Cocktails with Cinnamon syrup
Cinnamon syrup is a sugar syrup infused with cinnamon bark, used to sweeten and spice a drink at the same time.
How it's used
It sweetens and spices in one measure, which is why a spiced Old Fashioned or a tiki build needs no separate spice step. Made with a stick it comes out clear; made with ground cinnamon it comes out cloudy and settles in the bottle. Rum, apple and coffee all take it, and it is strong enough that a barspoon changes a drink.
Substitutes for Cinnamon syrup
Make your own: simmer 4 cinnamon sticks with 200 g of sugar and 240 ml of water for 8–10 minutes, then cool and strain. Monin's bottled version is sweeter, about 24 g of sugar per 30 ml, so use about a quarter less. Plain syrup with a little ground cinnamon will do, but it clouds the drink.
Cassia versus Ceylon syrup
Cassia is spicier and louder, Ceylon milder; either swaps one for one, though Ceylon needs more sticks for the same spice.
Cinnamon schnapps and liqueurs
Alcoholic and often very sweet, usually flavored rather than infused: they add spice and alcohol, so start at half the syrup's measure and taste.
Storage
Refrigerated in a sealed bottle for a couple of weeks. Cinnamon syrup tends to outlast a plain one, since cinnamaldehyde is mildly antimicrobial, but this is a syrup and not a preservative: judge it by smell and by whether it has clouded.
