(Not So) Simple, Flavored, & Spiced Syrups

[ThinkingBartender]

Hi All,

I notice in the US that the majority of bartenders are using sugar syrup of a 1:1 0r 2:1 nature, instead of a 9:1 gum /gomme syrup style; Its this because it is easier to make?

Many moons ago I remember reading that Dale DeGroff liked to use sugar syrup to bulk up his recipes by adding more volume to his drinks; Where is this rationale derived from? Specific books. other bartenders etc.

And if anyone has any fab sugar syrup quotes, lets be having them please:

Cocktails, How to mix them, by 'Robert'.

"Use plain Syrup, that is Sugar Syrup, or even Gum Syrup, in preference to powdered sugar. The Syrup mixes better with the drink. It should, however, be borne in mind that certain drinks are always prepared with sugar, i.e. the old-fashioned cocktail, the Champagne Cocktail, the Collins', etc."

Cheers!

George

[slkinsey]

I think that a lot of US bartenders use a 1:1 simple syrup because it's easy to make without heating the syrup and, if you're really doing a lot of volume, slight under/overpours are less of a problem. I like to use a more saturated syrup for home use, because it has better stability.

I would be surprised if Dale said that he liked to "bulk up" his drinks or increase volume by adding simple syrup. Do you have a reference for this?

I have my doubts as to whether a 9:1 syrup is really practical to make and use. Is that what you use? My experience is that, unless I incorporate gum arabic, it's difficult to go as saturated as even 4:1 without significant recrystallization in the bottle. Clearly with the right technology and know-how it's possible to make an extremely saturated syrup that doesn't recrystallize. Lyle's Golden Syrup is a good example of this. That said, a supersaturated syrup such as Lyle's is not particularly congenial to work with. It's so thick that it's difficult to measure and difficult to mix into the rest of the drink.

I also don't quite understand how/where the tradition arose of calling supersaturated syrup "gum" or "gomme" syrup when it doesn't contain gum arabic (this seems to be mosly a UK thing). For example, Jerry Thomas's recipe for (faux) "gum syrup" (see: here) works out to something like 24.8 grams of sugar per fluid ounce. This is actually less saturated than a typical 2:1 by-volume simple, which works out to around 28 grams of sugar per fluid ounce.

I am a huge fan of gum arabic, which not only gives a great silky mouthfeel but also is great for stabilizing foams. The latter property is often overlooked, but can make a big difference for egg white drinks or any drink where you would like to have a "head" on the drink. I've often thought it might be useful to have a syrup made entirely of gum arabic that could be added to drinks specifically for the silky mouthfeel or foam-enhancing properties without adding any sweetness.

[Chris Amirault]

In addition to Sam's good points above, I'd add that most of the cocktail recipes I've seen, classic and otherwise, refer either to 1:1 or 2:1 syrups. I've never seen one for 9:1. Who? For what? Where?

And ditto the request for the DeGroff reference. The idea that a serious bartender, much less DeGroff, adds simple syrup to "bulk up" a drink sounds bizarre to me.

[slkinsey]

In addition to Sam's good points above, I'd add that most of the cocktail recipes I've seen, classic and otherwise, refer either to 1:1 or 2:1 syrups.

I'd say that depends greatly on whose recipes you're reading. Certainly most of the modern bartenders in the US have designed their cocktails around 1:1 or, significantly less commonly, 2:1 simple syrup. And often when someone provides a recipe for a very old recipe using modern measures (e.g., ounces instead of wine glasses, etc.) the volume of syrup is often standardized to 1:1 or occasionally 2:1.

