Cinnamon Stick
A cinnamon stick is dried, rolled tree bark with a warm, sweet-spicy aroma, used whole as a garnish or stirrer, or steeped to infuse a drink with its flavour. It releases its character slowly rather than all at once. It is a common finishing touch on warm, autumnal, or spiced cocktails.
Common uses
- garnish and stirrer for warm or spiced cocktails
- steeped to infuse spiced syrups or hot drinks
Buying & storage
A few days: Good for a few days refrigerated, then noticeably duller. Worth planning a second drink around rather than throwing away.
Storage: store in a sealed container away from light; whole sticks keep their aroma far longer than ground cinnamon
Before it goes
Use up cinnamon stick
Ranked by how much of it each drink uses and how little else it needs — the ones at the top will not send you back to the shop.
- Alcohol-Free Hot Toddy
Also needs honey syrup, fresh lemon juice.
- Mulled Wine
Also needs full-bodied red wine, honey or brown sugar syrup, orange slices, whole cloves.
- Alcohol-Free Mulled Wine
Also needs red grape juice (100%, unsweetened), fresh orange juice, fresh lemon juice, whole cloves (about 6), orange wheels.
Recipes
Cocktails containing this ingredient
Garnish
Cocktails garnished with cinnamon stick
These recipes don't mix it in — they finish with it, which is usually where its aroma does the most work.
Swap it
Possible substitutions
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