Whole-Ingredient Drink Syrups · Portland, Oregon · Since 2012
Portland
Syrups
Whole fruit, herbs, spices and botanicals brewed into concentrated syrups made for sodas, coffee, mocktails and cocktails.
Portland Syrups began with a simple idea: drink mixers could be flavorful without being overly sweet, artificial or forgettable.
From quart-sized kitchen pots to a Portland syrup company.
Where It Began
Small pots. A kitchen stove. A desire to make drinks more interesting.
It Started
on the Stove
Portland Syrups traces its beginnings to 2012, when founders Chris Onstad and Dan McLaughlin began experimenting with drink syrups in Portland.
They were dissatisfied with many mixers already on the market—products that often leaned heavily on sweetness rather than the flavor of actual ingredients.
So they started brewing their own. Early batches were made on a kitchen stove and ladled into bottles by hand.
What began on that small scale became a business built around the same basic principle: start with real ingredients and let them do the flavoring.
The first syrups are brewed in a Portland kitchen.
A tiny operation begins growing beyond the kitchen stove.
Fruit, herbs, spices and botanicals become the foundation of the process.
Brewing, bottling, labeling and shipping all happen in Southeast Portland.
Built the Small-Business Way
A Little Syrup.
A Lot of Resourcefulness.
Portland Syrups did not begin with a giant production line or a giant budget.
One of the company's earliest commercial projects was making root beer syrup for a local Portland ice cream company.
When a small production space suddenly became available, the founders took the opportunity even though the business was still extremely small.
The early company was built by figuring things out, reusing what it could and spending only where necessary. That resourcefulness remains part of the story.
Brew it on the stove. Bottle it by hand. Build the next batch.
The small-business beginningHow the Flavor Gets Into the Bottle
Brewed More Like Tea Than Simple Syrup
Portland Syrups does not simply add flavoring to sugar water. The ingredients themselves are part of the brewing process.
Prepare the Ingredients
Fruits, herbs, vegetables and spices are sorted, weighed, chopped, juiced, crushed or toasted.
Steep the Botanicals
The ingredients go into brewing bags with filtered water and steep for at least an hour—often considerably longer.
Add Cane Sugar
After the ingredients are removed, the flavorful brewed liquid is sweetened with pure cane sugar.
Bottle by Hand
The syrup is hot-filled into glass bottles, cooled, labeled, coded, boxed and prepared for shipping.
Flavor Comes From Somewhere
Whole Ingredients
Instead of Shortcuts
The bottle starts with ingredients you could recognize before they ever became syrup.
Portland Syrups uses whole herbs, spices, botanicals and fruit ingredients instead of relying on artificial flavors and colors.
The company's core syrups are designed with less sugar than many conventional mixers, allowing the underlying ginger, fruit, vanilla, rose or spice to come through.
Whole fruit. Fresh herbs. Spices. Botanicals. Cane sugar. Filtered water.
Flavor that starts with recognizable ingredientsSelected for a Reason
Why We Chose
Portland Syrups
A bottle of syrup is useful. A bottle that invites someone to create something is a much better gift.
Portland Syrups gives the recipient options. One flavor might go into a morning latte, an afternoon soda, a zero-proof drink or an evening cocktail.
That versatility fits Gift With a Story especially well. Instead of simply opening and consuming the product, the recipient gets to experiment with it.
The modern maker story is strong too: a Portland company still brewing with real ingredients, bottling in glass and keeping the process deliberately hands-on.
The best bottle in the gift is sometimes the one that lets the recipient make something of their own.
Why Portland Syrups belongs in the giftFrom the Bottle Shelf
Choose Their Syrup
Start with what they already drink, then choose the flavor that makes it a little more interesting.
The Signature Spice
Authentic Ginger
Ginger · Bright · Warm · Spicy
Real ginger brings fresh heat and brightness to sodas, mocktails, cocktails and tea.
The Refreshing One
Mojito
Lime · Mint · Crisp
Bright lime and cool mint make this one of the easiest bottles for sparkling water and refreshing mixed drinks.
The Tiki-Bar Classic
Falernum
Lime · Ginger · Clove · Almond
Citrus meets warm spice in a tropical syrup with enough complexity to transform a simple glass of soda water.