But if you go back to the original sources, often times formulae that seem odd (e.g., a half-ounce or more of lemon juice balanced with "two dashes" of simple syrup) will make a lot more sense once you understand the saturation of the simple syrup being used. This is, of course, further complicated by the fact that old recipes were often cribbed verbatim, so just because a certain recipe is found in a certain book does not mean that it calls for the same kind of simple syrup as other recipes in the same book that might be creations of the author or cribbed from a different source (there's the even further complication of "what did this guy mean by 'a dash,'" but that's for another discussion). All of which is to say that I don't necessarily think it's safe to say that the simple syrup specified in pre-revival recipes is necessarily 1:1.

[Chris Amirault]

Gosh, it's good that I didn't say that, then, and instead referred to most of the recipes I'd seen. Did someone else?

[slkinsey]

My mistake. I guessed I assumed you would have seen plenty of recipes from books written prior to, say, 1980 (viz. Jerry Thomas' Bartender's Guide, Savoy Cocktail Book, The Gentleman's Companion, Old Waldorf=Astoria Bar Book, Stork Club Bar Book, etc.). When you wrote "classic and otherwise" I assumed you were referring to classic recipes rather than modern re-writings of recipes for classic cocktails.

The point I was making was simply that the recipes in these pre-1980 (or so) cocktail books seem to use simple syrups of widely differing strengths, often in the same book depending on who they cribbed recipes from, and not often clearly or transparently.

Edited April 13, 2009 by slkinsey (log)

[ThinkingBartender]

I would be surprised if Dale said that he liked to "bulk up" his drinks or increase volume by adding simple syrup.  Do you have a reference for this?

Phew, I found the reference I was referring to.

[Chris Amirault]

I guess I'm missing something. Where does he say that we should bulk up cocktails by adding simple syrup? There's a comment about making sure that the sour palate of the bartender isn't used as a model for the sweeter palate of the customer -- is that what you mean by "bulk up"?

[ThinkingBartender]

I guess I'm missing something. Where does he say that we should bulk up cocktails by adding simple syrup? There's a comment about making sure that the sour palate of the bartender isn't used as a model for the sweeter palate of the customer -- is that what you mean by "bulk up"?

←

As DeGroff was unable to fill the cocktail glass with sufficient volume, using a smaller amount of a more saturated syrup, he thus switched over to using a greater amount of a less saturated syrup; This is what I meant by "bulking up"; He essentially adds water to a drink to increase the visible amount in the glass.

[slkinsey]

Yep, I get that. Interesting find.

I'm not so sure that this was a lifelong practice or principle of Dale's, so much as a way that he dealt with the challenge of making a sour with only 2 ounces of spirit that needed to look good in an 8 ounce glass back in his early days. By using 1 ounce of 1:1 simple instead of 1/2 ounce of 2:1 simple, he got a bit more volume and decided that looked better. Not a bad idea if you have to use a gigantic glass, although I think it's preferable to use a smaller one.

Of course, he could have shaken the drink a bit longer and got the extra dilution that way, but that's neither here nor there. What's interesting to me is that one ounce of 1:1 simple does not have the same amount of sugar as a half-ounce of 2:1 simple. A half-ounce of 2:1 simple contains around 14 grams of sucrose. An ounce of 1:1 simple contains around 17.75 grams of sucrose -- 26% more. In real terms we're only talking about 3.75 grams of sucrose difference, which is relatively small but perhaps significant.

[thirtyoneknots]

I think the extra 3.75 grams is likely to be quite significant, being as it is nearly an entire extra tsp of sugar, and many, myself included, would consider a tsp of sugar nearly sufficient in itself to balance out half a lemon.

I have often marvelled at the apparent sweet tooth evidenced by the recipes coming out of the NYC cocktail scene. For my own palate I can often easily cut the sugar in half as a starting point and still have a drink that is plenty rich and balanced. I did have to learn the hard way the lesson Mr. DeGroff explains in the linked article, that my palate is not the palate of the public, but I do find often that the heavy use of simple syrup can sacrifice complexity in the name of drinkability ("smoothness").

