Orchard Fizz

fruity & citrusy · light & weak · crisp · serves 1 cocktail

Spice and lime take the lead here, with just a light pour of spirit staying mostly out of the way. Cinnamon Demerara Syrup adds a quiet undercurrent of warmth beneath the fruit, and a crisp top of soda keeps the whole thing bright and easy.

Ingredients

• 1 oz vodka
• 1/4 oz Cinnamon Demerara Syrup
• 1 oz apple juice
• 3/4 oz fresh lime juice
• 3 oz chilled soda water
• mint sprig, for garnish

Method: shaken, then topped
Glass: highball glass

Instructions

1. Add the vodka, Cinnamon Demerara Syrup, apple juice, and lime juice to a shaker filled with ice. Shake until ice-cold (10–15 seconds).
2. Strain into a highball glass filled with fresh ice.
3. Top with the soda water and stir once, gently, to combine.
4. Garnish with a sprig of mint.

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The Demerara Standard

classic Old Fashioned · stirred, spirit-forward · serves 1 cocktail

No tricks, just a better sugar cube. This one takes the Old Fashioned back to basics and lets Cinnamon Demerara Syrup do what a good simple syrup never could, bring cinnamon and clove warmth right up alongside the bourbon instead of just sweetening around it. Stirred slow, served over one big cube, gone too fast.

Ingredients

• 2 oz bourbon (or rye whiskey)
• 1/2 oz Cinnamon Demerara Syrup
• 2 dashes orange bitters
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• orange peel, for garnish

Method: stirred
Glass: rocks glass, over a large ice cube

Instructions

1. Add the bourbon, Cinnamon Demerara Syrup, and both bitters to a mixing glass filled with ice.
2. Stir until well-chilled and slightly diluted (20–30 seconds).
3. Strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube.
4. Express the oils from an orange peel over the top of the drink, then drop it in.

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Ash & Ember Old Fashioned

smoky Old Fashioned variation · stirred, spirit-forward · serves 1 cocktail

The same slow, stirred backbone as a classic Old Fashioned, but built on mezcal instead of whiskey, so the smoke shows up before the spice does. Cinnamon Demerara Syrup and a couple dashes of mole bitters lean into that char rather than covering it up, and a flamed orange peel sends a curl of smoke straight up out of the glass.

Ingredients

• 2 oz mezcal
• 1/2 oz Cinnamon Demerara Syrup
• 2 dashes chocolate or mole bitters
• 1 dash orange bitters
• orange peel, for garnish (flamed, if you're feeling theatrical)

Method: stirred
Glass: rocks glass, over a large ice cube

Instructions

1. Add the mezcal, Cinnamon Demerara Syrup, and both bitters to a mixing glass filled with ice.
2. Stir until well-chilled and slightly diluted (20–30 seconds).
3. Strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube.
4. Hold an orange peel skin-side down over the glass, carefully wave a lit match beneath it to warm the oils (or simply express it by hand), then drop it in.

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Castaway's Ember

tiki cocktail · shaken, rum-forward · serves 1 cocktail

A proper tiki build, minus the fuss of hunting down a dozen bottles. Two rums do the heavy lifting, Cinnamon Demerara Syrup stands in for the usual plain syrup and brings its own baking-spice character to the party, and orgeat and pineapple round it out into something lush enough to earn the little umbrella.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz aged rum
• 1/2 oz overproof (Demerara) rum
• 3/4 oz Cinnamon Demerara Syrup
• 3/4 oz fresh lime juice
• 1/2 oz orgeat
• 1/2 oz fresh pineapple juice
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• mint sprig and pineapple frond, for garnish

Method: shaken
Glass: tiki mug or rocks glass, crushed ice

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients (except the garnish) to a shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously until ice-cold (15 seconds).
2. Strain into a tiki mug or rocks glass packed with crushed ice.
3. Garnish with a mint sprig and a pineapple frond, and add a straw.

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Ember & Smoke Swizzle

tiki cocktail · swizzled, rum-and-mezcal · serves 1 cocktail

Tiki's swizzle technique, spinning a stick between your palms until the outside of the glass frosts over, earns its keep here. Dark rum and Cinnamon Demerara Syrup build the base, falernum brings its own baking-spice lift, and a float of mezcal drifts smoke across the top of every sip on the way down.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz dark rum
• 3/4 oz Cinnamon Demerara Syrup
• 3/4 oz fresh lime juice
• 1/4 oz falernum
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 1/2 oz mezcal, for floating
• 2 dashes Peychaud's bitters
• mint bouquet, for garnish

Method: swizzled
Glass: tall tiki glass or highball, crushed ice

Instructions

1. Add the dark rum, Cinnamon Demerara Syrup, lime juice, falernum, and Angostura bitters to a tall glass filled with crushed ice.
2. Swizzle vigorously (spin a swizzle stick or bar spoon between your palms) until the outside of the glass frosts over.
3. Top with more crushed ice, then float the mezcal on top and dot with Peychaud's bitters.
4. Garnish with a generous bouquet of mint.