Cocktails with Berry cordial
Berry cordial is a non-alcoholic, sweetened berry concentrate meant to be diluted or used as a sweetening and flavouring syrup rather than drunk neat.
Taste profile
Syrupy and thick on the palate, finishing sweet with a moderate berry tartness; a pronounced ripe-berry aroma runs throughout, and the colour is deep.
How it's used
Bartenders pour it in small measures to sweeten and colour a build, or as the defining fruit note where the berry flavour carries the drink. It contributes high sweetness, medium acidity and body, and strong aroma and colour.
Substitutes for Berry cordial
Another berry-based syrup is the honest swap, since its sweetness and body are easily matched by any sugar syrup but the specific berry aroma and colour are not — a plain sugar syrup fails wherever the cordial is providing the drink's fruit flavour.
Often confused with
Cordial (liqueur)
A berry cordial in the British and Commonwealth sense is a non-alcoholic sweet fruit syrup; in US usage 'cordial' commonly refers to a sweetened distilled spirit, that is, a liqueur.
Description
In British and Commonwealth usage the word 'cordial' denotes a non-alcoholic sweet fruit concentrate mixed with water to make a drink. A berry cordial consists essentially of berry fruit — juice and/or whole berries — cooked or steeped with sugar to yield a concentrated syrup.