[ThinkingBartender]

Of course, he could have shaken the drink a bit longer and got the extra dilution that way, but that's neither here nor there. What's interesting to me is that one ounce of 1:1 simple does not have the same amount of sugar as a half-ounce of 2:1 simple.  A half-ounce of 2:1 simple contains around 14 grams of sucrose.  An ounce of 1:1 simple contains around 17.75 grams of sucrose -- 26% more.  In real terms we're only talking about 3.75 grams of sucrose difference, which is relatively small but perhaps significant.

←

The extra amount of water in the syrup has the same relative effect as a sweetener by the additional dilution it brings. An extra 15ml of liquid would "smooth out" the drink, correct? (With 15ml being the 1/2 oz extra)

[Chris Amirault]

I guess I'm missing something. Where does he say that we should bulk up cocktails by adding simple syrup? There's a comment about making sure that the sour palate of the bartender isn't used as a model for the sweeter palate of the customer -- is that what you mean by "bulk up"?

←

As DeGroff was unable to fill the cocktail glass with sufficient volume, using a smaller amount of a more saturated syrup, he thus switched over to using a greater amount of a less saturated syrup; This is what I meant by "bulking up"; He essentially adds water to a drink to increase the visible amount in the glass.

←

Gotcha. Here's the relevant quote in case someone else skimmed too quickly like me:

The solution I found was to create more volume with the ingredient that added sweetness but not flavor - the simple syrup. I changed the simple syrup recipe to one to one and switched the sweet and sour ingredients in the recipe, arriving at the following:

3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice

1 oz. simple syrup (50 brix)

2 oz. of American whiskey

With 3 3/4 oz. of over-all liquid before shaking, the drink looked great in the big glass. After I shook it with ice, I got the additional ounce of water, an important ingredient in any cocktail. It looked great; I got volume and a well-balanced drink!

[slkinsey]

I think the extra 3.75 grams is likely to be quite significant, being as it is nearly an entire extra tsp of sugar, and many, myself included, would consider a tsp of sugar nearly sufficient in itself to balance out half a lemon.

Really? A teaspoon of sugar weighs 4 grams. Many people seem to think that lemon juice and 1:1 simple syrup "balance" at more or less equal volumes. That would mean, more or less, 13 grams of sucrose to balance the 3/4 ounce of lemon juice in Dale's drink. This would all depend on the sourness of the lemon, of course, and the inherrent sweetness of the base spirit. All of which is to say that 4 grams of sugar with 3/4 ounce of fresh lemon juice in a 2 ounce base drink doesn't seem as though it would "balance." Rather, I would expect it to be "tart" to "very tart." Now, that might be pretty good (for example, I like a Daiquiri with a half-ounce of lime juice against somewhat less than a teaspoon of sugar) -- but I would expect it to be quite sour. More of a bracer than a sipper.

I have often marvelled at the apparent sweet tooth evidenced by the recipes coming out of the NYC cocktail scene. For my own palate I can often easily cut the sugar in half as a starting point and still have a drink that is plenty rich and balanced.

Interesting. I actually think that we're seeing a trend in some NYC cocktailian circles towards a fairly austere "brown spirits stirred with bitter flavors" style that, while having great appeal to me personally and the cocktail geek crowd in general, perhaps doesn't have as broad an appeal. I'd be curious to know which cocktails you're thinking of.

One thing to keep in mind is that, for example, some of Audrey's most famous cocktails (e.g., Tantris Sidecar) were developed perhaps as many as ten years ago or more, during an entirely different era of American mixology. Certainly this is true of just about all of Dale's iconic drinks.

I did have to learn the hard way the lesson Mr. DeGroff explains in the linked article, that my palate is not the palate of the public, but I do find often that the heavy use of simple syrup can sacrifice complexity in the name of drinkability ("smoothness").

Two good points there. Obviously one needs to create and serve cocktails that the public will buy and enjoy, but at the same time being mindful of the fact that we'd like to evolve the public palate and also that sweetness shouldn't be a crutch.

