Homemade Demerara Syrup
Equal-parts demerara sugar and water syrup — the toffee-noted sweetener that anchors the classic Mai Tai, Old Fashioneds, and tiki drinks.
Demerara syrup is the backbone of serious tiki bartending and the single upgrade that transforms a standard Old Fashioned into something bar-quality. Made from demerara sugar, a raw cane sugar with large amber crystals that retain their original molasses content, the resulting syrup tastes of toffee, caramel, and burnt sugar rather than the pure sweetness of a white-sugar simple syrup. A standard one-to-one ratio dissolves easily, measures cleanly into cocktails, and pairs beautifully with aged rum, bourbon, and rye where brown-spirit caramel notes are already present.
- 1 cupdemerara sugar(or turbinado sugar as substitute)
- 1 cupwater(filtered)
- 1Combine the demerara sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.
- 2Stir gently with a whisk or wooden spoon as the mixture warms, helping the large demerara crystals dissolve into a clear amber liquid.
- 3Continue heating just until the sugar fully dissolves, typically three to five minutes, without letting the mixture reach a rolling boil.
- 4Remove the pan from heat as soon as no visible crystals remain at the bottom — overheating caramelizes the sugar and can darken the final syrup.
- 5Let the syrup cool to room temperature in the pan, which takes about twenty minutes.
- 6Transfer the cooled syrup to a clean glass bottle or mason jar using a funnel, then seal and refrigerate.
Store in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator for up to one month. The syrup should stay clear with a consistent amber color; discard if any cloudiness, sediment, or off smell develops. For longer storage, add a teaspoon of high-proof neutral spirit like vodka or overproof rum, which extends shelf life to about two months without affecting flavor. Keep refrigerated.
Keep the heat low and never let the syrup boil, because boiling caramelizes the sugar and darkens the finished product toward a burnt flavor that interferes with the subtle toffee notes you want. True demerara is distinct from light brown sugar — brown sugar has its molasses stripped and then added back, while demerara retains the original — so the resulting flavors are cleaner and less assertive in demerara syrup. If you cannot find demerara, turbinado sugar is the closest substitute because both retain original cane molasses; brown sugar works as an acceptable backup at the same ratio. Use demerara syrup in brown-spirit cocktails where the molasses note complements the spirit; stick with white-sugar simple syrup for delicate gin cocktails or drinks featuring fresh herbs where the demerara character would overpower. One ounce of demerara syrup sweetens about four to six cocktails, so a cup and a quarter yield lasts through a dinner party comfortably.
Demerara sugar takes its name from the former British colony of Demerara in Guyana on the northern coast of South America, where sugar plantations historically produced the distinctive large-crystal raw cane sugar that retained its original molasses rather than having it stripped and added back. The syrup made from this sugar became a fixture of tiki bartending through Trader Vic Bergeron, whose original 1944 Mai Tai recipe called for a rich sugar syrup — preserved in later bartending books and codified by Martin Cate in the influential 2016 Smuggler's Cove book as the proper choice for authentic tiki cocktails. The craft cocktail revival of the 2000s brought demerara syrup back into mainstream use through bars like Death and Co, Milk and Honey, and Smuggler's Cove, and it has since become a standard sweetener in Old Fashioneds, Mai Tais, Jungle Birds, and Queens Park Swizzles.
For a rich or bar syrup version with double the sweetening power and a longer shelf life, use two parts demerara sugar to one part water — this is the standard craft-bar ratio used at Smuggler's Cove and preferred by most professional tiki bartenders. For a vanilla-scented variation inspired by the Smuggler's Cove Mai Tai, split a vanilla bean and add it during the dissolving stage, then strain before bottling. A spiced demerara syrup simmered briefly with a cinnamon stick, two whole cloves, and a few allspice berries makes an exceptional Old Fashioned sweetener for fall and winter. Muscovado sugar yields an even more intense molasses character suited to Jamaican rum cocktails. Adding a quarter teaspoon of fine sea salt per cup of syrup subtly amplifies all the flavors in tiki cocktails without making the drink taste salty.
No allergens. Naturally vegan and gluten-free. Verify the specific demerara sugar brand is certified gluten-free if serving guests with celiac disease, which most major brands are by default.