You can make any botanical syrup this way but I mainly make balsam syrup and the people LOVE it. I suppose we don’t frequently think about drinking conifer-flavored beverages but you can and they are delicious.

Most conifers are edible (except for a few that are poisonous) but in my experience, balsam has the best flavor. It’s sort of citrusy and very wintery. It’s now spring as I write this as I spent most of my winter hiking, so I’m only getting around to writing this now.

For this recipe, you will need simple syrup made from water and sugar, a stove, a pot or two, a strainer, and something to put your finished syrup in.

I start by harvesting balsam. You can use pieces you get off a freshly cut Christmas tree or forage them off a still-growing tree, just keep sustainability in mind when picking. Don’t pick the outer part of the branches that will grow in the spring, and only pick small amounts from each tree.

If there’s been a storm and branches got knocked off, that’s a perfect source.

Once home I then remove the large woody parts and rinse off the smaller parts I will cook with.

Next up I boil water and dissolve sugar in it. 2 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar makes a decent batch but don’t let me dictate how you make simple syrup.

After the sugar is dissolved I lower the heat and make tree soup,

I let the tree soup simmer for a few hours because it smells nice and makes me happy.

Eventually I have to move on in life so I strain the tree parts out and put the syrup in a jar.

Clean up can be sticky and sometimes you need a bit of rubbing alcohol to get any particularly stubborn tree residue off stuff. There are chemistry reasons for this but I do not recall them and don’t feel like looking them up.

Your finished syrup is excellent with seltzer as well as in mixed drinks with gin. It keeps in the fridge for a week or so but eventually grows mold. If you want to keep it longer, just pop it in the freezer.

Mount Jo ladders with a balsam tree in the foreground

Here’s some pics from my winter hikes so you know what I was up to instead of writing this.

Balsam Syrup