I live in NYC and am looking for spruce tips to use for a simple syrup for a cocktail. Is there anywhere to find fresh or frozen spruce tips in Aug?

Liza's right, save the trouble and see Dean and Deluca for their Mugolio Pine Syrup (http://www.deandeluca.com/pantry/honey-products/mugolio-pine-syrup.aspx); just make sure you have wiggle room on your home equity line of credit... ;)

I'd give Dean and Deluca a try, they often have interesting ingredients such as this.

You can use spruce, fir, or pine sprouts to make a syrup--or a jelly--but this is something you make in the spring when the trees are sprouting. Where I live, it is usually made in May, when the mountain pastures are in bloom and the coniferous trees put out the tender new growth. I'd save your recipe for the spring and think about making a syrup with something in season now, perhaps lavender. I tried a syrup made with meadow sweet a few years ago and liked that, but you'd have to get out into a rural area to find some.