At the same time, I belive that a palate that is biased too far in the direction of sour or dry can also sacrifice complexity. For example, one isn't able to appreciate the suave smoothness of cognac in a Sidecar where the lemon juice still "bites" in the mouth or leaves behind that "raw" citrus aftereffect. Similarly, I feel that drinks which would like to use minute amounts of modifiers miss the whole point of the cocktail. (Not that you are advocating any of these things, I should hasten to point out.)

[bostonapothecary]

I think the extra 3.75 grams is likely to be quite significant, being as it is nearly an entire extra tsp of sugar, and many, myself included, would consider a tsp of sugar nearly sufficient in itself to balance out half a lemon.

Really? A teaspoon of sugar weighs 4 grams. Many people seem to think that lemon juice and 1:1 simple syrup "balance" at more or less equal volumes. That would mean, more or less, 13 grams of sucrose to balance the 3/4 ounce of lemon juice in Dale's drink. This would all depend on the sourness of the lemon, of course, and the inherrent sweetness of the base spirit. All of which is to say that 4 grams of sugar with 3/4 ounce of fresh lemon juice in a 2 ounce base drink doesn't seem as though it would "balance." Rather, I would expect it to be "tart" to "very tart." Now, that might be pretty good (for example, I like a Daiquiri with a half-ounce of lime juice against somewhat less than a teaspoon of sugar) -- but I would expect it to be quite sour. More of a bracer than a sipper.

I have often marvelled at the apparent sweet tooth evidenced by the recipes coming out of the NYC cocktail scene. For my own palate I can often easily cut the sugar in half as a starting point and still have a drink that is plenty rich and balanced.

Interesting. I actually think that we're seeing a trend in some NYC cocktailian circles towards a fairly austere "brown spirits stirred with bitter flavors" style that, while having great appeal to me personally and the cocktail geek crowd in general, perhaps doesn't have as broad an appeal. I'd be curious to know which cocktails you're thinking of.

One thing to keep in mind is that, for example, some of Audrey's most famous cocktails (e.g., Tantris Sidecar) were developed perhaps as many as ten years ago or more, during an entirely different era of American mixology. Certainly this is true of just about all of Dale's iconic drinks.

I did have to learn the hard way the lesson Mr. DeGroff explains in the linked article, that my palate is not the palate of the public, but I do find often that the heavy use of simple syrup can sacrifice complexity in the name of drinkability ("smoothness").

Two good points there. Obviously one needs to create and serve cocktails that the public will buy and enjoy, but at the same time being mindful of the fact that we'd like to evolve the public palate and also that sweetness shouldn't be a crutch.

At the same time, I belive that a palate that is biased too far in the direction of sour or dry can also sacrifice complexity. For example, one isn't able to appreciate the suave smoothness of cognac in a Sidecar where the lemon juice still "bites" in the mouth or leaves behind that "raw" citrus aftereffect. Similarly, I feel that drinks which would like to use minute amounts of modifiers miss the whole point of the cocktail. (Not that you are advocating any of these things, I should hasten to point out.)

←

when talking about the average of people's tastes i don't think people embrace enough the cocktail as an "acquired taste"... disbalanced and thats the point, direction driven, analogous to the velvet underground's song "heroin". its a screeching train wreck but for some reason its ok, good even.

i see too much of the cocktail as this vanilla missionary position comfort thing when at least i think it should be an s&m slap me around kind of thing...

when i make something for me personally i always try and keep the acquired taste perspective. i even try and bring it to my bar as much as possible. (how far i get i dont' know, i do make a lot of cosmos.) the tart cocktails are often ruthless relative to recipes i see elsewhere (none get returned). the sweet cocktail ethic maxes out at 2:1 manhattan sweet with very little exception. i even personally have a hard time with negronis because of the sweetness and try to promote the sbagliato because it has more acid structure. but of course if you ask for something i will make it to your specifications. i even love the idea of promoting the exotic ingredient... norwegian aquavit... a kinky one night stand with a girl that doesn't speak english... i love when i see people thinking to themselves "i don't know what it is but i'm sure i can metabolize it, sign me up".

