How to Make Honey Syrup

Honey syrup is a flavorful cocktail sweetener made by combining equal parts honey and hot water. Akin to simple syrup, honey syrup is a fundamental sweetener for mixing into cocktails. 

While honey itself can be mixed into drinks, its viscous texture firms up when chilled (such as in a cocktail tin with ice), making it more difficult to blend with other ingredients. Honey softens when warmed, and when mixed with hot water, it dissolves into a syrup texture that blends seamlessly with cool and hot liquids alike. 

Compared to simple syrup (a cocktail sweetener made by dissolving white granulated sugar in boiling water) honey syrup has more depth and complexity while also remaining light on the palate. Honey’s floral and caramel notes blend with a range of ingredients, but honey syrup is often used in drinks featuring citrus juice and spirits with smoky, caramel notes like whiskey or scotch. 

In the Gold Rush, a riff on a Whiskey Sour, honey syrup softens tart lemon juice and plays off the warming notes of bourbon. In a Bee’s Knees, honey syrup plays off the herbaceous notes present in gin, and the syrup’s sweetness is offset by lemon.  

Why should you make honey syrup

Honey syrup is so simple to make but serves so many different purposes. Honey has a powerful sweet flavor that can easily overpower other ingredients. Since this syrup is made with equal parts honey and water, that sweetness is diluted, making it easier to control how the saccharine notes you are adding to your cocktail. 

Different kinds of honey (like wildflower or dark amber honeys) will alter the flavor of the honey syrup. For best results, avoid creamed honey. While this recipe calls for boiling water to be prepared on the stove, you can also use a kettle and then stir the honey in a heat-proof container. Store syrup in an airtight container or jar with a tight-fitting lid in the refrigerator for up to three weeks.