The Worst Sweetener For Cocktails Is Also The Most Convenient

When making cocktails, it is tempting to reach for sweeteners that are sitting in plain sight on your kitchen counter, particularly granulated sugar. However, when you want to sweeten a cocktail, you should resist the impulse to use this convenient sweetener. Sure, adding granulated sugar may seem like the easiest way to sweeten your cocktail, but that doesn't mean this ingredient deserves a place in your favorite boozy drink. 

The reason why adding granulated sugar to your cocktail is a bad idea is because it is hard to get the sugar to completely dissolve in cold beverages. This could mean that you end up with gritty, undissolved granules ruining your drink. That being said, taking the time to create a no heat simple syrup mixture made with sugar and water ensures that you can make your drink sweeter without running the risk of it containing undissolved granules. However, even transforming granulated sugar into a syrup doesn't negate another issue: Granulated sugar lacks flavor.

Granulated white sugar is an uninteresting option if you're looking to build unique flavor profiles in your drink. Why settle for the simple stuff when you can bring forth gentle whispers of caramel by using brown sugar or create a subtle depth of flavor thanks to demerara sugar? As with granulated sugar, syrup concoctions can be made with many types of sugar, ensuring you can make use of all of these flavors without ruining the texture of your drink. What's more, you can even experiment with using other syrups to flavor and sweeten your cocktail. The strong flavors of syrups like maple syrup and agave syrup pair brilliantly with some types of liquor. For example, maple syrup is the perfect sweetener to use when making a variety of bourbon cocktails.  

The best part of making cocktails at home is having complete control over the final flavor of your drink. So, resist the urge to quickly dump granulated sugar into your cocktail and intentionally choose the sweetener that best suits the drink and your own personal preference. Trust us when we say the resulting drink will be much more enjoyable.