Put all herbs and water into a pot without a lid on.
Bring everything to a boil then turn the stove down to the lowest setting and simmer on low.
Keep the lid off the pot the entire time and let simmer on low heat until liquid is ½ the original volume.
If you are using a stainless-steel pot, you can kind of eyeball things when the liquid gets to be one half of what you started with. There will be a ring of herb material residue round the inside of the pot that shows where the liquid was when you began. Develop an eye for this, or it can be a hassle to keep pouring things into a measuring cup to see when you finally get to ½ of your original liquid volume.
Once you have simmered the liquid down to on half the original volume, strain out all the herbs. You started with 4 gallons of water, so you will be simmering it down to 2 gallons of liquid.
Add in honey.
Let cool.
Add in brandy.
Shake and mix everything together well.
Pour into storage jars.
Shelf life: Store in refrigerator and the shelf life is 2-3 months.
If you don’t use the brandy, the shelf life will be much less, more like 3 weeks. It does not preserve as well without the brandy, always smell your syrup before taking it and keep it in the refrigerator.
