Simple Goodness Syrups have launched, shipped, and wowed their first customers.

After a humorously inefficient first shipping process (picture 8 months pregnant Venise carrying an armful of boxes into fedex twenty minutes before closing, and the lady behind the counter looking wary at best) the first shipped bottles are in the hands of customers across the USA and that feels really, really good. We are so proud to share a taste of the Pacific Northwest summer through these first edition Simple Goodness Sister Syrup flavors. We also sold a ton of bottles at the Garlic and Goats Festival at Venise's farm last weekend to our local community and couldn't stop smiling at people's reactions to their tastings. "Wow!" was a frequent response. The next most common response was "OK, what do you recommend I make with it?"

Simple Goodness Sisters' cocktail and drink recipe collection is launching too

And that's where I (Belinda) come in. I've been using these syrups for 3 years in our craft cocktail catering business, Happy Camper Cocktails, and have some delicious ideas too share with you. Each syrup we've sent out into the world has come with a recipe card with a suggested drink. We also plan to continue adding more drink (and food!) ideas here, and even to share here recipes and ideas that you, our tasters and customers, submit by tagging us on social media or emailing us.

It is our very sincere goal to update the blog weekly with new recipes and ideas on how to use our Simple Goodness Syrups. While the most frequent drink choice for us at home is a simple soda (1 ounce of syrup + 12 ounces club soda) or Italian sodas (Venise's favorite, with half & half or whipping cream stirred in), there are a hundred ways or more to use the syrup and we want to help aid your creativity and quench your thirst!

Use the syrups anywhere in recipes calling for simple syrup, sugar, honey syrup, grenadine, or sugar cubes. 

Tons of drink recipes call for a sweet component. In fact, most of the classics besides a few (martini, negroni) have a sweetener in the recipe, and that's where you can plug in our syrups for fun, unique, craft cocktial bar style variations on all of the classics. The basics tenants of cocktail making are balance between flavors, temperature, dilution (this is where specialty ice and shaken vs. stirred have the greatest impacts) and presentation. In the flavor balance category, bartenders are keeping in mind a few characteristics. 

Cocktails are balanced between sweet, sour, bitter, and spirit.

Remember that Netflix show by Yasmin Nasarat? Salt, Fat, Acid, and Heat are how Chefs balance foods. In cocktails, we work with sweet, sour, bitter, and spirit. Not every cocktail has all 4, but you need to have at least 3 of these in play to make a complete cocktail. The beauty of Simple Goodness Sisters syrups is that the syrups themselves contain 2 of these- sweet and sour. They are naturally preserved by acidity, so they have the sour factor built in. They're 50% sugar, so they obviously have the sweet component as well. 

Don't limit yourself just to cocktails either. These syrups are mocktail ready.

One of the biggest reasons why you often cannot get a decent non-alcoholic cocktails from a bartender at a standard bar is limited ingredients, and our syrups pack big flavor in one bottle. At your standard bar, most of the exotic flavors they're putting into their drinks come from the carefully infused spirits and liqueurs (some recipes are hundreds of years old and protected by their countries of origin as national treasures.) Often, the mixers behind the bar are limited to box juice, plain simple syrup, and some citrus.

These syrups solve all of those boring, overly sweet, "tastes like something my kid would order" mocktail problems. We fundamentally believe that good flavor should not be limited to imbibing, and that those who don't drink alcohol, for whatever reason, deserve a better drink experience. 

Try using them with a little club soda, non-alcoholic wine or champagne, tonic water, or iced tea for an interesting, dynamic, and flavorful mocktail that will make you feel included. You're always invited to the Simple Goodness Sisters syrups party, whether you're adding booze or not!

And really, use the syrups wherever you would use any syrup- fresh lemonade, waffles, pancakes, desserts, oatmeal, Italian soda, coffee drinks, tea drinks, french toast, and more.  We can't wait to see what you make next, and we'll keep posting recipes to encourage you along the way!

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