Cherry Blossom Simple Syrup (3 ways)

Cherry blossom season lasts about two weeks. If you want to make something with real sakura, not cherry brandy or maraschino or red food dye, you need to plan ahead.

This cherry blossom simple syrup is subtle, faintly floral, a little sweet, and nothing like a generic cherry syrup. The flavor is delicate, somewhere between almond and rose, and it doesn’t compete with other ingredients. It softens a drink rather than overpowering it.

On its own, the syrup is nearly clear with a faint blush. Adding hibiscus petals or freeze-dried raspberries gives it a pale pink hue that looks lovely in a coupe glass. A dried blossom (weather it’s a cherry blossom or not) is all you need for a cocktail garnish.

Where to Find Cherry Blossoms

Fresh cherry blossoms are nearly impossible to source unless you have a tree in your yard. Even then, you can’t always be sure they’re food-safe.

Here’s what I use:

• Dried cherry blossoms, easy to work with and reliable
• Preserved Cherry blossoms pickled in salt, my preference for deeper flavor

If you can only pick one, go with the preserved sakura (cherry blossoms) version. Just know that you MUST soak and rinse them thoroughly before use. If you skip that step, your syrup will taste like a salt lick. The recipe below covers exactly how.

Prefer to skip the DIY? Here’s two premade options:

• This premade cherry blossom syrup is closest to homemade in flavor
• This one also works, but it contains wild cherry extract, so the flavor skews more cherry than floral

Recipe 1: Cherry Blossom Simple Syrup with Hibiscus (Recommended)

The hibiscus adds color and just enough tartness to balance the sweetness. You can also use freeze-fried raspberries to get a nice pink color if you have them on hand.

I strain this through a fine-mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth for the cleanest result. Store in 4 oz glass mason jars in the fridge, or freeze in silicone ice cube trays for single-use portions.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup filtered water
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 5 cherry blossom flowers (rinsed off salt-preserved, or dried)
• 2 to 3 hibiscus petals, or 3-4 freeze-dried raspberries (for color)

Instructions

1. If using salt-preserved cherry blossoms: soak in cold water for 20 to 30 minutes, switching out the water at least once halfway through. Finish with a final cold rinse and set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine water and sugar. Cook over medium heat until it reaches a gentle boil.
3. Reduce heat to low. Add the hibiscus petals (or freeze-dried raspberries) and cherry blossoms.
4. Simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from heat.
5. Remove the hibiscus petals. Let the syrup cool to room temperature with the blossoms still in it.
6. Strain through a cheesecloth to remove the cherry blossoms and any fine particles.
7. Transfer to a clean glass mason jar. Refrigerate for up to a week, or freeze in portions.

This recipe doubles easily. Freeze extras in 4 oz mason jar portions or in silicone ice cube trays for single-use amounts.

Recipe 2: Warm Pour-Over Steep

This version skips simmering the blossoms directly. You make the sweetened base, strain out the raspberries or hibiscus, then pour the warm syrup over the washed blossoms in a jar and let them steep as it cools. The flavor comes out a little more delicate than Recipe 1.

Note: You can use honey in place of white sugar, but it changes the flavor significantly. You’ll end up with a honey syrup that has a faint cherry blossom note rather than the reverse. Stick with white sugar if you want the floral character to come through.

If you need an alternate sweetener, use monk fruit powder, which acts as a one-to-one without any extra flavoring like Stevia brings to a syrup.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup water
• 6 to 8 tablespoons white sugar
• 4 to 5 cherry blossoms (salt-preserved and soaked, or dried)
• 3 freeze-dried raspberries or a few hibiscus petals

Instructions

8. If using salt-preserved cherry blossoms: soak in cold water for 20 minutes, switching out the water halfway through. Do a final cold rinse before adding to syrup.
9. Combine water and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a gentle boil.
10. Turn off the heat. Add the freeze-dried raspberries or hibiscus and stir to help them break down and release their color.
11. Strain out the raspberries or hibiscus.
12. Place the washed cherry blossoms into a clean glass jar (I like to pick off the stems too).
13. Pour the warm syrup over the blossoms. Let steep as the syrup cools. Overnight in the fridge gives the best flavor, but you can strain after it gets to room temperature too.
14. Strain out the blossoms through a cheesecloth when the flavor is where you want it, or leave them in. Refrigerate for up to a week, or freeze in portions.

Recipe 3: Sakura Powder Syrup

This version produces a much stronger, intensely floral syrup using sakura powder. It can easily tip into overpowering, so start with less than you think you need.

The key step: let the syrup cool completely before adding the powder. Adding it to hot syrup makes it too thick to use in cocktails.

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white sugar
• Sakura cherry blossom powder, 1 to 2 teaspoons (start with 1)

Instructions

15. Combine water and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a slow boil, stirring occasionally, until the sugar fully dissolves.
16. Transfer to a clean glass mason jar and let cool completely, first to room temperature, then in the fridge for a few hours.
17. Once fully cooled, stir in 1 teaspoon of sakura powder. Taste, then add more if you want a stronger flavor.
18. Store in the fridge and use within a week.

Cocktails That Use Cherry Blossom Simple Syrup

• Cherry Blossom Bee’s Knees
• Cherry Blossom Quiet Old Fashioned
• Falling Petals Gimlet
• Herbal Sakura Garden
• Pear Sakura Collins
• Petal & Stone Sour
• Sakura Drift Martini
• Strawberry Sakura Smash
• Cherry Blossom Green Tea Spritz
• Lychee Blossom Spritz
• Lychee Sakura Martini
• Pink Grapefruit Sakura Sour

This syrup pairs well with gin, sake, vodka, and sparkling wine. Browse our full simple syrups collection for more ideas, and find the tools and ingredients I use in my cocktail shop.