In any well-stocked bar, you’re bound to find at least a bottle of coffee syrup. From deepening the flavor of an Irish coffee to zhuzhing up the “espresso” side of an after-dinner espresso martini, there are a million and one uses for coffee syrup in mixology. But do you know the secret ingredient that’s going to make this syrup taste even better than it already is? Whatever it is that you’re thinking, we bet you aren’t thinking about a pinch of salt! But it’s a great way to give your homemade recipe an upgrade.
Any coffee enthusiast will tell you that salt, surprisingly, goes very well with coffee. It can bind to the receptors that detect bitterness in our tongue, muting the taste, and allows other good flavors within the drink to shine, like the caramel-like sweetness and the bright acidity within the syrup.
Start with a teeny pinch of salt, then add more until it’s exactly to your taste. We recommend either using fine sea salt or Kosher salt rather than table salt since they dissolve quicker and typically don’t contain additives that can accidentally mess up the syrup’s flavor profile.
Putting your salted coffee syrup to use
Your morning latte or cold brew is the easiest way to get started. Just a splash can add richness and such sweetness that you can skip the sweetener altogether. The caramel notes within the coffee will shine even brighter on the palate thanks to the touch of salt you added earlier.
In case it’s the weekend, why not unwind with a (salted) iced coffee old fashioned? You can mix it out of some bourbon, a few dashes of bitters, and your salted coffee syrup in an iced glass (the coffee syrup could be a great stand-in for coffee liqueur in the recipe). In addition to complementing the whiskey’s oakiness with the coffee notes, the salt can also slightly blunt the liquor’s bite. If you still want a drink but none of the alcohol, there’s always the option of a salted-and-limed espresso tonic. The formula is simple enough: Sparkling water plus salted coffee syrup plus a splash of cream — simple, but we tell you, it’s effective.
In the kitchen, the salted coffee syrup is a wonderful addition to vanilla ice cream — drizzle some on top for an affogato-like treat. One ingredient, but a dozen different uses. If you don’t have this wonderful syrup in your kitchen right now, here’s your sign to go ahead and make it!