The Floral One
Rose Cordial
Rose · Floral · Delicate
A fragrant floral syrup that can make sparkling water, lemonade or a cocktail feel instantly more elegant.
The Pacific Northwest Bottle
Marionberry
Berry · Jammy · Tart
A deep berry flavor with just enough tartness to bring a distinctly Pacific Northwest personality to the glass.
The Coffeehouse Classic
Vanilla
Warm · Smooth · Familiar
A versatile bottle made for coffee, lattes, hot chocolate, milkshakes and desserts.
The Cozy Bottle
Caramel
Toasted Sugar · Buttery · Warm
Rich caramel flavor brings an indulgent finish to coffee, hot chocolate and dessert drinks.
The Nutty Coffeehouse Bottle
Hazelnut
Toasted · Nutty · Smooth
Warm hazelnut flavor turns a plain cup of coffee or cocoa into something much closer to a café drink.
Not Sure Where to Start?
Choose the Drink First
Coffee · Soda · Mocktail · Cocktail
Instead of choosing by flavor alone, picture what they will actually make when they open the bottle.
Choosing Their Bottle
What Do They Like to Drink?
Start there. The right syrup usually becomes obvious.
The Coffee Drinker
For morning cups, lattes, cold brew and hot chocolate.
Vanilla · Caramel · HazelnutThe Soda Maker
For fizz, ice and something more interesting than a canned soda.
Ginger · Marionberry · MojitoThe Mocktail Maker
Complex enough to make a zero-proof drink feel deliberate.
Rose · Falernum · GingerThe Home Bartender
For someone who enjoys building a drink one ingredient at a time.
Falernum · Ginger · RoseOne Bottle · More Than One Drink
The Syrup Doesn't Decide
What You Make With It
Coffee
Add a little to hot coffee, cold brew, lattes or cold foam.
Soda
Combine syrup with sparkling water and ice for a simple old-fashioned flavored soda.
Mocktails
Layer the syrup with citrus, herbs, tonic or soda for a more grown-up zero-proof drink.
Cocktails
Use the concentrated flavor as one building block in a classic or original drink.
An Older American Drink Tradition
1920–1933
When Syrup Helped
Keep Things Interesting
Portland Syrups would not be founded until many decades later, but the idea behind flavored drink syrups is much older.
During Prohibition, soda fountains became important social gathering places while bartenders working behind hidden doors continued relying on citrus, sugar, spices and flavored syrups.
One bottle could add sweetness, aroma, spice, fruit or herbal complexity— exactly the same reason syrups remain so useful in modern drinks.
That connection makes Portland Syrups a natural modern partner for our soda-fountain and speakeasy-inspired gifts.
A Concentrate by Design
More Drinks.
Less Packaging.
The concentrated bottle is not just convenient. It is part of the company's approach to reducing waste.
Portland Syrups chooses glass bottles and concentrated formulas instead of shipping individual ready-to-drink beverages.
The company also composts spent brewing ingredients and sources locally and organically when practical.
And because the syrup is concentrated, the recipient controls both the sweetness and the strength of every drink they make.
From the Bottle to the Gift Box
When Portland Syrups Goes Into a Gift
A Modern Maker Story
From a Portland kitchen to a dedicated beverage company.
Ingredient Story
The fruit, herbs, spices and botanicals behind the flavor.
Recipes
Coffee drinks, sodas, mocktails and cocktail ideas.
Personalized Story
Add an occasion story chosen for the person receiving the gift.
From the Story Library
More Stories About Portland Syrups
Explore the history, traditions, recipes, and everyday stories connected to this maker.
Featured Story
The American Soda Fountain
Where fizz, flavor, ice cream, and conversation turned an ordinary counter into one of America’s favorite gathering places.
Read the Full StoryMore From the Story Library
Article 1920 Diner
The counter that never closed—where coffee, malted drinks, pie, soda, and everyday American life met on the same row of stools.
Read the StoryFrom Our Shop
Gift Sets Featuring Portland Syrups
Give them the bottle, a recipe, and permission to mix something of their own.
Give More Than a Gift
Pour a Little.
Create Something.
From whole botanicals brewed in Portland to the soda glass, coffee mug or cocktail shaker, one bottle can tell more than one story.