Build a Better Bar Cart: Ginger & Mint Simple Syrup

In our next installment in my build a better car cart series- an often overlooked ingredient: simple syrup.

It is, as the name might lead you to believe, quite simple. Also an unabashedly simple way to amp up your cocktail with minimal effort.

Ingredients: 1:1 ratio of sugar to water (1 cup/1 cup).

Directions: Boil

Extra credit: Steep additional flavors for 30 minutes. I chose mint and ginger for this batch.

Syrup keeps in a covered container for up to one month in the refrigerator.

Use it in a cocktail you make on the regular to crank it up a notch (the mint makes quick business of a julep). Or try something entirely new (check here for some ideas from Bon Appetit), like a Mezcal smash, or a daiquiri amped up with lemon zest syrup.