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Make your own honey syrup
Honey syrup is easy to make, and it's a must if you're going to be serving Prohibition-era cocktails at your holiday parties.
Mon, Nov 19 2012 at 8:41 PM
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Photo: Shutterstock
So you know that cocktails that date back to the Prohibition era are all the rage right now, right? If it was served at a speakeasy, you'll probably find it on the cocktail menu of the swankiest bars until the next big thing comes along.
I'm a gin girl, so I'm actually quite fond of a lot of the cocktails I've discovered since the Prohibition-era cocktail craze has emerged. Many of them originally called for bathtub gin. I don't make my own gin in the bathtub; my gin of choice is Bluecoat American Dry Gin.
One ingredient you'll find in many of these cocktails from the 1920s and '30s: honey syrup. Honey syrup is very simple to make (much like simple syrup), and it will keep in your refrigerator for a very long time once it is made. If you're hosting a holiday party this season, and you want a well-stocked bar, boil up a batch of honey syrup the day before.
Ingredients
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One part honey (use a flavorful, local honey — not the bland stuff in the bear bottle from the grocery store)
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One part water
Directions
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Put equal parts of honey and water in a small saucepan. Boil, then turn down to a simmer and stir until the honey is completely dissolved.
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Cool.
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Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Cocktails made with honey syrup
I used the honey syrup I made for a Bee's Knees cocktail — 2 ounces of gin, ¾ ounce of honey syrup and ¾ ounce fresh lemon juice. Shake in a cocktail shaker full of ice and pour into a martini glass.
Recipes for other cocktails that use honey syrup:
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Why make the syrup, and just use the honey?
When you boil honey, you kill all the beneficial properties.
Honey syrup is better for cocktails because it's not as thick, pours easily, and dissolves very quickly. Honey syrup incorporates with the rest of the ingredients more quickly than straight honey. And, if you think about how quickly today's bartenders need to work, straight honey would be a big problem.