Root Beer Syrup Infusion Recipe

I don't drink a lot of soda but when I do I almost always reach for root beer. It's a classic drink that has been around since the late 1800s and it's full of deep, nuanced flavors. Making it at home is easy once you obtain the ingredients, most of which I ordered online. This recipe makes a thick, sweet syrup you can mix with club soda, use in cocktails, or naturally ferment.

Sometimes I will leave out the brown sugar and use the root beer infusion similar to weak bitters. It's a tasty, sugar-free drink when combined with club soda and it's also a great way to add complexity to cocktails that don't need more sweetness.

One disclaimer, in the 1960s the government removed sassafras from root beer recipes because when taken by mice in large quantities (the equivalent of five 2-liter bottles a day) the safrole in it was correlated with liver cancer. It has since been replaced by wintergreen. Of course, basil and nutmeg have safrole too but if you are uncomfortable using it feel free to substitute it in this recipe with wintergreen.