Make This Easy Gomme Syrup Recipe for Super Silky Drinks

Gomme syrup is an old cocktail ingredient that adds both sweetness and a little extra silkiness to a drink.

What is Gomme Syrup?

Gomme Syrup (or Gum Syrup) is made using water, sugar and gum arabic powder to create a sweetener that adds a smooth silky texture to cocktails.

You will probably come across it if you ever look through books with old cocktail recipes although today it has mostly been replaced with regular simple syrup.

But making a batch for your home bar isn't difficult, here's what you need to know...

What's the point of using gomme syrup?

Similar to corn starch, gum arabic is a thickener and creates a syrup with a slight jelly-like consistency to it (in a good way). That thickness gives the finished drink a pleasant extra silky "mouthfeel" while adding the same sweetness of a regular simple syrup.

Gum arabic comes from the dried and powdered sap of acacia trees and is actually used as a thickener and emulsifier outside of food too.

It is also a stabilizer so your gomme syrup will last in the fridge for 4+ months while a regular simple syrup will only last a few weeks.

How to make Gomme Syrup:

1. Combine gum arabic powder and hot water.
2. Stir to combine and let sit for 2-3 hours until all of the clumps are dissolved.
3. Make a simple syrup and add in the gum arabic/water mixture
4. Let cool and store in the fridge for 4+ months

There are a few different techniques you can use to make this syrup but this is my favorite since it's the least work and doesn't require making quite as many dishes.

Are there Gomme Syrup substitutes?

You can use regular 1:1 simple syrup as a substitute for gomme syrup. The cocktail will have the same flavor but it will lack the silky texture that gomme syrup brings to a drink.

does gomme syrup have a taste?

Gum Syrup tastes the same as simple syrup. It will have the taste of the type of sugar you make it with but that's it.

Raw cane sugar is a great option to give the syrup just a little hint of flavor.

Gomme Syrup in cocktails

You can try using gomme syrup in place of regular simple syrup in pretty much any recipe.

It works really well in stirred booze forward cocktails like an Old Fashioned or a Sazerac to add extra thickness. But you can also use it in classics that call for lots of simple syrup like a Daiquiri.

This recipe is a 1:1 ratio of sugar to water so that it can be easily substituted into cocktail recipes while keeping the same measurements.

making flavored gum syrup

Just like regular simple syrup you can try adding different herbs or spices to your gomme syrup.

While the sugar and water are heating try adding cinnamon sticks, cloves, rosemary, or any other dried spices. Make the recipe as usual and leave the spices to infuse in the fridge for 4+ hours before straining and using in drinks.

You can swap the cane sugar out for demerara sugar to make demerara gum syrup.