Spice up your cocktails with delightful simple syrups. These syrups add flavors of fruit, flowers and herbs to your favorite cocktails. Simple syrups are so easy to make! Keep an assortment of simple syrups in mason jars in your refrigerator so you can mix up a fancy Cocktail anytime the spirit moves you.

When the weather outside is frosty, I love a cocktail with warm spicy flavors…cinnamon, cardamon, star anise and cloves paired with bourbon, vodka, orange liqueur and pears. I always keep a mason jar with Winter Citrus Spice Simple Syrup in my refrigerator so I can make a cocktail to warm me down to my toes on a cold winter day. Here’s my recipe:

Winter Citrus Spice Simple Syrup

Yield: 2 cups

2 cups water

2 cups granulated sugar

4 Star Anise

2 cinnamon sticks

6 cardamom pods, crushed

12 cloves

juice and zest of 1 lemon

peel of 1 orange

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and stir. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and continue to heat and stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and cover. Allow the syrup to steep for one hour.
Place in a mason jar, covered with jar lid, in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Here’s my recipe for Clément Blood Orange Cocktail made with my Winter Citrus Spice Simple Syrup:

Makes one cocktail.

Place a 6 ounce champagne flute in the freezer to chill while preparing cocktail.

1 ounce blood orange vodka

1 ounce Clément Créole Shrubb Liqueur d’Orange

1/2 ounce fresh blood orange juice

2 ounces Winter Citrus Spice Simple Syrup

1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice

Chilled prosecco

Sugared blood orange wheels for garnish (to make wheels – preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Slice blood oranges into wheels. Place wheels on baking sheet. Sprinkle wheels liberally with sugar. Bake wheels for 15 – 20 minutes. Watch carefully so they do not burn. Remove from oven and use a spatula to loosen the wheels so that they do not stick to tray.)

Place vodka, Créole Shrubb Liqueur d’Orange, blood orange juice, Winter Citrus Spice Simple Syrup and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into champagne flute. Top with prosecco.

Winter Spice Pear Fizz

Makes one cocktail.

Place a 6 ounce champagne flute in the freezer to chill while preparing cocktail.

2 ounces pear vodka

6 drops Dashfire Apple Spice Bitters

1 ounce 2 ounces Winter Citrus Spice Simple Syrup

Chilled prosecco

Garnish: fresh pear slices

Place vodka and apple spice bitters and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into champagne flute. Top with prosecco. Garnish with fresh pear slices.

Strawberry Moscato Simple Syrup

1 bottle Villa Jolanda Moscato and Strawberry

2 cups sugar

Pour the moscato into a sauce pan and heat until boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes (liquid will reduce by half). Stir in sugar and continue stirring over low heat until sugar is completely dissolved. Cool. Place in a mason jar, covered with jar lid, in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Blackberry Lavender Simple Syrup

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup fresh blackberries

1 cup water

2 tablespoons dried culinary lavender buds (available in most natural foods stores or on-line)

In a small saucepan, bring the blackberries, sugar, lavender and water to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring to crush the berries, until slightly reduced, about 10 minutes. Pour the syrup through a fine sieve into a bowl and discard the solids. Transfer the syrup to a bottle and refrigerate.

Blackberry Lavender French 75 Cocktail

Makes 1 cocktail.

1 1/2 ounce gin

3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice

1 ounce blackberry lavender simple syrup

2 ounces champagne or sparkling wine

Garnish: lemon slice soaked in blackberry lavender simple syrup

In cocktail shaker, combine gin, lemon juice and blackberry lavender simple syrup. Place 1 cup small ice cubes in shaker, cover and shake vigorously. Strain into chilled champagne flute and top with champagne or sparkling wine. Garnish with blackberry lavender soaked lemon slice.

Cheers! Becky

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