DIY Gomme Syrup Recipe

The 19th century trick to achieving silky-smooth cocktails.

A jar of homemade gomme syrup next to a cocktail

Serious Eats / Marcia Simmons

Why It Works

  • Beyond the basic proportions, this recipe allows for plenty of experimentation, including using different types of sugar.
  • Adding a tablespoon of vodka to the syrup before storing will extend its shelf life by another month or so.

Once upon a time, simple syrup wasn't so simple. Instead of using a mixture of just sugar and water, old timey barkeeps would sweeten cocktails with a more viscous sweetener known as gomme or gum syrup.

Today, most bartenders stick with plain old simple syrup and skip the more complicated gomme, which is made with a somewhat obscure stabilizer called gum arabic. Even the most handlebar-mustachioed hipster mixologists rarely use this 19th-century ingredient. And it's a shame. Gomme syrup gives cocktails a silky texture and a full mouthfeel, binding all the ingredients together to deliver a more sensuous drink. (I prefer the French word "gomme," because it's much more exotic-sounding than the English "gum" and does not conjure images of Hubba Bubba when I say it.)

What's Available to Buy

Small Hand Foods make a high-quality gomme syrup, but is often only available by the case. This small-batch producer also makes a pineapple gomme, an integral ingredient in Pisco Punch, and raspberry gomme, which they recommend subbing for grenadine in cocktails like the Jack Rose. Monin also makes a gum syrup, though I haven't seen it in any shops near me.

Why DIY?

Why bother with gomme? It really shines in stiff cocktails that are made with mostly spirits, because it rounds out the alcoholic bite to give you a smooth sipping cocktail.

I recently did a side-by-side comparison of an Old Fashioned made with simple syrup and one made with gomme syrup. Each drink contained the same amount of sugar. They were both delicious because, hey, who doesn't love an Old Fashioned? However, the gomme syrup made the rye taste fuller and richer. The other Old Fashioned tasted less luxurious by comparison.

Gomme takes a little more work than simple syrup, but it's still just boiling and stirring (with a little waiting thrown in). The gum arabic is an emulsifier, stopping the sugar from crystallizing. The Small Hand gomme is fantastic, but it cost more than homemade and I couldn't tell the difference between the two.

While some baking or natural foods stores carry gum arabic, you will probably have to order it online. I felt a little weird ordering white powder from the internet, but Frontier Co-op's product has been recommended (and safely ingested) by many cocktail experts.

You can also make your own fruit-flavored gomme syrups. Pisco Punch is traditionally made with pineapple gomme made by soaking pineapple chunks in the syrup overnight. But you can also try other fruits by steeping them in the syrup, or even adding fruit to the pot with the sugar and water then straining it out before you add the gum arabic. You can also experiment with gomme variations using different types of sugar like turbinado or demerara.

Use It!

Spirits-forward cocktails like the Old Fashioned and Sazerac are the perfect way to use your DIY gomme syrup. But you could also use it in a Champagne cocktail, South Side Cocktail, or daiquiri, since the brown liquors aren't the only ones given an indulgent boost by gomme. Delicious Pisco Punch is a classic use of pineapple gomme syrup.

July 2012

Recipe Details

DIY Gomme Syrup Recipe

Active 15 mins
Total 3 hrs
Serves 10 servings
Makes 1 1/4 cups

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup water (divided)

  • 4 tablespoons powdered gum arabic

  • 1 1/3 cups sugar

Directions

  1. Heat 1/4 cup of water to a near-boil, about 3 minutes. Put gum powder in a glass or small jar, then slowly stir in hot water. Stir together until all the powder is integrated. (Some small white clumps may remain.) Let this mixture sit for 2 to 3 hours. When it looks more like a gel, stir again to smooth out the mixture. (It's OK if there is a small layer of white foam.)

  2. Heat remaining water with sugar until it forms a syrup, about 7 to 10 minutes. Turn off heat, and then slowly stir in the gum mixture. Simmer on low heat for about 5 minutes while stirring briskly. Do not bring to a boil. You'll end up with a very thick syrup that may have a fine layer of white foam on top. Let this cool.

  3. Once the syrup is cooled, stir again and skim off small clumps or thick foam, if any. Transfer to a glass jar or bottle and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 months.

Notes

Gum arabic is also known as acacia gum or mesca. Some baking specialty stores or natural foods stores carry it. You can also order it from Amazon. Be sure to buy food-grade gum. Adding one tablespoon of vodka to the mixture before storing will extend the life of your syrup for another month or more.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
115 Calories
0g Fat
30g Carbs
0g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 10
Amount per serving
Calories 115
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 1mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 30g 11%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Total Sugars 27g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 1mg 0%
Iron 0mg 0%
Potassium 1mg 0%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)