Rich demerara syrup
Also called demerara syrup, rich simple syrup, 2:1 syrup, turbinado syrup
A 2:1 syrup of demerara (raw cane) sugar and water, amber and faintly molasses toned. Because it is twice as concentrated as simple syrup, it sweetens with less dilution and keeps longer. It is the sweetener an Old Fashioned, a Sazerac or a rum drink wants when white sugar feels thin.
- caramel
- light molasses
- toffee
- brown butter
- dark honey
- round sweetness
Origin
Sugarcane was domesticated in New Guinea around 8000 BC and crystallized sugar appeared in India around 350 AD; cane reached the Mediterranean about 600 AD and the Caribbean after 1501, and 19th century vacuum pans and centrifuges created the modern refined and raw grades. Demerara, named for the Guyanese river region, is a large crystal raw cane sugar that keeps some molasses; rich syrup (2:1) is the bar's shorthand for a syrup that sweetens like a sugar cube without the grit.
Production and safety
House recipe: combine 2 cups (400 g) demerara or turbinado sugar and 1 cup (240 ml) water in a saucepan; warm gently, stirring, until fully dissolved, without boiling. Bottle while warm into a clean, labeled container, cool, and refrigerate. Keeps about 4 to 6 weeks refrigerated (the high sugar concentration resists spoilage better than 1:1). Discard if cloudy, fizzy or moldy. Yield about 2 cups (480 ml). Use about three quarters the volume you would use of simple syrup.
Allergens: None
Common uses
- old-fashioned
- sazerac
- irish-coffee
- a Rum Old Fashioned
- Daiquiri variations that want depth
- the house concept that calls for it
Pours that use it
- International
Irish Coffee
Hot whiskey coffee under a cold cream float, from the Shannon estuary
A hot drink of Irish whiskey, strong filter coffee and demerara sugar, finished with lightly whipped cream floated over the back of a spoon.
WhiskeyHotEasy - Classic
Old Fashioned
Whiskey, sugar, bitters and the patience to stir
The original whiskey cocktail: bourbon or rye stirred in the glass with a dissolved sugar cube and Angostura bitters, served over a large ice cube with an expressed orange peel.
WhiskeyBuiltEasy - Classic
Sazerac
Rye, sugar, Peychaud's and an absinthe-rinsed glass: New Orleans in one pour
The official cocktail of New Orleans: rye whiskey, a sugar cube, Peychaud's bitters, stirred and served neat in a chilled glass rinsed with absinthe, with a lemon peel expressed over the top.
WhiskeyStirredIntermediate
Sources
- The history of sugar (Sugar Association), The Sugar Association · secondary source, retrieved 2026-10-11