Roast Paprika syrup and Hibiscus syrup

[Tiare]

I made 2 new syrups to my growing syrup collection in the fridge..

Grilled Paprika Syrup

Take 1/3 of a red paprika and 1/3 of a green and roast/grill them in the owen until the surface gets blackened.

Make a 2.1 ratio simple syrup with white sugar to 1L water and add the paprika and some lemon zest and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Add a little JW&N overproof rum, let cool and strain. This syrup gets a lovely paprika lemony flavor, i think it could be very nice in Tequila drinks.

Hibiscus Syrup

Make a 2.1 ratio simple syrup with white sugar to 1L water and add 2 handfuls of dried Hibiscus flowers. Simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Add a little JW&N overproof rum, let cool and strain.

I tried this syrup in a version of the Aperol Sour by simply sub the simple syrup with Hibiscus syrup:

1 3/4 oz Aperol
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/4 oz Hibiscus syrup
Dash orange Bitters

Shake well over ice and strain.

Aperol is a "cousin" to Campari but less bitter and slightly more floral.

[JMac]

Tiare...where do you get the ideas / recipes for theses syrups???? I would have never thought hibiscus was good for anything except the garden plot.

[Tiare]

Tiare...where do you get the ideas / recipes for theses syrups???? I would have never thought hibiscus was good for anything except the garden plot.

The Hibiscus syrup is a known syrup, not my idea and the paprika syrup is something exisitng in the cooking world and i just saw it as a possibly good pairing for Tequila drinks and so i changed the recipe a bit to suit a cocktail instead by omitting certian spices and salt.

Same with the pandan and kaffir lime syrups, i know how well those flavors pair with coconut milk dishes and so i transform that into coconut milk drinks instead, like the Pina Colada by making syrups of those flavors. Possibly they would do with some other cocktails as well but i haven`t yet tried.

Really, its just all about playing with flavors and experimenting.

Sometimes it turns out real good and other times not so good, therefore its a good idea to make small batches the first time.

[frenchrumlover]

i do make my own wild hisbiscus flower syrup to .
i kept the recipe really simple .
i just bring the water to boil really slowly with the flowers in simmer inside for 30mn and when the water is boiling a just stir the sugar inside
i start to made some a couple of month ago because i had to create a tequila cocktail for the first cocktail competition i participated to.i finish fourth on 200 participation of the competition with this cocktail based on hibiscus flower syrup. never tried it with rum yet but it does work very well with tequila..
the recipe is:
25 ml 7 leguas blanc (but i had to use patron at the comp)
12.5 ml licor 43
12.5ml maraschino cherry liqueur
12.5ml wild hibiscus flower syrup
25 ml fresh lime juice

[Tiare]

Nice one! :) do i see a Hibiscus flower in the garnish?

[frenchrumlover]

hibiscus flower ,maraschino cherry inside the flower, mint spring on top and twisted lime peel on the side

[Tiare]

Garnish is something i`m really interested in. I used to train myself a little with fruit and vegetable carving when i cooked thai food and now i`m into training myself doing cocktail garnishing, like cucumber flowers and cutting melon and mango skins for example. Its important to have a good knife.

[SamuraiBartender]

"Roses" made from spiraled fruit & vegetable peel are my personal favorites.

Knives indeed - good sharp ones! Channel knives make cutting the standard twist a cinch as well. Sharp Guillotine/Mandolin/Jullienne slicers are also wonderful (if risky) gadgets for garnish & igredient prep.

Awesome looking syrups Tiare (as usual)!

As others have said, the Hibiscus syrup is a grand idea - similarly less sugar (& more water) gives you a tisane called 'Jamaica', sometimes 'Yamaica' (which I may have mentioned here previously, no?). Stuff is the best substitute for Cranberry juice I've ever come accross...

Cheers!

[Tiare]

"Roses" made from spiraled fruit & vegetable peel are my personal favorites.

Its exactly that i`ve been doing, roses with mango peel. I usually make tomato roses for the Thai food. I love them too.

