components
Credit: Jeffrey Morgenthaler
30 g blackstrap molasses
270 g white sugar
150 g water
Heat ingredients in a pot until combined. Let cool and bottle.
Mr. Morgenthaler is genius to have cut out the middle man—brown sugar—and just mixed deep, bitter molasses and sugar. A game-changer.
Credit: Jeffrey Morgenthaler
2 cups POM Wonderful pomegranate juice
2 cup white sugar
2 oz pomegranate molasses
1 tsp Theodule Noirot Orange Flower Water
Heat juice slightly, to allow remaining ingredients to dissolve. Add remaining ingredients. Let cool and bottle.
Finally, a grenadine that works. I’ve tried the equal parts pomegranate juice and sugar, but it wasn’t the right consistency or flavor. The pomegranate molasses and orange flower water make all the difference. Note: use regular pomegranate molasses, not sour.
Credit: Leandro DiMonriva, The Educated Barfly
1 cup sliced almonds, toasted
2 cups + 2 tbsp warm water
400 g superfine sugar
2 1/2 tsp Pierre Ferrand Cognac
2 1/2 tsp Amaretto Lazzaroni
1/4 tsp Theodule Noirot Orange Flower Water
1/4 tsp saline solution
Toast nuts in a 350-degree oven until fragrant, 15-20 minutes. Add nuts to warm water, blend for about 90 seconds, then strain liquid through a nut milk bag. Measure out 12 oz of nut milk. Mix the sugar and nut milk in a pot over medium heat—don’t let it get too hot (or boil!). Add the remaining ingredients, bottle, and store in the fridge.
The cognac and amaretto add such a nice flavor to this.
4 tea bags Wang Derm Thai Iced Tea Flavored Black Tea
16 oz boiling water
Steep the tea bags in boiling water for 15 minutes. Strain, let cool, and store in the fridge.
For traditional Thai iced tea sweetened with condensed milk of some kind, the tea has to be quite strong. This tea should be deep amber in color, rather than lighter orange.
Credit: Dave Arnold, Liquid Intelligence
500 ml fresh orange juice
10 grams malic acid
16 grams citric acid
Combine all ingredients, bottle, and store in the fridge.
It’s orange juice, but with the acidity of lime, which helps the otherwise lower-acid citrus come through in cocktails.
Credit: Existing Conditions
1 can Nature's Charm Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk
In a pressure cooker, place the unopened can of condensed coconut milk with enough water to cover it. Cook for 30 minutes. Allow to cool completely on stove top without rapid depressurization. Once cool, open the can, and store the caramelized condensed coconut milk in a mason jar in the fridge.
I first tried this in the pressure cooker for 20 minutes. It was good, but that extra 10 minutes adds a lot more caramelized flavor. I avoided going near the kitchen once this process started, though.
Credit: Jeffrey Morgenthaler
8 oz coffee, coarse grind
32 oz cold water
Add 16 oz cold water to the coffee grounds in a large container, stir to moisten the grounds, and let sit for 30 minutes. Add the remaining 16 oz water, stir again, cover, and let sit for 24 hours. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, then run the resulting liquid through a coffee filter.
Running it through the coffee filter is key. I ended up with between 20-24 oz concentrate.
Version 1
Credit: Leandro DiMonriva, The Educated Barfly
3 cups 1:1 simple syrup
zest of 6 limes
1 oz lime juice
1/2 tsp citric acid
Blend simple syrup and lime zest, then strain. Add the lime juice and citric acid.
Version 2
Credit: Jeffrey Morgenthaler
250 g sugar
8 oz hot water
1 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
3 tbsp lime zest
2 tbsp citric acid
Combine ingredients in a blender and blend on medium speed for 30 seconds. Strain, bottle, and refrigerate.
Fantastic for adding multi-dimensional, balanced lime flavor.
So, I found Morgenthaler’s version way too tart. When I mixed it with an equal amount of the Educated Barfly’s version, it was perfect. So, until I combine the recipe into one, for now, I’ll just recommend blending these versions together.
Credit: Martin Cate, Smuggler’s Cove
1 1/2 cups Goya passion fruit pulp
1 1/2 cups 2:1 clear syrup
1/2 oz vodka
Mix ingredients together and bottle.
