Cocktails with Cane syrup
Cane syrup is a sweetener made from sugarcane. The name covers two different products: a thick dark syrup boiled down from pressed juice, and a clear bar syrup of cane sugar and water.
Substitutes for Cane syrup
The dark reduced-juice syrup runs about 72% sugar against roughly 50% for a 1:1 simple syrup, so it goes in at around two-thirds the volume and gets tasted. Demerara or turbinado syrup is closest for body and warmth. Plain simple syrup covers the sweetness and loses the cane character.
Often confused with
Two products under one name
Syrup reduced from cane juice on one side, a clear syrup made from cane sugar on the other. The first brings molasses and color; the second is a plain sweetener with a cane name on the label.
Molasses
The dark residue left after sugar is crystallized out of the reduced juice, which is why it is bitterer and thicker. Cane syrup has no crystals removed, so it is softer and sweeter — a spoon of molasses in its place will darken and dominate the drink.
Storage
Unopened it is stable at room temperature. Once opened, refrigerate it: cane syrup is thick and wet, and an opened jar left warm eventually gives mold a foothold. It will keep a couple of months cold.