i love when i see someone drinking a dry tanqueray martini... the acquired taste of it my god! i cold barely enjoy it. i do not drink them but i love seeing dirty martinis. vodka or not. (i always make them 2:1) another serious acquired taste but with a noble structure. nearly bone dry but with an acid structure via the only way they know how... utopian/distopian and idealistic much like the sanru or so many savoy cocktails that people skip over. for some reason many people love to hate on the dirty's trendiness but it nothing to ever scoff at.

[thirtyoneknots]

I think the extra 3.75 grams is likely to be quite significant, being as it is nearly an entire extra tsp of sugar, and many, myself included, would consider a tsp of sugar nearly sufficient in itself to balance out half a lemon.

Really? A teaspoon of sugar weighs 4 grams. Many people seem to think that lemon juice and 1:1 simple syrup "balance" at more or less equal volumes. That would mean, more or less, 13 grams of sucrose to balance the 3/4 ounce of lemon juice in Dale's drink. This would all depend on the sourness of the lemon, of course, and the inherrent sweetness of the base spirit. All of which is to say that 4 grams of sugar with 3/4 ounce of fresh lemon juice in a 2 ounce base drink doesn't seem as though it would "balance." Rather, I would expect it to be "tart" to "very tart." Now, that might be pretty good (for example, I like a Daiquiri with a half-ounce of lime juice against somewhat less than a teaspoon of sugar) -- but I would expect it to be quite sour. More of a bracer than a sipper.

I perhaps overstated the degree to which this would be "balanced" which is of course subjective, but I find that equal parts citrus and simple to be too rich for my palate in most cases and in fact find that a tsp of rich syrup/superfine sugar or a quarter oz of 1:1 is sufficient to balance half a lemon or lime, which locally typically equates to 1/2 an ounce, in the case of a whiskey sour or something similar. Bourbon in particular I would find cloying with 1/2 oz of 1:1, since the spirit is already naturally rich. I plead guilty to liking my drinks tart for the most part, but perhaps this is to a fault; to me 1 tsp sugar to half a lemon is pleasant, less than that is tart and bracing. More than 1.5 tsp would start getting into something I could only have one of, unless there were other mitigating ingredients.

I have often marvelled at the apparent sweet tooth evidenced by the recipes coming out of the NYC cocktail scene. For my own palate I can often easily cut the sugar in half as a starting point and still have a drink that is plenty rich and balanced.

Interesting. I actually think that we're seeing a trend in some NYC cocktailian circles towards a fairly austere "brown spirits stirred with bitter flavors" style that, while having great appeal to me personally and the cocktail geek crowd in general, perhaps doesn't have as broad an appeal. I'd be curious to know which cocktails you're thinking of.

One thing to keep in mind is that, for example, some of Audrey's most famous cocktails (e.g., Tantris Sidecar) were developed perhaps as many as ten years ago or more, during an entirely different era of American mixology. Certainly this is true of just about all of Dale's iconic drinks.

One that springs to mind is the Old Cuban, which is a terriffic drink and is hard to deny it's delicious quality and innovative combination of ingredients, as well as it's roots in the classics. However the recipe which I have most often seen quoted as original (seen here) is, when made verbatim, almost soda-pop sweet to me, and while it is easy (almost too easy) to drink it quickly and want more, I find that the richness makes this something my stomach has difficulty with. On the other hand I have often wondered if the extreme drinkability ("smoothness") was a goal in the formulation of drinks like this -- if the customer drinks it fast enough and enjoys it enough, they are likely to drink more of them and the bar makes more money. Certainly this was the case for us when we featured this on a cocktail menu a couple of years ago, we could barely keep the rum in stock.

