Simple Syrup for a Whiskey Sour: 1:1 vs Rich, Honey, Maple & Demerara

The sugar in a Whiskey Sour is the easiest ingredient to get wrong without noticing. Most recipes say "simple syrup" and stop, but there are two simple syrups — 1:1 and rich 2:1 — and they are not interchangeable at the same measure. Then there are the sweeteners that change the drink on purpose: honey, which makes a Gold Rush; maple, which Brooklyn bartenders pair with rye; and the less-refined sugars that add a little weight.

This guide covers which syrup to use, how each changes the drink, how to make and store them, and how to re-balance the recipe when you switch. The arithmetic behind the swap is in Whiskey Sour ratios; the full method for the base syrup is in the site's simple syrup recipe.

The Short Version

• 1:1 simple syrup at ¾ oz is the standard; 2:1 rich syrup at ½ oz is the equivalent. Rich is 1.35 times sweeter, not twice.
• Honey syrup (3:1) at ¾ oz turns the drink into a Gold Rush. Maple suits rye; use less.
• Make 1:1 cold by shaking sugar and water; make 2:1 over low heat. Refrigerated, Difford's says rich syrup keeps six months.
• No syrup? Dissolve sugar in the glass the way Jerry Thomas did in 1887.

1:1 Simple Syrup — The Default

Equal volumes of sugar and water. It needs no heat: put the two in a bottle and shake until the sugar dissolves, which takes a minute with room-temperature water. It is the syrup PUNCH's Whiskey Sour calls for at ¾ oz, the one in Tales of the Cocktail's aquafaba sour, while the IBA's spec says only "sugar syrup." Its only drawback is that half of every measure is water: Difford's calculates that 1:1 syrup adds "typically around 5 to 8%" of dilution to a cocktail before the ice goes in. In a shaken drink that is already heading for a lot of dilution, that is a real but small cost.

PUNCH's 2024 co-favorite, Alicia Perry, used a cane-sugar 1:1 syrup. Plain white sugar is the neutral choice.

2:1 Rich Syrup — Difford's Preference

Two parts sugar to one part water by volume. Difford's makes it with 1 cup of water and 2 cups of caster sugar added gradually over low heat, never near boiling, then cooled and fine strained into a sterile bottle. Difford's prefers it outright — "2:1 syrup is superior to 1:1 syrup" — because it brings less water into the drink and gives a slightly heavier texture.

The catch is the conversion. Difford's measured 1:1 at 48.0 Brix and 2:1 at 65.1 Brix, so rich syrup is 1.35 times sweeter than simple, not double. The rule is 20 ml of 2:1 for every 30 ml of 1:1 — in ounces, ½ oz of rich for ¾ oz of simple. Difford's Boston Sour uses exactly ½ fl oz rich; Difford's own Whiskey Sour uses 20 ml rich in its 6:3:2 build. PUNCH's 2017 contest winner used rich syrup too, at ½ oz against a full ounce of lemon.

Honey Syrup

Swap the sugar syrup for honey syrup and you have made a different, named drink. The Gold Rush — 2 oz bourbon, ¾ oz lemon, ¾ oz honey syrup, on a big rock — was first mixed at Milk & Honey around 2000 with a 3:1 honey syrup Sasha Petraske had made for another drink and developed with Toby Maloney. Three parts honey to one part water is the standard both PUNCH and Difford's give for the drink, and the result is rounder and more floral than a sugar-sweetened sour — the honey softens the lemon.

PUNCH's Brown Derby uses a lighter 2:1 honey syrup against grapefruit instead of lemon. If you are experimenting with honey in a plain sour rather than making a Gold Rush, start at ½ oz and taste. The site's honey syrup guide covers the method in detail.

