Herb & floral syrup
Mint Simple Syrup
Blanched, blended and bright green. Tastes like a fresh handful of mint, not mint tea.
- 35 min total
- 11⁄3 cups + 1 tbsp330 ml
- Keeps 1 week
Photo: Keith Jay · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Mint simple syrup is 1:1 sugar syrup flavored with fresh spearmint. For the brightest color and flavor, blanch 1 packed cup of mint for 15 seconds, shock it in ice water, blend it into cooled syrup made from 1 cup each sugar and water, then strain. It keeps about 10 days in the fridge.
Most recipes steep mint in hot syrup, which is why most mint syrup comes out murky olive-brown and tasting faintly of mint tea. Mint browns the moment it's bruised or heated slowly. It's an enzyme reaction, the same one that turns a cut apple brown.
The bartender's fix is a 15-second blanch. It switches the enzyme off, so the leaves stay vivid green when you blend them into cool syrup. It's one extra minute of work, and the syrup tastes like a sprig you just slapped.
Tastesfresh spearmintcoolgreen
The recipe
Mint Simple Syrup
Ingredients for 11⁄3 cups + 1 tbsp330 ml
You’ll need: small saucepan, blender, fine-mesh strainer, cheesecloth, swing-top bottle, muddlersmall saucepan, blender, fine-mesh strainer, cheesecloth, swing-top bottle, muddler
Method
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Make the syrup
Warm the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring, just until the liquid turns clear, about 3 minutes. Take it off the heat and let it cool completely. Setting the pan in a bowl of ice water speeds this up.
1 cup200 g granulated sugar1 cup240 ml water
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Blanch the mint
Bring a separate pot of water to a rolling boil and fill a bowl with ice water. Hold the mint by its stems and dunk it in the boiling water for 15 seconds, until it turns vivid green and just wilts.
1 cup30 g fresh mint leaves (packed)
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Shock
Plunge the mint straight into the ice water for 1 minute to stop the cooking. Lift it out, squeeze it gently and pat it dry. Then pick off the leaves and throw away the woody stems.
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Blend
Blend the leaves with the cooled syrup on high for 30–45 seconds, until it's evenly green with fine flecks. The syrup has to be cool, because warm syrup undoes the blanch.
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Strain and bottle
Pour it through a fine-mesh strainer lined with a layer of cheesecloth. Let it drip rather than pressing hard, which pushes bitter fine pulp through. Bottle, label and refrigerate.
Storage. Keep it sealed in the fridge for up to 10 days. The color fades gradually, but the flavor holds. For longer storage, freeze it in an ice-cube tray and drop cubes straight into a mojito pitcher. A slimy texture or a sour smell means it's done.
Per 1 tbsp (15 ml): about 35 kcal, 9.1 g sugar (estimate).
How to use it
Mojito
2 oz (60 ml) white rum, ¾ oz (22 ml) lime juice and ¾ oz (22 ml) mint syrup over crushed ice with a few fresh leaves. Top with 2 oz (60 ml) soda water.
Full recipe and historyMint Julep
2 oz (60 ml) bourbon and ½ oz (15 ml) mint syrup, stirred over crushed ice. Garnish with a big mint sprig.
Full recipe and historySouthside
2 oz (60 ml) gin, ¾ oz (22 ml) lime juice and ¾ oz (22 ml) mint syrup, shaken and fine-strained into a chilled coupe.
Full recipe and historyMint lemonade
1 part mint syrup, 1 part lemon juice and 4 parts cold water, over ice.
Iced tea
1–2 tbsp (15–30 ml) per tall glass of iced black or green tea.
Virgin mojito
1 oz (30 ml) mint syrup and 1 oz (30 ml) lime juice over crushed ice, topped with soda water.
Classic drinks with Mint syrup
Gear for this recipe
Ninja Professional 72 oz Countertop Blender (BL610)
1000 watts pulverizes almonds for orgeat and makes no-heat blender syrup in a minute. Big pitcher for party batches.
Best for Orgeat and no-heat syrups
Takeya Flash Chill Iced Tea Maker (2 qt)
Best for Iced tea by the pitcher
Breville Citrus Press Pro (800CPXL)
Best for Lemonade and citrus by the gallon
OXO SteeL Muddler
Best for Mojitos, smashes and herb syrups
More gear for this recipe (4)
Otis Classic 16 oz Swing-Top Glass Bottles (6-pack)
Best for Storing and gifting any syrup
Cuisinart Fine Mesh Stainless Strainers (set of 3)
Best for Every infused or fruit syrup
Regency Wraps Ultra Fine Cheesecloth (9 sq ft)
Best for Crystal-clear syrups
Cuisinart Chef's Classic 1.5 qt Stainless Saucepan with Lid
Best for Every stovetop syrup
Tips for the best batch
- Use spearmint (plain supermarket 'mint') for mojitos and juleps. Peppermint has much more menthol, so use about two-thirds as much.
- Don't skip the ice bath. Leftover heat keeps cooking the leaves, and they go dull within minutes.
- Fill the bottle almost to the top and keep it cold and dark. Air and light are what fade the green.
- A tablespoon of vodka per batch slows the color loss and adds a few days of fridge life without changing the taste.
- Woody stems taste grassy and bitter when blended. Tender tops are fine; the woody stems go in the compost.
Variations
Steeped (no blender)
Add raw mint to the just-dissolved hot syrup off the heat, steep for 20 minutes and strain. You get a softer, tea-like mint flavor and an amber color, which still works in iced tea.
Cold infusion
Gently bruise the mint, drop it into cooled syrup and refrigerate for 24–48 hours, then strain. The flavor is clean and you don't need a blender, but you have to plan ahead.
Mint-lime
Add the zest of 1 lime to the blender for a ready-made mojito base. Just add rum, lime juice and soda.
Mint-ginger
Blend 15 g of sliced fresh ginger in with the mint for a spicy syrup that suits iced tea and mules.
Questions people ask
Why did my mint simple syrup turn brown?
Bruised or slowly heated mint browns through enzymatic browning, the same reaction that darkens a cut apple. Blanching for 15 seconds and then chilling in ice water deactivates the enzyme, so blended mint stays bright green.
How long does mint simple syrup last?
About 10 days in a sealed bottle in the fridge, or 3 months frozen as ice cubes. Fresh-herb syrups don't keep as long as plain simple syrup.
How much mint syrup goes in a mojito?
Use ¾ oz (22 ml) mint syrup with 2 oz rum and ¾ oz lime juice. It replaces the sugar and most of the muddling.
Can I make mint syrup without heat?
Yes. Shake 1 cup sugar with 1 cup room-temperature water until clear, add bruised mint, refrigerate for 24–48 hours and strain. It tastes clean but is paler than the blanched version.
Is mint syrup the same as peppermint syrup?
Not quite. Mint syrup usually means spearmint, which is sweet and fresh and suits mojitos. Peppermint syrup is sharper and more mentholated, closer to candy canes and mochas.