This Rosemary Simple Syrup is made with just 3 simple ingredients, and it's ready in 15 minutes! You can use it in various cocktails, mocktails, lemonades, or iced teas, and you can even drizzle it over fruit salads or cake! It's freezer-friendly and always a hit!
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Why You'll Love This Rosemary Syrup
Strong rosemary flavor - You don't need much rosemary to make homemade syrup with a strong and delicious rosemary flavor. Herbs are much more potent than fruit when making syrups. I like making it strong because it allows me to add less of the syrup to my drinks than I normally would and still get the same amount of flavor.
Easy and simple - This is one of the easiest simple syrups. All you need is water, sugar, and fresh rosemary sprigs! It's ready in just 15 minutes, and it can easily be made ahead and stored in the fridge or the freezer!
It can make any drink special - You don't need much of it to add a delicious rosemary flavor to practically any drink! Use it for rosemary cocktails, mocktails, lemonades, iced teas, or drizzle it on fruit salads and desserts! It's especially good in pomegranate or grapefruit-based drinks and perfect for the holidays. Try it in this Pomegranate Mocktail (photo below) or this Pomegranate Margarita.
DIY cocktail bar - This syrup would make a great addition to DIY cocktail bars at parties where people can make their own cocktails. Just don't forget to make a couple more homemade syrups to offer your guests along with this one!
Ingredients
- Fresh rosemary sprigs - I strongly recommend using fresh rosemary here because the flavor is much brighter and fresher, but you can use dried rosemary in a pinch. Keep in mind dried herbs are much more concentrated, so you'll only need 1 tablespoon.
- Granulated sugar - You can use white sugar or cane sugar here. I prefer cane sugar because it's slightly less processed than white sugar. I don't recommend any darker sugar because they might overpower the flavor of the rosemary.
- Water - The syrup is made with equal parts water and sugar. Use filtered water when possible to avoid tap water changing the flavor of the syrup.
Variations and Substitutions
- Sugar-free - You can use any sugar substitute that can be used in a 1:1 ratio in place of regular white sugar. Alternatively, you can use agave, maple syrup, or honey, but it might change the flavor of the syrup. Sugar also acts as a preservative here, so if you make the syrup sugar-free, it won't last as long.
- Different herbs - If you don't have rosemary, you can make the syrup with any other fresh herbs like fresh mint, thyme, sage, or even basil. See Simple Syrups for more variations.
How to Make Rosemary Simple Syrup
- Combine water, cane sugar, and rosemary in a medium saucepan.
- Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves.
- Lower the heat and simmer the syrup for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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- Remove the saucepan from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes. The longer you let the rosemary steep in the syrup, the stronger the flavor will be.
- Strain the syrup through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl ot a large measuring cup.
- Transfer the syrup to a glass jar or an airtight container and allow it to cool completely before closing it with a lid. Store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Tips & Tricks!
- Fresh and dried herbs are much more potent than fruit when you simmer them to make syrup. You can adjust the amount of rosemary you use based on your preference. The syrup is quite strong, so you don't have to use much of it in drinks. If you want your drinks sweeter, add less rosemary so it doesn't overpower them. You can add only 1 sprig and steep it in the syrup for longer until you reach your desired strength.
- Freeze it - I find this is one of those syrups I don't usually use up within two weeks because I don't use a lot of it. Freezing syrups is a great way to preserve them. Sugar prevents them from freezing solid, so you can use them straight from the freezer without any defrosting!
How to Use the Syrup
- Cocktails - Try it in this Grapefruit Paloma or this Grapefruit Mimosa with Rosemary. It would also be delicious in this Pomegranate Margarita instead of regular simple syrup! It goes really well with gin, vodka, silver tequila, or white rum.
- Mocktails - This syrup is amazing with any citrus, especially grapefruit, berries, and pomegranate juice. I highly recommend trying it in this Pomegranate Mocktail or in this Blackberry Mocktail (instead of thyme syrup).
- Tea, lemonades, and sodas - This might be slightly more out there, but I think a little bit of rosemary syrup would be delicious in lemonade or berry iced tea like this Iced Raspberry Passion Tea. You can also use it as a sweetener for herbal or fruity hot teas. It's delicious in ginger tea! I like making rosemary lemonade with just freshly squeezed lemon juice and a little bit of this syrup.
- Food - If you're feeling adventurous, you can try it drizzled over anything sweet like berry ice cream, berry sorbet, or fruit salads! You can brush it on warm layers of cake to add flavor and moisture.
Storing
Refrigerator: You can store the syrup in a glass jar or an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Always make sure to use a clean spoon. I don't recommend storing it at room temperature.
Freezer: Freeze the syrup in a freezer-safe container and store it in the freezer for 3-4 months or longer when stored properly. I like using small containers with pre-portioned syrup, so I don't have to defrost all of it. The syrup actually never fully freezes because of its high sugar content, so it can be used straight from the freezer; it's just very thick. To make it completely liquid, defrost it in the fridge for 30 minutes or so. I don't recommend freezing the syrup in an ice cube tray because it never freezes fully, so you'd never get any actual cubes.
FAQs
Yes, fresh thyme or fresh mint, thyme, or sage are all great options!
I highly recommend using fresh herbs, but you can use dried rosemary in a pinch. You'll need much less dried rosemary. I recommend adding 1-2 tablespoon based on how strong you want the syrup to be. If it's not strong enough, you can just leave the rosemary to steep in the syrup while it cools down.
I like adding it to any drinks with grapefruit, orange, pomegranate, grapes, apples, pears, cranberries, mint, or lavender. You can add it to cocktails, tea, lemonades, sodas, or any other drinks!
Similar Flavored Syrups
Once you start making your own syrups, whether for cocktails, coffee, or any other drinks, you'll never want to go back to any store-bought ones!
Below are three of my favorite herbal syrups you should try if you like this rosemary one! Herbs don't get added to syrups as often as they should; they add such a good flavor to so many otherwise boring drinks! To see more flavors and all the latest ones, head over to Flavored Syrups.
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Print📖 Recipe
Rosemary Simple Syrup
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 ⅓ cup 1x
- Category: Flavored Syrups
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Rosemary Simple Syrup is made with just 3 simple ingredients and it's ready in 15 minutes! It's perfect for cocktails, mocktails, lemonades, or iced teas!
Ingredients
- 1 cup cane sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
Instructions
- Combine water, cane sugar, and rosemary in a medium saucepan.
- Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves.
- Lower the heat and simmer the syrup for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the saucepan from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes. The longer you let it sit with the rosemary, the stronger the flavor will be.
- Strain the syrup through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl ot a large measuring cup.
- Transfer the syrup to a glass jar or an airtight container and allow it to cool completely before closing it with a lid. Store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
Refrigerator: Store the syrup in a glass jar or an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Freezer: Store the syrup in a freezer-safe container in the freezer for 3-4 months. The syrup never freezes solid due to the high sugar content, so it can be used straight from the freezer and defrosts within 30 minutes. This is also why I don't recommend freezing it in an ice cube tray.
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Jess says
Genius for cocktails! Delicious with pomegranate juice.