Name: Homemade Sweet and Sour Mix
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 1
Ingredients: 1/4 cup (60g) water, just boiled; 5 Tablespoons (60g) sugar; 1/2 cup (120g) fresh lemon juice; 1/4 cup (60g) fresh lime juice

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This homemade sweet and sour mix is tangy, sweet, and fresh. It’s a great cocktail ingredient that adds a tart flavor to drinks.

While you could buy a plastic bottle at the store, making it yourself is simple and worth it. Once you try this recipe, I know you’ll prefer using a fresh mix.

This simple mix is a cocktail ingredient that combines sweet and sour flavors, usually used to make cocktails such as; Margaritas, Daiquiris, Whiskey Sours, Amaretto Sours, Long Island Iced Teas, and Mai Tais.

The mix typically includes sugar, lemon or lime juice, and sometimes additional ingredients like orange juice.

Knowing how to make sweet and sour mix is just as easy as making simple syrups.

Ingredients

Find the simple ingredients for this recipe in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here is a rundown of what you will need.

White sugar. Granulated cane sugar. You could use raw sugar, or pure cane sugar or even light brown sugar. However, a sugar like that with added molasses will slightly change the flavor.
Water. Just boiled
Lemon juice. A larger amount of lemon juice is used to bring out the sour flavor.
Lime juice – Add bitterness, its unique flavor and sweet and sour notes. You could swap the lime juice for more lemon juice instead if you like.

See the recipe card for quantities.

Equipment

Wooden spoon
Medium bowl
Glass jar

Instructions

Add the sugar to a medium bowl.

Pour the boiled water over the sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved.

Add in the lemon juice and lime juice and stir. Pour the mixture into a clean jar.

Top tip – Freeze in ice cube containers to give individual servings.

Other Mixes

Flavored simple syrups are very similar mixing ingredients that can used for a massive range of cocktails. Here are some simple syrups that you could choose to make with various fruits, spices, and herbs!

Ways to this sweet and sour mix

In a summer cocktail or mixed drinks: It can be used to make Margaritas, Daiquiris, Whiskey sour, Amaretto Sours, Long Island Iced Teas, and Mai Tais.
In sauces: It can also be used as a base for making sweet and sour sauces.
Used for salad dressings: Use it alongside oil and herbs for a flavorful salad dressing.

Storage

Fresh sweet and sour mix like this can be stored in the refrigerator in a sealed jar for up to a week. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months for long-term storage.

Yield: 1 cup