Post #759781 by AceExplorer on Sat, Feb 27, 2016 5:59 AM

Thanks, VinylGeek, good notes. I can't emphasize enough that I personally do not find lime to be the cause of any problems in my home syrups. So for purposes of clarification, here are two points - sorry if I'm rehashing this too often...

1. 10-12 years ago, I made my first home-made simple syrup, and it went bad in my fridge. Soon thereafter I spoke with Jeff Berry about syrups at a Hukilau and also came away with his recommendations on falernum and made my first batch of Paul Clarke's. Both syrups went bad after a few months.

2. At a subsequent Hukilau I spoke with Jeff about my problems. I was a newbie, and thrilled that he was so friendly and available at tiki events, so willing to answer questions. I shared my problems and learned from him that I needed to ensure my glassware was sterile (just like home beer brewers do) and learned from Jeff about adding 1 or 2 ounces of Everclear to each syrup. He said "about one ounce," but I've leaned towards 2 ounces per 14oz bottle of syrup because the home-made stuff is always a bit stronger than the store-bought stuff, and figured dilution wasn't a big issue on the flavor. (Note: I used to use short round salad dressing bottles, but have now switched to the medium-sized olive oil bottles because of their integrated and easily-removable pour spouts -- GREAT for syrups.) Then I also began freezing my leftover second bottles of falernum. I have not had any problems with this methodology since then, figuring sterile bottles and the Everclear solved my issues. So based on this I believe personally that lime juice isn't an issue at all. I also believe that lime juice and zest are essential flavor ingredient which tie into the historical roots of the various recipes for falernums which were made by families in the Carribbean.

Hope that helps someone else as they research this topic.

Whether it is "falernum" or "Falernum" - I'll drink to that!