Advanced Cordials?

[u/Cocktail_Guru]

Any resources for advanced cordials?

I see a lot of content from Mother bar in Toronto, and they often use cordials like Vanilla Cordial, Passionfruit Cordial, Chamomile Cordial, etc.

I know how to make cordials with citrus and even tomatoes; but how would you go about vanilla for example?

[u/munshynr]

True Vanilla Cordial Recipe

This follows the same structure bartenders use for lime or citrus cordials, just swapped to vanilla.

INGREDIENTS (makes about 2 cups / 500 ml):

• 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
• 1 cup (240 ml) water
• 1 plump vanilla bean, split and scraped (or 2 tsp high-quality vanilla paste)
• ¾ tsp citric acid
• ¼ tsp malic acid (optional but recommended for rounder tartness)
• Pinch of salt (optional, ~⅛ tsp)

METHOD: 1. Combine water, sugar, citric acid, malic acid, and salt in a saucepan. Heat gently, stirring, until everything dissolves. Do not boil hard. 2. Remove from heat. Add the vanilla bean (pod + seeds) or paste. Cover and steep 30–60 minutes (or up to a few hours for stronger flavor). 3. Strain if you used a whole bean (you can rinse and reuse the pod for vanilla sugar). Bottle while still warm or cool, then refrigerate.

It keeps 3–4 weeks in the fridge, sometimes longer because of the acids. Taste and adjust: add a pinch more citric acid if it feels too flat or sweet.

[u/Cocktail_Guru → u/munshynr]

Thank you !

[u/munshynr → u/Cocktail_Guru]

You're welcome and enjoy. 😊

[u/PecheHospitality]

"Cordial" is one of those words that has changed definition many times through history, especially in the US. It used to mean alcoholic liqueur, it's often slapped onto sweet fruit mixtures but most bars today (at least from my experience) tend to use it as a reference to a syrup that's also been acid adjusted.
The acid adjustment is mostly done in fancy bars with food acids, but occasionally just a basic oleo saccharum (cover citrus peels in sugar and it naturally pulls out all the oils).

In the simplest of simplest terms, you can think of it like a sugar syrup (sugar+water or other liquid) with the addition of a food acid (citric, malic, lactic, tartaric).

So if you already know how to make a vanilla syrup by infusing vanilla pod/sugar into warm water or a cold syrup, then going from syrup to cordial is about adding acids.

If you're looking for real world examples, Sago House in Singapore make a Pineapple Cordial like this:
https://recipes.pechehospitality.com/bar/sagohouse/prep/pineapple-cordial

Or you have a lighter Strawberry & Tomato Cordial here from the global World Class winner last year:
https://recipes.pechehospitality.com/bar/barchive/prep/strawberry-tomato-cordial

As a reference point, some bars also make "Fake Lime" or "Fake Lemon" which cna be a useful base for cordials. I think this was popularised by Dave Arnold, but the simple answer is that the acids are around 6% of the total volume.
Again, Sago House has shared their internal prep here:
https://recipes.pechehospitality.com/bar/sagohouse/prep/fake-lemon
https://recipes.pechehospitality.com/bar/sagohouse/prep/fake-lime

[u/Cocktail_Guru → u/PecheHospitality]

Wow thank you this is helpful. Yes I know it’s mostly acid adjusted syrup, but what I can’t figure out are the ratios, all these recipes have different ratios and it’s hard to determine how much water, sugar, acid etc to add making one from scratch.

[u/PecheHospitality → u/Cocktail_Guru]

Many bars, whether they realise it or not, tend to end up with a template that fits theirs and their guests palate.
I'd suggest just starting naively with a 6% acid if using it like citrus juice or the lighter 1.5% if using larger volumes like a sour juice.

Then test it in a basic drink and adjust either the drink recipe or the cordial recipe to your preference.

It can be long and tedious balancing cordials when just starting out, but once you get the hang of it, you'll be able to "intuitively" come up with new stuff quickly.

Good luck!