How to Sweeten a Tart Cocktail

Honey

Orgeat

     There is a dilemma that come up anytime that you need to make a cocktail sweeter.  How do I do it?   Sugar, Honey, Agave Nectar, Cane Syrup, Maple Syrup or Orgeat, all of these are very viable methods of sweetening your cocktail.   One thing to keep in mind is what are you trying to do with the taste of the cocktail.  Each of the sweeteners have different taste characteristics and will add an amount of flavor to the cocktail in addition to sweetening it.  

 

Maple Syrup

      Agave Nectar, Cane Syrup or Sugar will sweeten the blend while adding very little to the taste of the cocktail, but sugar has a price the next morning in the form of the dreaded hang over.    Honey can be hard to get to dissolve in an alcohol environment, but like sugar adds only a subtle flavor to the mix.    Molasses and Orgeat both add  a noticeable flavor to the cocktail, that is not necessarily a bad thing, but be aware that this does happen.

Agave Nectar

     In my mind, there are two very good options for sweetening without adding a lot of extra flavors.  These are Sugar Cane syrup, and Agave Nectar, both will sweeten in a very subtle manner with a more natural sweetness to the cocktail.    Both mix very readily with alcoholic blends and do so very quickly.

Molasses

     When it is time to sweeten think about what you really are looking for when you sweeten.  All of the options have their uses and all do the job differently.   Experiment with different sweeteners and see which gives you the taste that you are looking for in your cocktails.   ;o)