Want to add fresh mint flavor to your cocktails without muddling a bunch of mint leaves? This Mint Simple Syrup adds a delicious minty sweetness to drinks, baked goods, and more!
I'm back and ready to share another simple syrup recipe with you... This one is for a summer favorite - mint simple syrup!
If you've ever planted your own mint before, you know how much it absolutely flourishes. This simple syrup is the perfect way to use up some of the fresh mint in your garden. But I'll also happily buy fresh mint when I'm out, just so I can have a jar of this in my fridge!
This post will show you how easy it is to make your own mint simple syrup at home! Follow along with the text and photos or check out my video to see how simple the process is.
Don't forget to take a look at the other simple syrups I have recipes for, like lavender, blueberry, and jalapeño. I've even made a super fun bubblegum syrup!
What is Simple Syrup?
Simple syrup is simply equal parts water and granulated sugar that are boiled together until the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens into a syrup.
A plain simple syrup can be used to add extra sweetness to a whole host of things, but is especially useful as an ingredient in cocktails.
And a flavored simple syrup? That means you can add sweetness and flavor to your drinks and more. Pretty much any flavor you can imagine!
In this post, I'll be showing you how to make a fresh mint simple syrup.
Why Make Mint Simple Syrup?
Of all the simple syrups (and trust me, there are MANY!), mint may be the most versatile.
Why? Because mint is delicious in all kinds of cocktails (especially mojitos!) and lots of people don't like muddling or drinking cocktails with mint leaves smashed in them.
Mint simple syrup adds delicious fresh mint flavor to any cocktail with no smooshed mint leaves floating around!
Ingredients
You just need three ingredients to make this mint simple syrup. If you've ever made a simple syrup before, you can probably guess what they are:
- Water
- Sugar
- Fresh Mint Leaves
What Kind of Mint to Use?
You can use any kind of fresh mint for this simple syrup. Spearmint is the most popular mint for culinary and mixology use, though peppermint works well, too. There are lots of varieties of each, but any should be fine.
There's also a mint called "mojito mint" that is obviously the perfect choice for your cocktail needs!
I've even made a chocolate mint simple syrup, which can be a unique and delicious ingredient in all kinds of cocktail recipes!
You could also try one of the unique varieties, like orange mint or lavender mint (yum!)
How to Make Mint Simple Syrup
Like most simple syrups, a mint version is very easy to make!
To start, put water, sugar, and mint leaves in a medium saucepan, stir, and bring to a boil.
I recommend using about 12 mint leaves for maximum mint flavor. You can probably get away with less (and obviously mint leaves come in all different sizes), but the more, the merrier for me!
Lower heat to a simmer and let mixture simmer for about 10 minutes, until syrup has thickened.
Mmm you can tell how syrupy it is here!
Remove from heat and pour mixture through a fine mesh sieve to strain mint leaves out and into a heat-proof bowl or mason jar.
Place bowl or jar in fridge to cool completely before using.
I love that the mint simple syrup ends up having a pretty green hue to it. And I also love how it's packed with fresh from the garden mint flavor!
How to Store
You should always store your simple syrups in the fridge in an airtight container. When stored properly, it should stay fresh for at least a month.
How to Use
There are so many uses for mint simple syrup, but the most popular one is in cocktails! Think of all the cocktails that are made even tastier with the addition of mint! This works in any of them.
Here are my favorite ways to use the simple syrup:
- Berry Mint Gin Smash: Muddled berries are way better than muddled mint and this drink works perfectly with mint simple syrup.
- Spicy Vodka Blackberry Smash: As you can tell, this simple syrup works perfectly in cocktails with other smashed ingredients.
- Mojitos: Instead of muddling mint, you can use this mint simple syrup instead. Or you can use both for extra mint flavor!
- Mint juleps: Just like with mojitos, you can use this mint simple syrup in mint juleps.
- Margaritas: Give your margaritas a nice mint flavor without muddled mint! Try this Grapefruit Mint Margarita (AKA Mint Paloma) recipe.
- Mocktails: This mint simple syrup will add a yummy flavor to a mocktail, even if it's just seltzer water with a little bit of this mixed in.
- Slushies: Add this simple syrup to slushies, like these wine slushies.
- Add to a marinade: Want to give your chicken, steak, shrimp, or other seafood a mint kick? Use this simple syrup in a marinade!
- Cocktail rim bonder: Brush a little of this simple syrup to the rim of a margarita glass so salt or sugar will adhere to it.
- Drizzle over ice cream or on pancakes
- Tea sweetener: Add mint simple syrup to tea instead of sugar or honey for a yummy light flavor and some sweetness.
How to Make More
This recipe makes about 1 ¼ cups (10 oz.) of simple syrup. For reference, most of my cocktail recipes call for about ½-1 oz. of simple syrup in them.
If you're making a big batch cocktail or just want to have extra on hand, you can easily double or triple this recipe. Since the syrup uses a 1:1 water and sugar ratio, you can increase as you see fit.
If you want to double this recipe, use 2 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar, along with about 24 mint leaves.
If you want to triple this recipe, use 3 cups of water and 3 cups of sugar, along with about 36 mint leaves (you can probably get away with using fewer mint leaves, but I love a big mint flavor!).
Where to Buy
Though making your own mint simple syrup is super easy, I know that sometimes you may want to keep a batch of shelf-stable syrup on your bar-top, especially when mint isn't in season.
Here are a few options for where you can purchase mint simple syrup. It's also sometimes called mojito simple syrup or mint julep simple syrup and while some may have some other flavors blended in, they can all be used pretty interchangeably.
- Mint-Infused Simple Syrup
- Mojito Mint Syrup
- Mojito Simple Syrup
- Winter Mint Small Batch Simple Syrup
- Mint Julep Simple Syrup
More Simple Syrup Flavors
The below is just a sampling of the simple syrup flavors you can make from scratch. I'll be adding even more fun ideas to this list!
- Jalapeno
- Blueberry
- Lavender
- Strawberry
- Apple
- Pear
- Peach
- Pistachio
- Pumpkin Spice
- Bubblegum
- Candy Corn
- Cranberry
- Gingerbread
- Sugar Cookie
- Candy Cane
- Vanilla
- Ginger
- Raspberry
- Rhubarb
- Pink Peppercorn
- Holiday Spice
I hope you get some time this summer to make this mint simple syrup and all the cocktails or mocktails your heart desires!
Mint Simple Syrup
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 12 fresh mint leaves
Instructions
- Put water, sugar, and mint leaves in a medium saucepan, stir, and bring to a boil.
- Lower to a simmer and let mixture simmer for about 10 minutes, until syrup has thickened.
- Remove from heat and pour mixture through a fine mesh sieve to strain mint leaves out and into a heat-proof bowl or mason jar. Place bowl or jar in fridge to cool completely before using. Syrup will continue to thicken as it cools.
Video
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