Burnt Cinnamon Simple Syrup

The NY Times Magazine section did a piece on cocktails about two weeks ago and one was calling me-Rhum Agricole Daiquiri. What attracted me here (well besides the cocktail aspect) was the Burnt Cinnamon Simple Syrup. It was easy enough to make, as are most simple syrups, but it was the potential uses.  I started thinking not only daiquiris but why not with Applejack? Apples, burnt cinnamon sounds like a winner to me. Or how about a nice hot cider, with a little rum, and the simple syrup (Guess I'll have to wait until the fall for the cider). On the non-alcohol side-why not use it to moisten a sponge cake - wouldn't that give it an interesting flavor? Or what about a burnt cinnamon ice cream?

Now first for the burning of the cinnamon - it felt a little like I was doing a cleanse to ward off evil spirits. I think that is usually done with sage but if cinnamon works too - so be it. The recipe recommended using a small creme brulee torch to burn the cinnamon sticks - like you do. But I don't have a small creme brulee torch and I wasn't going to ask the Sous Chef to get involved because that would inevitably involve a visit from the Fire Department with some invention he came up with down in the lab um I mean basement (He's like Grandpa Munster in that basement).  I got to thinking you can make roasted peppers by holding them over an open flame so why not a little cinnamon stick - what could possibly go wrong??  I'm happy to report there were no visits from the NYFD - I didn't even set off the smoke detector. I used a pair of tongs and burnt one cinnamon stick at a time.

One is still lit

Here's what the simple syrup looked like after the sugar was dissolved and the cinnamon added:

A little cloudy

After the 24 hour waiting and waiting and waiting...

But don't worry - it clears up

Here's what the daiquiris looked like...

Not bad but we had to use Rose's Lime Juice. I've got nothing against Rose but I think it would have been much better with fresh lime juice.  Although I've heard something about there being a lime shortage?? I've also come to the conclusion that I much prefer a Strawberry Daiquiri. However, I could see this being a really refreshing summer drink when the heat is totally horrible.

I think the cinnamon sticks I used were not the greatest quality so the flavor wasn't as pronounced as I would have liked (teach me a lesson for buying the cheap stuff). But still I was looking to experiment further...

1 oz AppleJack
1 oz Burnt Cinnamon Simple Syrup
Ice

Place in shaker. Shake. Serve over fresh ice. 

Now this one was a little on the sweet side. It's not like you're going to have more than one of these but it was rather tasty!