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About This Syrup
When making drinks with earth-inspired flavors, simple syrups made with various teas are quick, relatively easy, and affordable way to infuse them into recipes.
I made this syrup for the first time for the Partridge in a Pear Tree, a Christmas cocktail created by food writer and author Jessica Strand. The recipe in her book Very Merry Cocktails: 50+ Festive Drinks for the Holiday Season didn’t call for woodsy pine, spruce, or birch-flavored ingredients at all, but we decided to add them in as a nod to the “tree” part of the drink’s name and for more complexity. The latter two came from a unique bottle of bitters made by Crude Bitters & Sodas, but the pine came from this syrup I made at home using loose leaf pine tea.
Syrup Ingredients
To make this simple syrup, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Pine Tea: This is a type of herbal tea made with dried pine tree needles. I used FullChea Dried Pine Needle Tea.
White Sugar: This is a sweetener. I used a generic white sugar from our local grocery store.
Water: This turns the syrup into a liquid. I prefer to use filtered water to prevent contamination.
How to Make This Syrup
When making syrups, I prefer to make most of ours using the sous vide method, but I made this one on the stovetop because the tea only needs to steep for about half an hour.
To make this syrup, you’ll need the following tools:
Saucepan: This is what the syrup ingredients are placed inside to cook.
Silicone Spatula: This is used to stir the syrup. I use OXO Good Grips Silicone Spatulas because their flexibility allows them to stir and wipe the syrups out of the pan more thoroughly than spoons.
Fine Mesh Strainer: This is used to remove solid ingredients from the syrup during the transfer process. I use the Barfly Stainless Steel Fine Mesh Strainer because its tightly woven mesh is excellent for removing small seeds and pieces of fruit.
Funnel: This is used to transfer the syrup from the bag to the storage containers without making a mess. I prefer to use a small silicone funnel because that type is flexible and easy to store.
Squeeze Bottle: This is used to store the syrup in the refrigerator for immediate use. I prefer OXO Good Grips Squeeze Bottles because they are high quality.
Storage Pouch with Pouring Spout: This is used to store extra syrup in the freezer for later use.
How to Store This Syrup
Once the syrup is made, it will need to be kept cool to preserve its freshness. Whether it will be stored in the refrigerator or the freezer affects the type of container I use, and I make the decision on where to store it based on when I expect to use some or all of the syrup in cocktails.
Refrigerator Storage: I will usually store our syrups in the refrigerator when I plan to use them in a cocktail either right away or within a few days. If that’s the case, I will store some in a condiment squeeze bottle so I can easily pour the syrup into a jigger when I make the drink. It’s rare that I need all sixteen ounces right away though, so I often keep some in the refrigerator and will transfer the rest of the syrup to a pouch so it can be frozen and used later.
Freezer Storage: I will usually store our syrups in the freezer when I don’t think I will use them in a cocktail within a week. If that’s the case, I store them in pouches with pouring spouts because those are made with a flexible material that won’t come open as the syrup expands during the freezing process. I will then thaw the pouches in a bowl of water when I want to use the syrup again.
Flavored syrups like this one should last one to two weeks in the refrigerator and can last up to six months if frozen. I recommend listing the date the syrup was made before storing it so you can keep track of when batches should be used or discarded.
Recipe
This recipe yields approximately sixteen ounces of syrup, which is enough for anywhere from fifteen to thirty-five cocktails depending on the amount needed for the drink.
Add hot water to a saucepan.
Heat over high heat until boiling, then remove pan from heat.
Add pine tea bags and let steep for 15-20 minutes.
Remove tea bags and return pan to burner over high heat.
Add sugar and heat while stirring for 3-5 minutes until sugar is dissolved.
Remove from heat and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
Strain syrup through a fine mesh strainer 1-2 times to remove any tea particles.
Pour syrup into a squeeze bottle or pouch with spout using a funnel, then refrigerate or freeze.
Ingredients
Directions
Add hot water to a saucepan.
Heat over high heat until boiling, then remove pan from heat.
Add pine tea bags and let steep for 15-20 minutes.
Remove tea bags and return pan to burner over high heat.
Add sugar and heat while stirring for 3-5 minutes until sugar is dissolved.
Remove from heat and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
Strain syrup through a fine mesh strainer 1-2 times to remove any tea particles.
Pour syrup into a squeeze bottle or pouch with spout using a funnel, then refrigerate or freeze.
Tools We Recommend
More Syrup Recipes
If you like this syrup, here are a few others we make and use in our cocktails that you may enjoy:
Blueberry Syrup: A sous vide syrup made with fresh blueberries, white sugar, gum Arabic powder, citric acid, and water
Gingerbread Syrup: A sous vide syrup made with gingerbread spice, honey, vanilla extract, white sugar, brown sugar, gum Arabic powder, and water
Cranberry Syrup: A sous vide syrup made with fresh cranberries, cane sugar, citric acid, and water
Apple Cinnamon Syrup: A sous vide syrup made with apple cider, cinnamon sticks, and white sugar
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