simple syrup

noun

: a sweetening agent made by melting granulated sugar in hot water

The drink developers decided they could add "dashes" of unsweetened, natural flavor, such as vanilla or hazelnut, and give customers the option to add or subtract pumps of simple syrup for more or less sweetness (each pump of syrup contains five grams of sugar).

—Julie Jargon

I just started making a Quarter Horse … . I found it on a cocktail app that I have called Highball, and it's made with bourbon, lime, simple syrup, ginger beer, and bitters.

—Anna Kendrick

Examples of simple syrup in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In a shaker, mix bourbon, lemon juice, and a touch of simple syrup with ice. —Elizabeth Fogarty, Better Homes & Gardens, 12 June 2025

Ingredients: 2 oz gin, ½ oz fresh lime juice, ¼ oz simple syrup Method: Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice; shake until well-chilled. —Jillian Dara, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025

Sonoma Sazerac Ingredients 2 ounces Griffo Distillery’s Barrel 151 reserve brandy ½ ounce simple syrup 2 dashes Bitter Girl Bitters’ Garden Party bitters ¼ ounce Barber Lee Spirits’ Absinthe Blanche Directions Combine brandy, simple syrup and bitters in a cocktail shaker with ice. —Jeff Burkhart, The Mercury News, 21 Mar. 2025

Here are options for local hot coffee or tea that are more unique than your average mocha: Deep latte: Lucky Detroit, a small chain with locations in Corktown and the 'burbs, makes its own small-batch vanilla bourbon simple syrup in Oak Park for its vanilla bourbon latte. —Annalise Frank, Axios, 10 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1826, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for simple syrup

• stirrup