I did have to learn the hard way the lesson Mr. DeGroff explains in the linked article, that my palate is not the palate of the public, but I do find often that the heavy use of simple syrup can sacrifice complexity in the name of drinkability ("smoothness").

Two good points there. Obviously one needs to create and serve cocktails that the public will buy and enjoy, but at the same time being mindful of the fact that we'd like to evolve the public palate and also that sweetness shouldn't be a crutch.

At the same time, I belive that a palate that is biased too far in the direction of sour or dry can also sacrifice complexity. For example, one isn't able to appreciate the suave smoothness of cognac in a Sidecar where the lemon juice still "bites" in the mouth or leaves behind that "raw" citrus aftereffect. Similarly, I feel that drinks which would like to use minute amounts of modifiers miss the whole point of the cocktail. (Not that you are advocating any of these things, I should hasten to point out.)

←

The Sidecar is a great example of a drink that should not be to tart to achieve balance, although even here the issue of what constitutes balance varies somewhat. I favor 2:1:1, though I find that even a slight overpour on the lemon can wreck this: it is most precarious in balance though more rewarding to drink because of it. No less an authority than Gary Regan favors the 3:2:1 ratio, which removes both spirit and citrus, making a drink that is acceptable but to me not as interesting. And then Mr. Hess of Drinkboy fame champions the 4:2:1, which is a different balance again, boozier and sweeter at once. Clearly there is room for difference of opinion here but I find it is a rare bird indeed who cannot tolerate the acidity present in a 2:1:1 Sidecar, especially once it has had time to warm a bit.

On the other hand, sugar by itself or in the form of syrups adds apparent sweetness faster than liqueur does, as it has alcohol to dry it out, and so is something of a different animal when talking about sweetness level.

I guess I would have to say that among the giants of drinks writing, my palate seems to agree most with Mr. Wondrich, and I also agree with his precept that it is better to start with a dry/sour drink, since making it sweeter is a fairly simple affair in most cases, but making a drink more tart is tricky to do while maintaining balance. And all this is not to say that I don't enjoy some drinks that I consider sweet: Stingers, Vieux Carres, Mai Tais, East Indias, and so forth are just a few of my favorites that tend towards the richer end of the spectrum.

[Kent Wang]

Raspberry syrup

Raspberry syrup appears to be the most commonly called for fruit syrup. I have tried a few different brands:

Stonewall Kitchen: The best that I've tried. Thicker consistency, with small "grains" of raspberry chunks, more like a puree than the others. Quite expensive at about $5 for 250 mL. Ingredients: pure cane sugar, raspberry puree, water, raspberry concentrate, citric acid.

Zergut: Second best. Quite cheap at about $8 for 1L. Ingredients: raspberry juice, sugar.

Routin 1883: A bit artificial tasting. $9.25 for 1L. I just gave away my bottle to my friend but the ingredient list is similar to the passionfruit one (see below) with added "glucose-fructose syrup, acidifier, citric acid, aromas, color, beta carotene".

I've been making sherry cobblers with the Stonewall Kitchen syrup and Sandeman Character, 4:1. Very nice, an excellent summer drink.

Passionfruit syrup

I also picked up the Routin 1883 passionfruit syrup and thought it quite good. Very fragrant. Not as artificial tasting as their raspberry, but still a bit artificial. I have no other passionfruit syrups to compare against. Ingredients: sugar, water, passionfruit juice from concentrate (10%), glucose-fructose syrup, acidifier, citric acid, aromas, color, beta carotene.

Misc.

Other than the raspberry syrup, fruit syrups do not appear to be very common in classic cocktails. I can understand not wanting to go overboard into fruity cocktail territory but it does seem odd that raspberry is much more common in the classic canon than any other fruit syrup.

I'm going to order some lychees from Florida and might get some syrup too. I know the lychee-tini is like the paragon of bad fruity drinks. Should I hang my head in shame?

How about making your own syrups?

