This is simple - equal amounts of water and sugar e.g. 300ml water (which is 300g) and 300g sugar.

Heat in a pan to melt the sugar and then let it cool.

If you want to add flavourings like I have below, put them in now and bring just up to the boil. Simmer for a few minutes then remove from heat and let it infuse and cool.

That's it!

Or...

...if you have certain cocktails in mind you can mix it up a bit. Herbs, spices or fruit can all jazz it up.

We have some parma violet gin and want to make a cocktail with those flavours. This is slightly nicked from somewhere we went, but we can't remember where, where they served a parma violet cocktail with a piece of Turkish delight. The syrup for that has a few things added.

You don't need to change the ratio of sugar to water if you are adding fruit, herbs or spices, but if you are adding in a different source of sugar make sure the total stays the same.

This variation substitutes about 70g of the sugar for parma violet sweets, and I added a handful of dried cranberries and some dried rose petals to change the flavour for our parma violet cocktail.

Leave it in the pan to infuse and cool and when your girlfriend thinks its a dirty pan and washes it up, just make it again.

Thyme would have worked really well, but I don't want to dilute the nostalgia of something tasting like the sweets we've always loved. Try your own combinations, but one I'll be trying is a cardamom flavoured one to use in espresso martinis.

Just have fun!