Maple Syrup

Maple belongs with rye. Brad Farran of Clover Club pairs the two — "Rye tends to be aged in oak, so both are woodsy" — and his Prospect Park Sour — adapted by Saveur as the Maple Rye Sour — uses just ¼ oz of maple syrup with 2 oz rye, ½ oz lemon, ½ oz orange juice and ¼ oz of Luxardo Amaro Abano. That quarter-ounce is the lesson: pure maple syrup is both sweet and strongly flavored, so it goes in at a fraction of the sugar-syrup measure. Difford's modern Brown Derby also swaps in maple. The rye build is on the Maple Whiskey Sour page.

Demerara and Other Raw Sugars

None of the published Whiskey Sour specs this site tracks calls for demerara, turbinado or other partly refined cane sugars, but they behave like white sugar in a syrup and bring a faint molasses edge and a little extra weight. Make the syrup the same way — 1:1 shaken cold or 2:1 over low heat — and use it at the same measure as the equivalent white syrup, adjusting by taste. Against a spicy rye the darker sugar reads as caramel rather than sweetness, which some people prefer and others find muddies the lemon. Try it in one drink before you make a bottle.

Storing Syrup

Difford's keeps its fine-strained 2:1 syrup in a sterile bottle in the fridge and says it "will keep for six months." The sugar concentration is what preserves it; a 1:1 syrup has more water and less sugar, so expect it to keep for less time, make smaller batches and keep it cold. Label the bottle with the date and the ratio — a bottle of unlabeled syrup is how a ¾ oz measure of rich syrup ends up in a drink and the whole thing tastes like candy.

No Syrup at All

Jerry Thomas's 1887 Whiskey Sour did not use syrup. It dissolved a large teaspoonful of powdered white sugar in a little seltzer in the glass before the lemon and whiskey went in, and the IBA's Daiquiri still stirs superfine sugar into the lime juice before the ice. Either works in a pinch: dissolve the sugar in the lemon juice with a bar spoon before you shake, because undissolved sugar sinks and the drink tastes sour until the last sip. Other fallbacks are in Whiskey Sour without a shaker.

Re-balancing When You Switch

Start from the house build — 2 oz rye, ¾ oz lemon, ¾ oz 1:1 syrup — and convert rather than substitute. Rich syrup goes in at ½ oz. Honey syrup at ¾ oz makes a Gold Rush; at ½ oz it stays a sour with a honey accent. Maple starts at ¼ oz. Whichever you choose, the lemon has to be fresh for the sweetness to have anything to push against — see the fresh lemon juice guide — and the rest of the ingredient set is indexed in the ingredients guide. Which rye carries which sweetener is in the Bottle Library.

Frequently Asked Questions

What syrup goes in a Whiskey Sour?

Simple syrup. PUNCH's recipe uses ¾ oz of 1:1 (equal sugar and water); Difford's prefers rich 2:1 syrup, in which case use ½ oz, or 20 ml for every 30 ml of 1:1.

Is rich simple syrup better for a Whiskey Sour?

Difford's says yes, because 1:1 syrup adds around 5 to 8% unwanted dilution. PUNCH does not take a side: its recipe specifies 1:1, its 2017 contest winner used rich. Either works if the amount is converted.

How do I convert 1:1 simple syrup to 2:1 rich syrup?

Rich syrup is 1.35 times sweeter than 1:1 (65.1 vs 48.0 Brix), so use two-thirds the volume: 20 ml of 2:1 for 30 ml of 1:1, or ½ oz rich for ¾ oz simple. Do not simply halve it.

How do I make simple syrup?

For 1:1, shake equal volumes of sugar and room-temperature water until dissolved — no heat needed. For 2:1, add 2 cups of caster sugar gradually to 1 cup of water over low heat, never near boiling, then cool and fine strain into a sterile bottle.

How long does simple syrup keep?

Difford's says fine-strained 2:1 syrup in a sterile bottle will keep for six months refrigerated. A thinner 1:1 syrup has less sugar to preserve it, so make smaller batches and keep it cold.

Can I use honey or maple instead of simple syrup?

Yes. ¾ oz of 3:1 honey syrup makes a Gold Rush; pure maple syrup is sweeter and stronger, so Saveur's Maple Rye Sour uses just ¼ oz. Convert the amount rather than swapping one for one.