I’m surprised it dissolves(I think this is the primary reason simple syrup is called for) but if it does and the drink tastes the same, why not?
this post was submitted on 29 Jul 2025
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Indeed. I'm sure that OP gets some dissolution but it can't be as 100% as simple syrup is. Anecdotally, I've been able to tell a difference every time ive substituted granulated sugar for SS.
Yeah I gave it a quick stir in the tin and I got like 95% if not more. I could see SOME individual grains not a lot. After shaking and straining I couldn't notice visually and I was not able to feel any grains while drinking.
I like where your head is at OP. We shouldn’t do something simply because it’s the popular method, and breaking the mold can often lead to a hot new trend. There’s also something to be said for keeping things simple at home, whatever that means for you personally. Keep experimenting!
The point about syrup is that dissolves faster. Or more precisely that it is already dissolved, and it just dilutes.
Yeah but the time it takes to dissolve the raw sugar is less than the time it takes to shake a cocktail.
For bar work it's definitely about being able to pour sugar rather than the speed it dissolves at.
If I'm muddling fruit I just use sugar, it works well. Otherwise I use the sugar syrup, or even more often, skip it altogether if there's another sweet element in the drink. So if I'm making a margarita for someone else I will usually sweeten it but for me I prefer it with orange liqueur but without sweetener.
We keep syrup on hand because so many of the household like cold coffee, sweetened. So it's not usually an extra step.
Yeah, honestly if I'm shaking I don't bother with muddling regardless.
My bf loves the use of raw cane sugar in caipirinhas. It’s the mix of lime pulp and the grittiness of the sugar crystals that makes a “damn good caipirinha” lol
How do you do the measuring? With fine enough sugar, dissolving it is not a big issue, but measuring by the spoon seems a bit too imprecise for my tastes.
Just put in the amount of sugar you'd have in the syrup. If you'd use 30mL of 1 to 1 syrup just put in 15mL of sugar.
30 mL of simple syrup isn't 15 mL of water and 15 mL of raw sugar; if you mix those two, the resulting solution will be less than 30 mL. When sugar is disolved in water, the solution density goes up. Watch your input and output volumes next time you batch simple syrup and you'll see the output volume diverges significantly.
Very true, I mean the beauty of it is you can add more and less to taste
Are you pouring raw sugar into your jigger?
Yeah
I just keep simple in the fridge in an old balsamic bottle with it's own pourer (comes with the bottle). It's a 6oz bottle so it's not much simple, and it pours like a liquor pourer.
I make sure to hit a boil when making it to increase it's life. But I use it for other things anyway - iced tea, cappuccino, etc. Anywhere sugar is needed and simple will work.
Nice that's a good find. I'll keep an eye out for any bottles I can reuse. Honestly I'm just kinda lazy and didn't want to turn the stove on. Gave this a shot and it works for me.
Microwave, mate!
1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup sugar, stir it up in a 2-cup measure, nuke it till it bubbles.
Or 1/4 cup each. However much you need. I make 6 oz at a time (the size of the bottle I have).
You can alsu use an old style ketchup squeeze bottle from the dollar store. Just make sure the syrup us cool before putting it in!
That's a good shout. Usually I do 2-1 syrup. Maybe a kettle would work well?
Microwave works but be careful and give the container a tap or two before removing it. I've had microwave simple syrup look fine in the microwave but explode into a boiling mess when touched.
I've never had issues with that, even if I just put sugar and hot water into a bottle and shake. The only thing that happened so far when I do it this way is that the sugar starts crystallizing after a while. I usually do rich simple syrup (slightly less rich when I use the "mix directly in bottle" method), though, might be different for 1:1 syrup.
It'll eventually becomes a science experiment, and the problem with molds like that is by the time it's visible, it's been growing for a while.