Can I Make Sugar-Free Simple Syrup? Rach's Hubby + Bartender John Answers

Rachael's husband + at-home bartender, John, often makes simple syrup for his cocktails — like this Harvest Moon Cocktail or Italian 75 Cocktail — which consists simply of sugar and water. One viewer asked John if she could ditch the sugar for sugar substitutes.

Question: John, can I make simple syrup with sugar substitutes?  
– Barbara, viewer via Facebook

John's answer: "Absolutely, one hundred bazillion percent you can. You could use light agave, [for example]. All simple syrup is, is a way to take sugar — which you want to include in a cocktail, maybe — or a sugar substitute, or anything else that's sweet, and dissolving it so it can be incorporated and measured a lot more easily into a drink. So it's not all gritty. If you want to take a sugar substitute and dilute it and melt it into water, perfectly fine. I make honey syrup sometimes, because honey can be a little gloppy and you want it to be more pourable. You can make simple syrup with anything."