Roses Blueberry Syrup

Rose's Blueberry Syrup is a non-alcoholic cocktail and soda-fountain syrup. It carries 0% ABV, so it sweetens and flavors a drink without adding any alcohol of its own. Syrups in this style are usually sweet, deep purple-blue, and fruit-forward. Expect a jammy blueberry character with a light tartness, closer to cooked berries than to fresh-picked fruit. The product details don't specify a more detailed flavor profile, so treat that as the typical expectation for the category. Because it is already sweet, it works best when you treat it as both the sweetener and the fruit element in a recipe. In a sour-style cocktail, replace simple syrup with an equal measure of this syrup and keep the citrus. A typical template is 2 oz of vodka, gin, or light rum, 3/4 oz of fresh lemon juice, and 1/2 to 3/4 oz of blueberry syrup. Shake it hard over ice, strain it, and adjust the syrup to taste. Vodka lets the berry come through cleanly. Gin adds a juniper and botanical edge that suits dark fruit. Bourbon also works, since its vanilla and caramel notes sit well with jammy berry, and a blueberry whiskey smash with muddled mint is an easy variation. The syrup also works in a blueberry mojito, in a berry margarita (tequila blanco, lime, and a small pour of syrup), and as the fruit layer in a sparkling drink topped with prosecco or dry sparkling wine. In that last case, the wine's dryness offsets the syrup's sweetness. For drinks without alcohol, stir about an ounce into soda water or lemon-lime soda and finish with a squeeze of lime or lemon. Citrus helps keep a syrup this sweet from tasting flat. It also suits Italian-style sodas with cream or half-and-half, lemonade, iced tea, and milkshakes. Off the bar, it can go over pancakes, waffles, yogurt, cheesecake, panna cotta, and vanilla ice cream, or be brushed onto a sponge cake as a soaking syrup. Use chilled ingredients and serve over ice, and pick the glass for the format. Shaken sours go well in a coupe or a small stemmed cocktail glass. Highballs, mojitos, and sodas suit a tall Collins or highball glass with plenty of ice. Smashes and spirit-forward builds belong in a rocks glass, and sparkling drinks are best in a flute. A fresh blueberry or a mint sprig is a simple garnish that signals what's in the glass. Once opened, keep the bottle capped, and refrigerate it if you plan to hold it for a while. Sticky syrup around the neck also tends to cause pour problems, so wipe it clean after each use.