Mr. Bartender on Syrups in Cocktails

I do a lot of parties and make a lot of drinks for a lot of different people with different tastes, and I have heard the same things regarding how people like for their cocktails to taste. Some like sweet, some like sour, some like bitter, and so on and so on. One thing I keep hearing people request is for me to add less syrup. This is problematic for two reasons.

1) A lot of my drinks have a syrup for a reason. They are used to add flavor to the cocktail. Most of my syrups are flavored, so by decreasing the syrup, you are decreasing the desired level of taste of thyme, strawberry, grapefruit/etc. that the drink was intended to have. Some drinks are meant to be sweet. If it's too sweet, don't order that one. There is usually a variety of cocktails on the menu that have different flavor profiles. Pick the other ones. Granted, there are some cocktails that can take a reduction of syrup flavor, but most can't. I have one cocktail called The Bungle Bungle that has vodka, muddled cherries (which don't add a ton of flavor, just a little tartness and earthy tones), fresh orange juices, thyme syrup, and ginger beer. Now granted, the syrup and ginger beer combo does make the drink a bit sweet, but if you take out the thyme syrup, it'll just taste like OJ with ginger beer, a weird haphazard virgin mimosa, and no one likes a virgin anything.

No one.

2) If you really don't like the drink being too sweet, you don't have to get rid of the syrup; just push the sour quotient up. The extra sour component (usually lemon or lime juice) won't alter the flavor of the drink too much, but it will make it taste less sweet. We're really only adding half an ounce to three-quarters of an ounce of syrup per drink anyway. You're really not getting that much sugar.

I think the problem lies a lot in the negative connotation syrup has. When you google syrup, images of cough syrup, maple syrup, and other sickeningly sweet and artificial products litter your browser page like a coffee table book honoring diabetes. 

If you're depressed about having the sniffles, this cocktail is basically a panacea.

We make our syrups with real sugar and actual fresh ingredients. We don't use strawberry flavoring and red food coloring; we use real strawberries. You may as well consider drinking our cocktails as your recommended daily fruit serving (Don't do that; I'm not a doctor.)

It's just sugar water people. Drink it in moderation, and it won't kill you or give you a headache. 

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