[RoyalSwagger]

"fruit syrups do not appear to be very common in classic cocktails"

Interesting Kent, I'm suprised you say that, often when I'm skimming through most vintage/antique books, I see an abundance of drinks calling for fruit syrups. A few recipes even call for such basic flavored syrups as orange and lemon syrups (an interesting idea not used quite often today due to it's mundane approach I imagine.) I have been substituting Roses lime marmalade for lime syrup in a Charles Baker recipe recently, I believe it's called the Yokohama Romance. Back to the subject, I feel that fruit syrups appear more so often in classic (maybe forgotten)cocktails than one might think. Maybe I'm being wishful!

[thirtyoneknots]

Certainly in the Jerry Thomas era raspberry seemed to be most common but pomegranate syrup in the form of grenadine and orgeat syrup (is that a fruit?) have been more or less common in the prewar era as well. Pineapple syrup not unheard-of and indeed is included in the highly delicious East India.

[feste]

I have a vested interest in classic syrups. I scour old cocktail books looking for drink recipes that call for obscure or defunct ingredients and attempt to remake them. I've been making pineapple gum syrup for a while, and raspberry gum, and orgeat of course. I'm going to try apricot syrup next; I found it in a cocktail book from 1922, and I'm also desperately trying to find out any information about orchard syrup that is out there. Apple syrup? Spiced apple? Apple-lemon? Anyone have any information?

Thanks!

[Alchemist]

There is no substitute for fresh ginger syrup that I have found. But a little extra booze rarley hurts...much. I am not sure what the proof is of Canton, but if it is less than 80 it should be fine.

Toby

[slkinsey]

I have found that, if you cannot make ginger syrup of the kind Toby is using (fresh ginger juice mixed with sugar -- which is not very practical for home mixologists) then you can do very well by aggressively muddling plenty of thin slices of fresh ginger with simple syrup and double straining on the way out to catch all the tiny pieces of ginger.

[vice]

I have found that, if you cannot make ginger syrup of the kind Toby is using (fresh ginger juice mixed with sugar -- which is not very practical for home mixologists) then you can do very well by aggressively muddling plenty of thin slices of fresh ginger with simple syrup and double straining on the way out to catch all the tiny pieces of ginger.

←

how about microplaning some ginger and infusing in simple, then straining? may be a more attractive option depending on your preference for serious elbow grease (muddler) vs. shredded knuckles (grater)...

[thirtyoneknots]

No mint or strawberries but the Pimm's Rangoon is kissing cousin to the Pimm's Cup we've been doing with house made ginger ale...we do it as a syrup and add soda to do it old-school. I was susprised that the ginger heat actually stays intact for weeks, but it's not meant to be actually "hot" like a ginger beer would be...I would say though that if it were any spicier it wouldn't quite qualify as a ginger ale anymore though. We use it in a Suffering Bastard as well, the Sous Chef can't get enough of it.

[slkinsey]

I have found that, if you cannot make ginger syrup of the kind Toby is using (fresh ginger juice mixed with sugar -- which is not very practical for home mixologists) then you can do very well by aggressively muddling plenty of thin slices of fresh ginger with simple syrup and double straining on the way out to catch all the tiny pieces of ginger.

how about microplaning some ginger and infusing in simple, then straining? may be a more attractive option depending on your preference for serious elbow grease (muddler) vs. shredded knuckles (grater)...

Yes, you could do this and it might work very well. The problem is that, in my experience, any fresh ginger syrup doesn't keep its "bite" for more than a couple of days at most. So, unless you are planning on using a lot of ginger syrup around the house, it is not practical to make fresh ginger syrup in any amount that would make the process of microplaning worthwhile. If you want access to fresh ginger syrup of the occasional evening, it's better to keep some fresh ginger in the refrigerator or freezer and muddle-up your ginger syrup to order (you could microplane instead of muddling, but this strikes me as more trouble than it's worth in this context).