Monin syrups are a must for mixologists. Both for professionals and for you if you make cocktails at home. You may be familiar with them from your local coffee shop. Their distinctive old world branding feature such flavours as caramel, vanilla, hazelnut and cinnamon. All of these work in cocktails as well as coffee. But there is so much more to the range on offer. Something like 100+ flavours. This opens up a world of possibilities to you if you want to develop some new, interesting cocktails.
Get experimental with a range of Monin flavours
They offer a fantastic range of flavours. Almost any flavour you might want to put in a cocktail and some you wouldn’t even have thought of. I’m drawn to the slightly unusual and so I’ve worked with lavender, liquorice, cucumber, rose, salted caramel and maple spiced as part of new cocktails.
Syrups are of course sweet by nature and so you will only ever want to use a little at a time. 25 ml (one shot) or possibly 50 ml in a long fruity cocktail is about as much as I’d ever want to use. However they add great flavour, and of course colours too. Think blue curacao which is as vivid as you’d imagine.
Overall I think the flavours are true to what they’re trying to represent and therefore I recommend them wholeheartedly. However some work better than others. Cherry is great, as is lavender and rose. I was less enamoured with the ginger – tasted slightly medicinal and the gin flavour one tastes like bitter lemon to me.
Where do I buy Monin syrups?
The company is French, but many of their products are widely available. The flavours you’d use in coffee can be found at most good, quality kitchen cookshops. They also come in small 20cl bottles which is handy if you want to experiment or just use them in coffee. Slightly frustratingly only the coffee-compatible flavours are available in these small sizes.
Most of the unusual flavours are only available in specialist shops or online. I have bought them in recent years from the Whisky Exchange and Cream Supplies. Both offer good customer service and swift delivery. Buying in batches saves money. You don’t want to buy them one at a time. The postage will cost about the same as your bottle of syrup.
Shelf-life
Be aware though that they have a shelf life of 18 months or so. So if you buy loads and then find you don’t instantly have a use for a particular flavour, you may end up throwing some of them out. Having said that I have used many for my own personal use at home well beyond their use by date and they’ve been fine. As with many things I believe use by dates are a guide and not an edict. But of course it’s your call. I am lucky, I have a pretty sturdy constitution and stomach!
Monin syrup based recipes
I have developed many cocktails over the years featuring Monin syrups. I started with green apple syrup as Nigella had published a recipe in a cook book for the Green Apple Martini. This was around 2010. I opted for gin, instead of vodka and combined it with Apple Sourz and green apple syrup in a 2 : 2 :1 ratio. I felt that the cocktail was well-balanced and so I used the same formula (2:2:1) with other new cocktails. The St. Louis (see more detailed article and recipe) was my first offshoot. It combines French brandy, Southern Comfort and peach syrup. It was extremely popular at cocktail parties we ran in the early days. Especially with men of a certain age!
The Cote d’Azur is a great, albeit strong cocktail based around pear flavours. Cote d’Azur recipe here.
I also use a wide variety of Monin syrups in Martini style cocktails I create. Based around gin usually or possibly vodka and consisting of a vermouth, the syrup brings out the flavour I’m trying to create and lessens the alcoholic hit slightly. Generally I will only use 1 measure (25 ml) or in some cases a half measure of the syrup.
The Lavender Martini is an unusual flavour profile for sure but it stands out alongside other cocktails with it’s distinctive colour. I often found at parties that once someone had ordered one and others tried a sip, we ended up serving a mass of Lavender Martinis!
I also created a Raspberry Martini which also follows the formula. The sweetness of the raspberry syrup is set off beautifully by the bitterness of the Punt e Mes Italian red vermouth.
Finally there’s the Cherry Martini. This is a particular favourite. This one also has a bitter component. Bold Cherry Spirits London excellent bitter, complex liqueur is offset by the little bit of cherry syrup. I like the blend and the mix of sweet and bitter. Gives the cocktail a lovely layer of complexity.