Cinnamon syrup substitutes

The real recipe rather than a substitute, and the reason this is worth making at home: it costs almost nothing and tastes far better than the bottled version.

Best for

tiki drinks such as a Three Dots and a Dash, autumn whiskey and rum cocktails, coffee and lattes, poaching pears and drizzling over French toast

Clean, clear and warmly spiced with none of the dusty texture that ground cinnamon leaves behind, and it keeps a bright top note that ground spice never gives. Break the sticks first to expose more surface. Steeping longer makes it stronger, and after about two hours it turns quite assertive and slightly bitter, so taste and strain when you like it. Refrigerated in a sealed bottle it keeps three to four weeks.

The fast version for when you need syrup in five minutes. Whisk the cinnamon into hot syrup, let it stand, then decant the clear liquid off the sediment.

Best for

single drinks right now, coffee and hot chocolate, shaken cocktails, where a little cloudiness does not matter, pancake and porridge drizzle

Noticeably cloudier and slightly gritty compared with a stick infusion, and the flavour is duller and more powdery, less aromatic. Straining through a coffee filter cleans it up considerably but takes patience since the syrup is thick. In a milky drink nobody will notice; in a clear stirred cocktail the haze and the fine sediment on the bottom of the glass are visible.

If you already keep a jar of cinnamon sugar for toast, this is a two-ingredient syrup with no measuring of spice at all.

Best for

hot drinks, quick single servings, children's drinks and mocktails, brushing over cakes and buns

Behaves exactly like the ground cinnamon version, since that is effectively what it is, so expect the same cloudiness and sediment. The cinnamon-to-sugar ratio in shop-bought cinnamon sugar is usually light, so the syrup comes out mild; add a pinch more ground cinnamon if it tastes thin. Stir until you cannot feel grains on the bottom of the pan.

Already a liquid sweetener of about the right thickness, and maple and cinnamon are a natural pairing, so it needs no preparation beyond a stir.

Best for

coffee, especially with oat milk, whiskey and bourbon cocktails, pancakes, waffles and porridge, glazing roast carrots or squash

The maple does not hide, so the result tastes of maple with cinnamon behind it rather than the other way round, and in an autumn whiskey drink that is genuinely lovely. In a tiki drink it clashes with the rum and reads as out of place. Maple is a shade less sweet than an equal volume of simple syrup, and it turns a clear drink amber and slightly cloudy.

Honey on its own is too thick to disperse in a cold drink, so thinning it makes a honey syrup that pours and mixes like the real thing.

Best for

hot toddies, tea and chai, whiskey and rum drinks, yoghurt and baked apples

Distinctly floral, and the honey sits in front of the cinnamon, so the drink tastes of honey first. It is sweeter per spoonful than simple syrup, so start with about three quarters of the volume. A mild honey such as clover interferes least; a strong dark honey will dominate the spice completely. Cinnamon and honey work together particularly well in anything warm.

Already a sweetened spiced liquid with cinnamon as one of its main notes, so it slots straight into coffee drinks and some cocktails.

Best for

lattes and iced coffee, rum and bourbon cocktails, mocktails, milkshakes

Comes with a whole spice cabinet attached: cardamom, ginger, clove and black pepper alongside the cinnamon, plus tea tannin, so the drink tastes considerably more complex and slightly astringent rather than cleanly cinnamon. In an autumn cocktail that complexity can be an improvement. Sweetness varies enormously between brands, so taste before you assume it matches syrup.

Included because plenty of people have a bottle of it and no cinnamon sticks. It delivers a very loud cinnamon flavour along with alcohol and heat.

Best for

cocktails only, hot chocolate for adults, when there is genuinely no cinnamon in the house

Tastes of cinnamon confectionery rather than cinnamon bark, sweet and hot with an artificial red-hot-candy edge, and it adds alcohol, which changes the strength of the drink. Not usable in a coffee for the morning or in anything for children. Cut the drink's base spirit slightly to compensate. Sweetness is high, so you can use less added syrup than the ratio suggests.