Blackberry Simple Syrup

An easy blackberry simple syrup recipe with fresh blackberries, sugar, water, and a tiny pinch of sea salt to boost the flavor.

Blackberry simple syrup is an awesome boost of flavor for cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks alike. To make simple syrup, you just need a few simple ingredients (ha!), and a little bit of time when adding fresh fruit or herbs.

This tasty blackberry syrup comes together in about 30 minutes and makes about 1/2 cup. It’s the perfect way to add a touch of sweetness and flavor to your favorite drinks, and it’s a super versatile recipe that tastes great with nearly any spirit.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup Water
• 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
• 1 cup Blackberries
• one tiny pinch of Salt (just trust me on this one)

Ingredient FAQs

Do I have to use Granulated Sugar?

No. But to make simple syrup, it’s the standard ingredient. If you prefer to use another sweetener, I suggest honey or raw sugar. I don’t make syrups with artificial sugar so I cannot attest to their flavor, but if that’s your thing, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work! If you want a rich simple syrup, you can use brown sugar instead, too.

Do the Blackberries need to be Fresh or Frozen?

Either. For these photos, I used blackberries that my mom picked from my parents’ backyard. They had to freeze them before bringing them to me, and I kept them frozen so they wouldn’t get soggy. I added them to the saucepan as frozen berries, and this syrup turned out perfectly. If you have large, frozen blackberries, just give them some more time to simmer (about five extra minutes). But you can use fresh blackberries or frozen blackberries in this recipe.

Why Salt?

Salt isn’t here to make this syrup salty. In fact, it does the opposite: it enhances the sweetness and flavor of the blackberries. I don’t want you to dump a handful of salt in here; I just want you to sprinkle a little pinch into the syrup so you can make it as flavorful as possible. (I use a pinch of salt in all of my berry syrups and cocktails!)

How to Make Blackberry Simple Syrup

Once the syrup is dark purple and slightly thickened, remove it from the heat and allow it to cool.

Finally, strain the cooled syrup through a fine mesh strainer into a glass jar (or any clean, glass airtight container). Don’t push down on the berries to squeeze out more liquid. It may be tempting, but it will make the syrup cloudy and I don’t recommend it.

Keep your blackberry syrup refrigerated in an airtight container for up to two weeks, or add a splash of vodka and keep it for at least a month. 🙂 (That’s my party trick for you! The vodka prevents bacteria from growing in the syrup for an extended period of time.)

What to Make with Blackberry Syrup

SO many things! An awesome blackberry cocktail with vodka, gin, tequila OR bourbon would be a great starting point. Blackberries pair well with any of the aforementioned spirits, which makes it a perfect fruit syrup to keep on hand, If you’re going the non-alcoholic route, iced tea, lemonade (blackberry lemonade is ridiculously good!), or club soda are all delicious with a splash of blackberry syrup.

Blackberry Brambles are one of my honest-to-god favorite blackberry cocktails, and I have a recipe for them right here. I use homemade blackberry liqueur for my recipe, but this homemade blackberry syrup recipe would be a stellar substitute. I also have an awesome recipe for a Skinny Blackberry Margarita that only requires fresh blackberries, but a splash of this syrup would add a bit of sweetness and enhance the taste of blackberries!

This simple blackberry syrup is honestly just a great way to add some flavor to any drink (or let’s be honest, vanilla ice cream). Mix it with citrus vodka, ginger beer, mint juleps, hot tea, like honestly whatever you’re feeling.

The next time you make this Blackberry Simple Syrup recipe, snap a photo and post it to Instagram tagging @aflavorjournal and #aflavorjournal so I can admire your beautiful syrup! If you have any questions at all, send me an email so I can help out, too.

Enjoy! xx Sara