Sugar Cube substitute

Best substitute

Granulated white sugar

Use 1 level teaspoon for every cube, about 4 grams

Best for Old Fashioned

Close match

The same ingredient, just not pressed. Chemically and in flavour it is identical, so the only difference is handling: loose sugar needs a splash of liquid to hold it together while you muddle, or it scatters and skates around the bottom of the glass.

Other sugar cube substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Simple syrup (1:1)
Close match
Use 2 teaspoons, or ⅓ oz, for every cube
Dissolves instantly, no muddling, no grit.
What changes
What you give up is the slow release: a muddled cube keeps sweetening the drink as it sits, so the last sip differs from the first, whereas syrup makes the drink uniformly sweet from the start.
Best for
Old Fashioned, any stirred drink, iced coffee and tea, batching multiple drinks
Two teaspoons of 1:1 syrup brings about a teaspoon of extra water into the glass, which is a small but real extra dilution in a spirit-forward drink. Stir a few seconds less to compensate.
3Rich (2:1) simple syrup or demerara syrup
Close match
Use 1 teaspoon, one barspoon, for every cube
Twice the sugar per spoonful, so you need half the volume and add almost no extra water.
What changes
Demerara syrup also brings a faint toffee and mineral note, which most people find makes a bourbon or rye Old Fashioned taste rounder and more finished.
Best for
Old Fashioned, Sazerac, stirred whiskey and rum drinks
This is what most cocktail bars use in place of a cube, and if you make one syrup for cocktails, make this one. It sweetens correctly, dilutes least, and improves the flavour rather than just matching it.
4Demerara, turbinado or raw sugar
Different texture
Use 1 level teaspoon for every cube
Same sweetening power, larger and drier crystals, and a light molasses flavour.
What changes
It gives an Old Fashioned a slightly richer, less clean profile that many people prefer, but coarse crystals dissolve more slowly than fine ones.
Best for
Old Fashioned, rum drinks, coffee
Muddle for longer, or wet it with hot water for a few seconds first. Otherwise you will find undissolved crystals in the bottom of the glass at the end, which is not a disaster but is not the point either.
5Honey syrup or maple syrup
Different taste
Use About ¾ teaspoon for every cube
Both sweeten more powerfully than a teaspoon of sugar, so use a little less.
What changes
Both also change what the drink tastes of: honey brings a floral note and maple a woody, faintly smoky one. This is a flavour choice, not a stealth swap.
Best for
whiskey drinks, hot toddies, coffee
Straight honey will not dissolve in a cold drink, so thin it 3 parts honey to 1 part hot water first. Maple syrup pours cold as it is and needs no preparation.
6Powdered or icing sugar
Different texture
Use About 1 ½ teaspoons for every cube
Much finer and fluffier than granulated, so it takes more spoonfuls to deliver the same weight of sugar, and it dissolves faster than anything else on this list.
What changes
The cornstarch blended into most powdered sugar can leave a clear drink very slightly hazy.
Best for
shaken drinks, whiskey smashes, when nothing else is in the cupboard
Fine for a shaken, cloudy drink. Avoid it in a crystal-clear stirred cocktail where you want the drink to look bright, since the starch will dull it a little. It also clumps if you dump it in dry, so add liquid first.

What is Sugar Cube?

Sugar Cube is A sugar cube is granulated white sugar pressed into a small block, and a standard cube weighs about 4 grams, which is the same as one level teaspoon.

Cooking tips

The one teaspoon per cube figure applies to standard cubes, which are around 4 grams. Cube sizes vary quite a lot by brand and country, from under 3 grams to 8 grams for the large double cubes served with espresso, so weigh one on a kitchen scale if the recipe is fussy.
To muddle a cube properly, put it in the glass, soak it with the bitters, add a barspoon of water, and then press. Wetted sugar crushes to a paste in seconds. A dry cube just slides around under the muddler and refuses to break.
Sugar cubes are hygroscopic, so they absorb moisture from the air and slowly slump into a solid mass in a humid kitchen. Keep them in a sealed tin rather than an open bowl if you want them to stay separate.
If an old cookbook or cocktail manual calls for one lump of sugar, that means one cube, so read it as one teaspoon. Nineteenth-century lumps were often larger and irregular, so if a historic recipe tastes under-sweet, that is likely why.
A cube has one genuinely functional use no syrup can copy: soaked in absinthe or high-proof spirit and set alight, it holds its shape while it burns, which is how a Cafe Brulot or an absinthe drip is built. Loose sugar and syrup both fail at that.
In baking, canning or preserving, a cube is nothing more than a measured teaspoon of ordinary white sugar, so swap freely by weight. Do not change the total sugar in a tested canning recipe, though, since sugar affects set and keeping quality as well as taste.

Frequently asked questions

How much sugar is in one sugar cube?

About 4 grams, which is one level teaspoon of granulated sugar and roughly 16 calories. Brands vary between about 2.7 and 4 grams for standard cubes, and the large European double cubes run closer to 8 grams, so weigh one if precision matters for your recipe.

Can I use simple syrup instead of a sugar cube in an Old Fashioned?

Yes, and most bars do. Use 2 teaspoons of 1:1 simple syrup or 1 teaspoon of rich 2:1 or demerara syrup per cube. The drink comes out uniformly sweetened from the first sip rather than getting slowly sweeter as the muddled sugar dissolves, and demerara syrup arguably tastes better than a plain cube.

Can I leave it out?

In coffee or tea, yes, it is entirely a matter of taste. In a cocktail, no. The sugar is one of the four structural elements of an Old Fashioned, and without it you are drinking whiskey with bitters, which is harsh and hollow. Any sweetener at the right dose beats leaving it out.

Do sugar cubes dissolve in cold drinks?

Barely, and that is exactly why bars moved to syrup. A cube dropped into an iced drink can still be sitting there fifteen minutes later. If you are using a cube in something cold, crush and muddle it with a little water or bitters first so it is already a paste before the ice goes in.

Are brown sugar cubes different?

They are the same size and weight, so swap them one for one, but they carry a molasses flavour and will tint the drink amber. In a whiskey or rum drink that is usually an improvement. In a Champagne Cocktail it will discolour the wine, so a white cube is the better choice there.

Related substitutes

More sweeteners substitutes

Sugar Cube substitute

Other sugar cube substitutes

2Simple syrup (1:1)

3Rich (2:1) simple syrup or demerara syrup

4Demerara, turbinado or raw sugar

5Honey syrup or maple syrup

6Powdered or icing sugar