Turning Any Syrup into 4 Sodas, Liqueurs, Cordials and Shrubs – In Seconds!

Hi Friends of Cocktails! Between liqueurs, spirits, syrups, and saline solution–which one do you think is the real workhorse behind the bar? If you said saline, you’re close as you know we love to use it on Cocktail Time, but the real answer is syrup… why?

Syrups are an ingredient that show up everywhere: in cocktails, mocktails, lemonades, tea, coffee–you name it. And they’re not just sugar in liquid form. Syrup adds sweetness, texture, and flavor, effectively balancing drinks and elevating them.

But one of the best parts about syrups is that you can use them to make so many other ingredients at home. So today I’ll show you how to turn syrups into a soda, a cordial, a liqueur, a shrub, and more with the help of our friends at Liber & Co.!

Liber & Co. have been my go-to syrup company for years. They use fresh ingredients to create syrups with incredible depth of flavor, and I’m happy to announce that they’ve also offered a special discount for our Friends of Cocktails. So head over to their website here if you're in the US or here for Europe, and use the code KEVIN15 at checkout to get 15% off all syrups!

You might want to grab a few bottles, because we’ve got a lot of ideas to cover today, starting with how to turn a syrup into a soda. For best results, choose something that already has some acidity. Liber & Co.’s Fiery Ginger Syrup checks all the boxes, and even includes the fiery kick I want in my Ginger Beer.

They make it with whole ginger root, freshly pressed for intense spice and heat. Perfect for homemade ginger ale or Moscow Mules. So to start, I’ll make myself a quick and easy ginger beer to sip on as we explore more syrup applications. It’s Cocktail Time!

Rapid Ginger Beer

● 150mL · 5oz Liber & Co.’s Fiery Ginger Syrup

● 850g Cold Water

● 1 CO2 Cardtridge

Into an iSi Twist & Sparkle, add the syrup and cold water, then close the siphon and make sure everything is well combined before charging with a single CO₂ cartridge. Shake well, then chill your soda and serve it over ice whenever you’re thirsty or ready to top up your next Moscow Mule!

You can also make a serving of ginger beer by adding 30 mL or 1 oz of ginger syrup to a glass with ice, followed by 170 g of soda. Another option is to use the same proportions to batch servings into 200 mL soda bottles. However you choose to make it, I think nothing beats cold ginger beer while working behind the bar.

Now let’s take it a step further by turning a syrup into a cordial. We’ll do that with the Tropical Passionfruit Syrup–but if you want something ready to use, you can also check out Liber & Co.’s lineup of cordials, including Rio Red Grapefruit, Blood Orange, or Lemon Lavender, all made with fresh juice and layered flavors.

2-Ingredient Passionfruit Cordial

● 180mL · 6oz Liber & Co.’s Tropical Passionfruit Syrup

● 90mL · 3oz Lime Super Juice

I’m simply mixing these two ingredients, then you can stir to combine them or let the magnetic stirrer do the work for you, and with that your cordial is ready! This time I went with a 2:1 ratio, as passionfruit already has some acidity, but for other syrups you can go with 2:1.5 or even 1:1.

Just make sure you choose a Super Juice that complements the syrup, or if you don’t want to add any additional flavor, you can use the same amount of a 6% acid solution instead. And if you want some ideas for how to use this cordial, test it out in a Daiquiri, a Pisco Sour, or even a Tequila Sour!

We’ve covered the soda and the cordial, so now let’s make a quick and easy liqueur. That can be a great hack for many reasons. One, you don’t have to buy a whole bottle of liqueur for one or two special cocktails, which saves you money and shelf space.

And two, you can create a quick DIY liqueur that makes a great gift. I’ll give you a few ideas in a second. But first, let’s make a DIY version of Crème de Mûre using Liber & Co.’s Marion Blackberry Syrup. Made from marionberries that are unique to Oregon, they bring an intensely sweet and tart flavor that’s perfect for the Bramble cocktail.

DIY Creme de Mure

● 150mL · 5oz Liber & Co.’s Marion Blackberry Syrup

● 150mL · 5oz Vodka

Combine these two ingredients—I’ll again use the magnetic stirrer—and that’s basically it! The flavor will fully develop after a day or two, but even now we have a wonderful liqueur that you just need to bottle, add a label, and it’s ready to be enjoyed.

You can use this simple formula with a combination of different flavored syrups and spirits. So I’ve prepared some pairings you can try next using more Liber & Co. syrups:

• Passion Fruit + White Rum

• Blackberry + Gin or Vodka

• Ginger + Scotch

• Strawberry + Blanco Tequila or Vodka

• Toasted Coconut + Smoky Scotch or Rum

• Peach + White Wine

• Fig + Tequila Reposado or Brandy

• Pineapple + Pisco or Rum

And our final category is shrubs. These are old-school mixers made by combining syrup with vinegar, giving you a sweet, tangy ingredient that adds sweetness, acidity, and complexity to cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks.

I love finding ways of using them, and if you haven’t yet, you’re missing out. Liber & Co. already knows this, as their lineup includes the Texas Grapefruit Shrub, made with Rio Red Texas grapefruit, cane sugar, and champagne vinegar. But there are so many other flavor pairings that can bring your cocktail game to a new level. Let’s try one with their Yakima Valley Peach Syrup

Yakima Peach Shrub

● 180mL · 6oz Liber & Co.’s Yakima Valley Peach Syrup

● 60mL · 2oz Apple Cider Vinegar

You know the gist by now with how simple today’s recipes are–and this one will be extra special for me as I used the homemade vinegar my mom made with apples from her back garden. So once it’s mixed, bottle the shrub and you can use it as the sweet and sour component of your next cocktail.

I’ll give you a few more flavor pairing ideas before giving you a quick cocktail recipe that you can use with any of these shrubs:

• Strawberry + Balsamic Vinegar

• Coconut + Rice Vinegar

• Peach + White Balsamic or Apple Cider Vinegar

Now, let’s make a flavor-packed, refreshing bourbon drink using our Peach Shrub, but feel free to make it suited to your taste using your favorite shrub recipe with Liber & Co.

Peach Bourbon Smash

● 60mL · 2oz Bourbon

● 30mL · 1oz Yakima Peach Shrub

● 15mL · 0.5oz Lemon Juice

● 4 Mint Leaves

● 2 drops 20% Saline Solution

Add the ingredients to a chilled shaker with ice, then shake hard to chill and dilute the cocktail. Double strain it into a lowball glass filled with ice, and garnish with a single mint leaf. Don’t forget to spank it on the side of the glass to release its aroma. And just like that, your cocktail is ready to drink!

Now you see why syrups are the most versatile ingredient behind the bar. They’re not just sweeteners–they’re your shortcut to sodas, cordials, liqueurs, shrubs, and endless creativity. So if you want to explore unique recipes, remember to use code KEVIN15 at checkout for 15% off all Liber & Co. syrups.

And if you’re in Europe, you don’t have to miss out either. Liber & Co. is now available in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. They’re working on expanding to even more countries, so fingers crossed that happens soon.

With all the different recipes and techniques we’ve covered today, it’s not a question of if, it’s a question of which ones you’ll try first. And if you’ve got any questions you’d like to ask me directly, that’s a perk available to our Wall of Fame members on Patreon, through a livestream with me and the Cocktail Time team.

I’m looking forward to hearing from our two newest members: Panos Fotis and Brody. And as a special thank you for their yearly pledge, we’re sending them a signed copy of the printed Super Ingredients e-book. So if you want perks like that, along with exclusive content, early video access, and more, consider checking out our Patreon.

I’ll see you all next time—same place, same time. Cheers!