What is the Shelf Life with liquid then?

For Liqueurs, as long as they are stored out of direct sunlight and sealed properly, there is no shelf life. They will be safe to drink indefinitely. Good luck making them last that long though! They're too tasty for that. Personally, I keep mine in the refrigerator so it's cold when I want to use it. Many of our customers feel more comfortable keeping their liqueur refrigerated.

For simple syrups, several factors can extend your shelf life, such as boiling your water first and adding a small amount of alcohol. You can expect anywhere from 1 week to 4 weeks if kept properly.

What makes it a "Liqueur"?

Liquor is synonymous with Spirits or Alcohol, it's just a general name for an unsweetened alcoholic product. When you take one of these unsweetened alcoholic products (like gin, rum, vodka, whiskey, etc) and add sweetener and flavoring, it becomes a liqueur. I know, they could have picked better words. Unfortunately, I wasn't around when they decided these things.

Why can't I just make my own? Why do I need your stupid jars?

You can totally make your own simple syrups and liqueurs at home! I've got instructions right here! For easy ones like Lemon or Cucumber where you only want one ingredient, I totally recommend you make them yourself. What these DIY Liqueur Kits offer are more complex flavors with more depth and character. They have many different spices and are balanced just right to give you a great flavor every time with no experimentation. They are also easier and cleaner than doing it yourself.

Can I use other liquids instead of water to make the simple syrup?

It's your jar, you can do whatever you want! ...but I would recommend trying it with water the first time at least. That way you know what the regular flavor is like and whether or not another liquid would accent your simple syrup. If you do want to try other liquids, I recommend trying juices like apple, pear, and orange, depending on which jar you purchased.

Which alcohol should I use in my DIY Liqueur Kit?

That depends on the jar you've used! All our jars come with suggested spirits to pair them with (vodka, rum, gin, whiskey, tequila, etc), but it's 100% up to you what you want to add! As for quality, We recommend using a middle-of-the-shelf or slightly higher quality spirit. If you use the cheapest thing you can find, it will taste like it.

We would not recommend using your highest quality spirits, as the sugars and spices will overwhelm the nuances that make those spirits so great (and expensive). Anything from Costco brand liquors is a great bang-for-your-buck. Also, fun fact, Costco can't make you have a membership to purchase alcohol!

How much sugar is in each of these? Can I use less?

For the Simple Syrups, a one ounce serving will have approximately 50 calories. For the Liqueurs, a 2 ounce serving will have approximately 200 calories. We use the smallest amount of recommended sugar in our Liqueurs since we really like the taste of alcohol. If you want even less, feel free to take some out of the jar before adding alcohol. You can always add it back in if you find you want more!

If you don't want any sugar at all, Feel free to dump it out and use it in something else (lemonade, maybe?) or check out our Store page for the spice mix refills!

Are the spice mixes reusable?

Sort of? You can use the spice mix a second time, but just like a tea bag, you won't get exactly the same results. Leave the bag in for longer and taste frequently to make sure you are getting the flavor you want. This works better for the all herbal and spice infusions. The fruit infusions are really only good the first time.

What if you don't have the flavor I want?

We are more than happy to take requests for custom orders! Send an email to spiritsirensldc@gmail.com and we will get back to you as soon as possible! Not everything will be possible but we can try.