Utterly fantastic. You can’t beat Goya’s passion fruit pulp, available in the frozen section in Chavez market. I used to make this with 2:1 demerara syrup, but using a granulated sugar syrup lets the passion fruit flavor come through more cleanly. Also, after losing yet another bottle of orgeat, I’ve decided to start adding a small amount of alcohol to my syrups to extend their shelf life.
Credit: Momofuku
2 3/4 cups Corn Flakes
3 cups cold whole milk
3/4 cups heavy cream
2 tbsp packed dark brown sugar
1/4 tsp kosher salt
Directions
Toast the Corn Flakes on parchment paper at 300 degrees for 15 minutes, until fragrant. Let cool, then put them in a pitcher with the milk and cream. Let everything steep for 20 minutes at room temperature. Strain out the cereal, gently pressing on it to release any extra liquid, without pushing the cereal through the strainer. Add the brown sugar and salt to the strained milk.
So, this is so amazing. You make this hoping it meets your expectations, and it surpasses them. The toasted Corn Flakes come through strong, with just enough added sweetness from the brown sugar. I could sip this plain, but look forward to trying it in a milk punch. Turning this into ice cream would be pretty freaking awesome, or using it in eggnog. I made a 1/2 recipe, which yielded about 2 cups of liquid.
I swapped out the cream for all whole milk, and it tastes even better I think. It’s more versatile since people could just have it straight or spiked.
Credit: Martin Cate, Smuggler’s Cove
13 1/2 oz Thai Kitchen coconut milk
13 1/2 oz 2:1 clear syrup
1/4 tsp salt
Blend contents of the can together to combine the coconut cream and liquid. Add the rich syrup, salt, and blend again.
Open a can of Coco López cream of coconut. Blend contents together. Enjoy an exceptional Piña Colada.
So what I’ve learned from many experiments with cream of coconut, including trying different recipes, coconut milk brands, and techniques, is that to me, nothing compares to Coco López. The Smuggler’s Cove version—the best homemade cream of coconut—tastes like fragrant coconut syrup. However, the Coco López has the thicker consistency and richer taste of sweetened condensed coconut milk that’s just irreplaceable in mixed drinks.
Tip: to warm up Coco López from the fridge, place the container in a bowl of hot water for a 5-10 minutes.
Credit: Martin Cate, Smuggler’s Cove
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
3 3-inch Penzeys cassia cinnamon sticks
Put the water in a saucepan. Add the cinnamon sticks to the water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the sugar and stir with a whisk until the sugar’s dissolved. Remove from heat. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 12 hours. Strain out the cinnamon.
The cinnamon flavor comes through—looking forward to finding many uses for this.
Credit: Jeffrey Morgenthaler, citing Thad Vogler
8 oz peeled chopped ginger
8 oz granulated sugar
8 oz boiling water
Mix ingredients together and let sit for a bit, to avoid blending boiling water. Blend, strain through a fine mesh sieve, then through a coffee filter to remove any small particles.
Finally—a ginger syrup that tastes like ginger! Couldn’t be easier.
Credit: Dave Arnold, Liquid Intelligence; Cocktail Chemistry
200 g water
150 g melted unsalted butter
200 g granulated sugar
3 grams Ticaloid 210 S (9:1 ratio gum arabic to xanthan gum)
10 allspice berries, crushed
Heat the water and crushed allspice berries to a simmer and simmer for 5 minutes. Strain out the allspice. Add the Ticaloid 210 S to the infused water and mix with a stick blender. Add the butter and blend. Add the sugar and blend. You can store this at room temperature.
Wow, this is delicious! The allspice adds something nice. There has to be an application here for pancakes or French toast.
Credit: Cocktail Chemistry
20 g salt
80 g water
Combine in a jar and shake until clear. Transfer to a dropper dispenser.
2 parts raw honey
1 part water
Heat water to a simmer, then add the hone and stir until it dissolves. Let cool.
I like the flavor of good raw honey—however, you want to be careful of using a honey that’s too strongly flavored as it could overpower the drink. The higher sugar ratio extends the shelf life in the fridge.
2 parts demerara sugar
1 part water
Heat water to a simmer, then add the sugar and stir until it dissolves. Let cool.
Demerara sugar adds more flavor, and the higher sugar ratio extends the shelf life in the fridge. When you want a clear syrup, use granulated sugar in place of the demerara sugar.
