Cocktails with Redcurrant syrup
Redcurrant syrup is redcurrant juice cooked down with sugar. The fruit is sharply tart, so sugar for sugar the syrup comes out sourer than most berry syrups.
Substitutes for Redcurrant syrup
Cranberry or gooseberry syrup keeps the tartness. Raspberry or strawberry matches the color and is markedly sweeter, so the drink then wants a little more lemon to sit right.
Often confused with
Grenadine
Red as well, but pomegranate is tannic instead of tart, and sweeter than redcurrant besides; the two color a drink alike and taste nothing like each other.
Crème de cassis
Blackcurrant as a liqueur: alcoholic and much sweeter. The EU floor for cassis specifically is 400 grams of sugar per liter, against 250 for other crèmes. It brings the currant and resets the sugar and the strength with it.
Storage
Its own acidity buys a little time without changing the outcome. Homemade keeps two weeks chilled, a sealed bottle for months.