And cucumber, ognion and chili "flowers" are also nice.

[Dood]

Tiare...where do you get the ideas / recipes for theses syrups???? I would have never thought hibiscus was good for anything except the garden plot.

The hibiscus sounds really good...makes me think of jamaica (ha-mi-ka), which is a hibiscus punch they make in Mexico.

The paprika...I don't know how I feel about that. ;)

[Matusalem]

Well, I too have some hibiscus syrup and a few other weirdos I've made recently... and Tiare caused me to make a batch of elder-flower syrup as well. But let me caution right off the bat - if you look these two up closely, they each also tend to have laxative properties.

Jus sayin' - be careful in what strengths you dispense or, ummm... prescribe them. Then again, as I was telling Tiare, for unwanted guests, you may want to put an out of order sign on your restroom door and then pour copious amounts of these exotic syrups in their glasses! :eek::eek::eek:

[Tiare]

Matusalem..you cause me to laugh again!:D we have had that discussion about laxative syrup ingredients..

pour copious amounts of these exotic syrups in their glasses! :eek::eek::eek:

That is what i was going to do to ward off my ex..

I know that the elderflower can be laxative in large quantities, i read that, but now you mention these 2 syrups..are these laxative in large doses??

On the other hand..you never use syrups in large doses...? unless you want to scare someone away as mentioned before..

[SamuraiBartender]

I'm not certain about the extent to which elderflowers are a laxative, but Hibiscus only has that property in fairly largish amounts. For the hibiscus syrup (which I gather is used as a simple would be) I doubt you could drink as many drinks as it would require to have that effect...

Jamaica, on the other hand, is consumed in far larger quantities so one should be more careful about how much one imbibes (a few glasses at most). At the risk of sharing too much information I will say that I had what might be a termed a 'deliberately unfortunate' experience with the stuff after first being introduced to it by my Oaxacan coworkers on a hot day.

All in all I'd say Hibiscus is about as potent as Figs are (a voice from my childhood reminds me to stress that one should never eat a whole box of Fig Newtons in one sitting either) in this area. I'm with Matusalem on this one - err on the side of caution.

Cheers!

[SamuraiBartender]

And cucumber, ognion and chili "flowers" are also nice

I'm guessing the onion 'flowers' at least are for food rather than cocktail garnishes, but a good hot chile peeled and shaped thusly sounds like an amazingly great (and functional) garnish for a Bloody Mary (or equally spicy cocktail).

Cheers!

[Tiare]

I'm guessing the onion 'flowers' at least are for food rather than cocktail garnishes, but a good hot chile peeled and shaped thusly sounds like an amazingly great (and functional) garnish for a Bloody Mary (or equally spicy cocktail).


Your`e right on the spot Samurai.Those are for cooking garnishes, but as you say, the Chili would fit a spicy drink as well.

[Tiare]

The paprika...I don't know how I feel about that. ;)

Maybe you should give it a try Dood..i decided tonight to make some use of it, and the syrup is nicer than i remembered. So i ínvented this drink:

BELL PEPPER PUNCH

35 ml Havana Club 3 years (or other light rum).
35 ml fresh Pineapple Juice
15 ml Roast Paprika Syrup
15 ml Lemon juice
Dash Grapefruit bittters

Shake, strain and serve over a mountain of crushed ice lightly dusted with Madagascar vanilla powder. Garnish with a pineapple leaf.

VARIATION: Make this drink with Tequila blanco, serve in Margarita glass with ice cubes and garnish with large green jalapeno pepper

I still think this drink need something to stand out so if anyone has some idea its welcome.

[Tiare]

Here is another one:

PAPRIKA WHISKEY SOUR

For one Cocktail:

2 cm red Paprika
30 ml Whiskey
20 ml fresh Lemon juice
20 ml Raspberry Puree
15 ml Agave syrup
15 ml Grilled Paprika syrup

Garnish: 3 thin long pieces of Paprika

Muddle the paprika in a shaker and add the rest of ingredients and shake with ice, strain in ice filled rocks glass.