Cocktails with Apple syrup
Apple syrup is a sweet, pourable apple-flavored syrup, most often boiled down from apple juice.
How it's used
Use it in place of plain syrup when you want apple as well as sweetness. It suits autumn drinks, toddies and whiskey sours, alongside apple brandy, spice and lemon.
Substitutes for Apple syrup
Boiled cider
Fresh, unfermented apple juice boiled down about eightfold until thick, often labeled as cider syrup. It matches the sweetness and tastes of cooked apples.
Use this in a pinch. The sweetness balance stays right, but you lose the apple note completely.
Apple butter and appelstroop
Avoid using them. These thick fruit spreads simply refuse to dissolve in a cold glass.
Storage
A commercial bottle keeps for months and wants the fridge once open. Homemade lasts a couple of weeks refrigerated, and a heavier reduction keeps longer because there is less water in it for anything to grow in.
