Making Bittersweet Cocktails: Homemade Liquorice Syrup
It’s been a while since I last shared a homemade recipe with you. Finally the wait is over: I found the time to make some liquorice syrup. Find out how to make some delicious bittersweet syrup bellow!
Certainly not everyone likes liquorice, I for instances love it! Honestly, I can not get enough of it. Therefore, it is no wonder that when I saw the picture of a Purple Sazerac made with liquorice syrup sometime ago, I had to make liquorice syrup myself. Besides the syrup the drink featured Mezcal, Peychaud’s Bitters and of course Absinthe. It took sometime, but after a while I had ordered some powdered liquorice root ob the internet. When it had arrived I was a bit disappointed, because it somewhat lacked the typical liquorice taste.
A quick search on the internet revealed that liquorice the candy is made from liquorice root with the addition of anis and fennel. Again it took me some time to get those spices. It is not like they are rare so rare, but I simply did not find the time. When I coincidentally had to go to the city this week, I stopped by a herbal shop to get the final ingredients. Yet the next disappointment was not long in coming: the only recipes for liquorice syrup I found online told me to dissolve the candy in hot water and simply add sugar… So I had to start from scratch with the recipe! Nevertheless, I managed to end up with a syrup that tastes of liquorice candy. Moreover, it looks like the real deal, so here it goes!
15 g Powdered Liquorice Root
5 g Aniseeds (Not Star Anise!)
5 g Fennel Seeds 50 g Cane Sugar
500 ml Water
30 ml Vodka
Slightly roast aniseeds and fennel in a pan without oil – add to a teabag – boil water in electric kettle – make a tea using the roasted anise and fennel – add to a pot and turn on the heat – add molasses sugar and cane sugar – stir in the liquorice root – bring to boil – remove from heat – strain through a tea strainer or use a coffee filter – fill into a clean bottle – add 1 oz vodka;
Actually I used 25 g of liquorice root, that is why my syrup has a strong woody taste and smell. I thought for the final recipe that it needs dialling down a bit. Besides that, you could just use molasses without the addition of cane sugar, but I had the feeling that more molasses would overpower the other flavours and it needed a bit more sweetness.
In my next article I will take a look at which cocktails can be mixed with the syrup and of course I will share the results with you! In the meantime: If you have an idea what to do with it, just let me know! (I was thinking of enhancing chocolate chip muffins with it…)
