<p>I am looking at Torani syrups, which have cool flavors like chocolate mint (in my experience great for suppressing the burn of alcohol), mango, Macadamia and so forth – and they are 6-8 dollars a 750 mL bottle if I buy in packs of 3 (all the same flavor), 6 or 12 (mixed). But I wonder since syrups are mostly sugar and water whether I should go for extracts instead? When I look up most extracts though, they seem like a worse deal, e.g. $6-8 for a 25 mL mango extract bottle that only lasts ten smoothies. </p>
<p>Anyone have experience with either? Maybe viscous syrups make a better dilute solvent for lipophilic flavor compounds?</p>
<p>I use Torani syrups in coffee and tea - love the sugar free ones, like caramel for coffee and peach or raspberry in iced tea. It would seem to me that extracts wouldn’t have the range of flavors, but would take less (like a drop) as they’re very concentrated.</p>
<p>You can make your own syrup. Just make some “simple syrup” using equal amounts of sugar and water–google for directions–and add extracts of your choice. Extracts are expensive because a little goes a long way. My advice is to avoid shopping for them at grocery stores, where the prices are sky high and the quality is low. Try this:</p>
<p>If you have simple syrup on hand in your fridge, it is the best thing for sweetening iced tea or coffee–assuming you can consume sugar–and you can make your own fresh lemonade or limeade in a jiffy. And of course it is also used to make cocktails.</p>
<p>I’ve tried making pitchers of iced coffee with Torani vanilla syrup and also tried making it with a can of sweetened condensed milk and a couple of tablespoons of vanilla extract–I prefer using the extract method. Maybe try using artificial extract to save a few dollars.</p>
<p>“Each 1.7 ounce bottle will flavor over three quarts of home-made ice cream or up to 10 shakes.”</p>
<p>So these 50 mL bottles are $2.99 but only flavor “10 shakes”. How many shakes will a $6-7 750 mL Torani syrup bottle flavor? Are the extract-flavored drinks more concentrated?</p>
<p>Different question – Torani, DaVinci, or Monin? I am trying to buy online but the DaVinci and the Monin costs two to three dollars more per bottle than the Torani.</p>
<p>But a lot of the extracts contain alcohol because they are intended for baking where the alcohol will evaporate. If you do choose to use extracts, the taste will be more pleasant without alcohol. Extracts are also unsweetened, and very strong. You will have to do some experimenting to see how to get the best taste.</p>