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Homemade Syrup

Thyme Simple Syrup

Herbal, earthy, and quietly complex. Fresh thyme syrup is one of the most versatile things you can make from the garden — equally at home in a gin gimlet, a lemonade, or a glass of sparkling water.

Prep: 5 min Cook: 10 min Yield: ~1½ cups Easy 3–4 weeks refrigerated

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From the garden to the pantry, the glass, and the meals we gather around.

This syrup is one part of the Thyme story. Start with the guide, save the harvest, or browse the recipes that carry thyme from the garden into the glass and around the table.

Fresh thyme growing in the garden
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Thyme Guide
Discover how we grow, harvest, and enjoy one of our favorite herbs.
 Freshly harvested thyme bundles from the garden
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Learn when to harvest thyme, how to dry it, freeze it, and bring its aroma into the cooler months.
 Thyme simple syrup made from fresh garden thyme
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Thyme Simple Syrup
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The recipe

Thyme Simple Syrup

Three ingredients, one saucepan, thirty minutes of patience. Thyme is more forgiving than most garden herbs in a syrup — it takes longer to cross from pleasant to medicinal — which makes it a great first herb syrup to attempt. The steep time is where all the character comes from; the heat just gets the sugar in solution.

Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Steep Time
20–30 min
Yield
About 1½ cups
Difficulty
Easy
Step 01

Combine sugar and water

Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Step 02

Dissolve the sugar

Stir until the sugar completely dissolves. Keep the heat moderate — a gentle simmer is all you need. Do not boil aggressively, which can make the syrup slightly cloudy.

Step 03

Add thyme

Remove from heat and add the thyme sprigs, stems and all. The stems carry flavour too — no need to strip the leaves beforehand.

Step 04

Steep

Steep for 20–30 minutes. Taste every 10 minutes — thyme builds gradually, and you're looking for a clean, herbal flavour without any harsh or medicinal edge.

Thyme is more forgiving than rosemary or lavender — it takes longer to over-extract. Still, pull the sprigs as soon as the flavour tastes right to you.

Step 05

Strain

Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a clean glass bottle or jar. Press the spent sprigs gently to extract all the syrup.

Step 06

Cool and refrigerate

Allow to cool to room temperature before sealing. Refrigerate and use within 3–4 weeks. Label with the date you made it.

Garden note

Common thyme (Thymus vulgaris) is what this recipe is built around. Lemon thyme works identically but produces a noticeably brighter, more citrus-forward syrup that pairs exceptionally well with gin and sparkling drinks. See the Thyme Guide's variety section for a full comparison of garden thymes worth growing for the bar.

Make it your own

Variations

The base recipe is clean and versatile on its own. These variations build on it with a single extra ingredient added at the steep stage.

Lemon Thyme Syrup
Substitute lemon thyme for common thyme — same method, identical ratios. The lemon thyme brings a genuine citrus lift from the herb itself, not from added lemon. Exceptional in gin gimlets and sparkling drinks. This is Stephanie's house syrup for gin cocktails.
Thyme & Honey
Replace the granulated sugar with a mild honey (clover or orange blossom works well). Warm the honey gently without boiling, add thyme, steep 20–30 minutes off the heat. The result is rounder and more complex — particularly good in bourbon drinks and anything with lemon.
Thyme & Lemon Peel
Add one strip of fresh lemon peel to the steep along with the thyme. Brightens the syrup without the full citrus shift of lemon thyme — a useful middle ground when you only have common thyme in the garden.
Rich Thyme Syrup
Use a 2:1 ratio — two cups of sugar to one cup of water. The syrup is thicker, sweeter, and more concentrated. Use half the amount you'd use of a standard syrup. Longer shelf life and a more intense herbal flavour in the glass.

Bar pantry

Ways to Use Thyme Syrup

Thyme syrup is one of the most useful herb syrups in the bar pantry. It bridges summer fruit drinks and the deeper flavours of aged spirits — and it works equally well in non-alcoholic drinks where most syrups fall flat.

Garden Herb Gimlet
Peach Honey Bourbon Smash
Thyme Gin Fizz
Sparkling lemonade
Iced tea sweetener
Grapefruit & thyme spritz
Honey citrus mocktails
Sparkling water with a dash

Keep it fresh

Storage

Thyme syrup stores particularly well — slightly longer than most herb syrups. Keep the jar sealed, keep foreign implements out of the bottle, and label with the date.

Refrigerator
3–4 weeks
Store in a sealed glass jar or bottle. Thyme syrup keeps slightly longer than mint or rosemary. Label with the date you made it.
Freezer
Up to 6 months
Pour into ice cube trays and freeze solid. Transfer cubes to a sealed freezer bag. Each standard cube is roughly 1 oz. Lemon thyme and common thyme syrups look identical — label everything clearly.
Best container
Amber bottle or mason jar
An amber glass bottle keeps out light. A clean mason jar works equally well. Any contamination from a dirty utensil will shorten shelf life significantly.
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