want more nutritional info, you can check the notes portion of the recipe box at the bottom of the post.

Easy Colada Recipe | A Healthier, Bubblier Take on a Classic Piña Colada

It’s important to note here that I’m talking about coconut water that has been carbonated, not coconut-flavored sparkling water. While this would still probably taste good, it won’t be the same as if you use real coconut water. I can’t seem to find the plain sparkling coconut water online (I got mine at HEB, my local grocery store), but here’s an option that is flavored with pineapple and passionfruit. Sounds even more tropical!

To sweeten the drink, I used Demerara syrup. The first time I made this Easy Colada recipe, I used a makeshift Demerara syrup that I had made with 1/2 brown sugar and 1/2 white sugar. It was good, but I felt that this recipe called for the real deal. Demerara syrup is dark and it turned the once bright yellow elixir into a deep goldenrod. Just look at how gorgeous it is!

I hope this drink helps you take a quick getaway to the tropics while we’re all stuck at home during the pandemic. Cheers!

Easy Colada Recipe | A Healthier, Bubblier Take on a Classic Piña Colada

Ingredients for an Easy Colada

  • 1 1/2 oz white rum
  • 3/4 oz pineapple juice
  • 1/2 oz Demerara syrup (click here for easy the recipe or to see what to use as a substitute)
  • 1+ oz sparkling coconut water

How to Make an Easy Colada

Add the rum, pineapple juice, and Demerara syrup into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well, about 20-30 seconds. Pour into a glass filled with ice. Top off the rest of the glass with sparkling coconut water.

Easy Colada Recipe | A Healthier, Bubblier Take on a Classic Piña Colada

Easy Colada

An easier, healthier, and bubbly version of a Piña Colada.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 3 mins
Course Drinks
Servings 1
Calories 137 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1½ oz white rum
  • ¾ oz pineapple juice
  • ½ oz Demerara syrup (see note for a substitute)
  • 1+ oz sparkling coconut water

Instructions
 

  • Add the rum, pineapple juice, and Demerara syrup into a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
  • Shake well, about 20-30 seconds.
  • Pour into a lowball glass filled with ice.
  • Top off the rest of the glass with sparkling coconut water.

Notes

If you don’t have Demerara syrup, you can make it using a mix of white sugar and brown sugar. See the full instructions here. Don’t worry, it’s easy! 
For comparison, a traditional Piña Colada has around 245 calories while this Easy Colada only has about 135 calories.
Keyword easy colada, piña colada, pineapple, sparkling coconut water

Love tropical drinks? Try the Campari To-Kill-Ya or a classic Daiquiri!

simple syrup

Demerara Syrup

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Demerara syrup is a rich alternative to traditional simple syrup. It is be used in place of simple syrup in cocktails and is most commonly used in tiki cocktail recipes.

Perhaps you’ve seen Demerara syrup in a cocktail recipe floating around Pinterest or Instagram, or maybe this is the first time your eyes have ever read this word. If you’re like me, you have to stare at it for a second and sound it out real slow, syllable by syllable. And in case you ever plan on saying this ingredient out loud, it’s pronounced deh-mer-are-uh. I’m kinda known for mispronouncing words so I make sure I Google things now.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like! 

Thankfully I never said the ingredient orgeat out loud before I learned how to say it correctly. In my head I pronounced it as “or-geet” with a hard G. Turns out it’s pronounced “or-zhjaht”. Or just listen to it here. Now you know why I’m afraid of doing any live videos on my Instagram or Facebook page. 😅

Compared to orgeat, Demerara is a breeze to say. It’s also really fun. Demerara. Oh darling, I just made the most amazing cocktail with Demerara and a dash of rosewater. Feels fancy, right?

Demerara syrup is a rich alternative to traditional simple syrup. It is be used in place of simple syrup in cocktails and is most commonly used in tiki cocktail recipes.

And I guess Demerara syrup kind of is fancy. At least in the world of simple syrup. Demerara is a simple syrup made using, you guessed it, Demerara sugar instead of white sugar.

Demerara sugar is large-grain cane sugar that is either unrefined or partially refined so that it still retains some of the molasses. It’s got a delicious toffee flavor and a dark color when it’s melted down into a syrup.

Alternatives for Demerara Sugar

I used turbinado sugar, which is slightly different than Demerara sugar (most turbinado sugar has finer grains and is less sticky) but the Dulce Caña brand at Aldi has large grains and is pretty sticky. I think this brand is a great affordable alternative to true Demerara sugar as it tastes the same. If you want to be authentic though, you can snag this bag of Jamaican Choice Demerara Sugar on Amazon.

You can also use cane sugar or a mixture of half white sugar, half brown sugar. I’ve made the latter and used it in drinks and it was divine.

Demerara syrup is a rich alternative to traditional simple syrup. It is be used in place of simple syrup in cocktails and is most commonly used in tiki cocktail recipes.

As I’ve mentioned in my other simple syrup recipe posts, I prefer making small batches of syrup so that I can use it all up before it goes bad. It should keep for about a month in the fridge. When it doubt, toss it and make a new batch. It’s too easy, after all!

Ingredients for Demerara Syrup

  • 1/4 cup Demerara Sugar (or 1/8 cup brown, 1/8 cup white sugar)
  • 1/4 cup water

How to Make Demerara Syrup

Add the sugar and the water to a small saucepan. Heat until the sugar grains are thoroughly dissolved. Pour into a small container. Allow to cool completely before putting a lid on it and sticking it in the fridge.

Royal Rose - Organic Simple Syrup

Demerara Syrup

A rich alternative to traditional simple syrup.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Cook Time 3 mins
Course Drinks

Equipment

  • saucepan

Ingredients
  

  • ¼ cup Demerara sugar (see note for good substitutes)
  • ¼ cup water

Instructions
 

  • Add the sugar and water to a small saucepan.
  • Heat until the sugar grains are thoroughly dissolved.
  • Allow it to cool before using and/or pouring into a lidded container. Store in the refrigerator.

Notes

To get a similar flavor to Demerara, you can use a rich Turbinado sugar like Dulce Caña brand or you can use 1/8 cup brown sugar and 1/8 cup white sugar.
Keyword demerara syrup, simple syrup, sugar