Cocktails with Birch water
Birch water is the watery sap of the birch tree, tapped from the trunk in early spring.
How it's used
A light, clean lengthener with a faint woody, mineral note and barely any sugar. It adds volume without the weight a juice or syrup would bring.
Substitutes for Birch water
Maple sap and maple water
The closest swap, in the same amount and just a little sweeter.
Works too, with a faint coconut taste.
Plain still water
A fair stand-in, since birch sap is barely sweet. Only a light woody note is lost.
Birch syrup
Will not work, as it is a sweetener.
Storage
Raw sap keeps a day or two in the fridge, then starts to ferment. That is why so much of it is sold pasteurized or preserved. A carton keeps to its date; refrigerate it once open.
