Botanical cocktail ideas to try at home

Botanical cocktail ideas to try at home

Botanical infusions really take cocktails to the next level, adding a delicate and unusual taste to an otherwise simple drink. Plus, with the warm weather coming up, it’s definitely worth mentioning that botanical drinks are extra refreshing during the summer months!

We’ve scoured the internet to find our five favourite recipes that will work perfectly as drinks in the garden, on a sunny day. And if you think that botanicals only pair perfectly with gin, then be prepared to think again, as these cocktails will prove that your favourite herbaceous, floral, and citrus flavours go great with all kinds of spirits!

Image credit: girlandtonic.co

The Novelist’s Garden

Kicking off the list with a classic gin botanical recipe, this cocktail is a perfectly elevated gin and tonic, created by girlandtonic.co. Ideal for garden drinks, once you’ve had a taste, you’ll want to be sipping it all summer!

Ingredients

  • 50ml gin (although this can be switched out for vodka, if you’d prefer)
  • 25ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 25ml lavender simple syrup
  • Splash of citrus sparkling water or tonic
  • A drop of orange blossom water
  • 5-7 basil leaves

Start off by adding the gin and basil into a cocktail shaker, and lightly muddling the leaves. Next, add in your lemon juice, lavender syrup, orange blossom water, and a good amount of ice. Shake for 30 seconds, then serve into a coupe glass, before adding in your sparkling water or tonic, and adding a sprig of basil for garnish.

If you’ve got a gin-loving bestie’s birthday coming up, not only would we recommend creating this delicious concoction for them, but why not check out our range of gin cards too?

Image credit: Stars for Streetlights / @gardencocktails

H2: Honey Cardamom

The cardamom infusion gives this delicious cocktail a distinctly Scandi twist, and despite being incredibly easy to make, you’ll feel like you’ve just been served a drink from one of the best cocktail bars in the city!

Ingredients

  • 40ml vodka
  • 15ml honey cardamom simple syrup (or half honey, half water)
  • 15ml lemon juice
  • 1-2 drops of Angostura bitters
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 star anise to garnish

All you need to do is add the ingredients in a shaker, and shake until the egg white is frothy, before serving in a coupe glass, with your star anise daintily placed as the perfect garnish.

Image credit: Liquor.com

Botanical Bee’s Knees

Taken from Liquor.com, this Bee’s Knees is a contemporary take on a classic drink, with gin switched out for vodka, and botanical hues added to the mix.

Ingredients

  • 50ml vodka
  • 100ml chamomile tea
  • 25ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 15ml honey syrup
  • Lemon slices to garnish

Super simple to make, once you’ve brewed and cooled your chamomile tea, combine it with the vodka, honey, lemon juice and ice into a shaker, and give it a good few shakes. Then, simply strain it into a glass over fresh ice, and delicately garnish your drink with a couple of lemon slices. Dainty, elegant and refreshing, it’s the perfect botanical drink to enjoy in your garden over the warm summer months!

Image credit: Stars for Streetlights / @gardencocktails

Karotte Cocktail

Proving that botanicals can work with tequila too, this cocktail from @gardencocktails will make you feel like you’re on a health kick, whilst leaving you suitably tipsy!

Ingredients

  • 50ml tequila
  • 50ml carrot juice
  • 15ml fresh orange juice
  • 15ml freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 10ml agave syrup
  • Dash of tabasco

Simply add all of your ingredients to a shaker, and then serve in a coupe glass. If you want it to look extra fancy, add a bit of greenery to garnish!

Image credit: Sugar and Charm

Floral Sangria

Sangria is super easy to make, and is a classic long drink for summer. Here, Sugar and Charm have the perfect botanical recipe that will shake up your usual sangria. All you need to do is invite your closest friends over, to enjoy a long, lazy day of drinks in the garden.

Ingredients (for a whole jug)

  • Bottle of white wine (we’d recommend a delicious chilled bottle of Nyetimber)
  • A dash of St. Germain
  • A dash of Cointreau
  • Fresh strawberries, raspberries, oranges and lemons, cut up
  • Edible flowers to garnish

If you know it’s going to be a hot day, then it’s a perfect drink to prepare in advance. Start off by washing and slicing your fresh fruit, before adding them into a large jug, alongside your bottle of wine, elderflower liqueur, and cointreau. Put the jug in the fridge to let your flavours infuse – leave it for at least an hour, but if you’d like to experience the full fruity flavour, we’d recommend leaving it to chill overnight.

When you’re ready to drink it, add in the edible flowers and ice cubes (or if you’re feeling extra fancy, create your own floral ice cubes the night before!), and serve chilled.

The best herbs for cocktails

There are so many different herbs and flowers you can add into your cocktails, to make them taste even more delicious.

Here are some of our favourite herbs that you can grow (or buy in!), to spruce up your homemade cocktails:

  • Rosemary: turn your rosemary into a simple syrup to mix in with your vodka, or simply add a spring into the glass to keep your cocktail smelling delicious.
  • Mint: perfect in a rum cocktail, mint can really help to freshen up a drink, and it goes with so many different fruit flavours too.
  • Basil: ideal in gin and vodka-based cocktails, all you need is one basil leaf to elevate your botanical cocktail, and take it to the next level.
  • Lavender: delicate and elegant, turn the flower buds into simple syrups that you can mix into drinks, or for a lovely floral fragrance, add a sprig of lavender to your drink before you sip it.
  • Thyme: another herb that goes great with gin and vodka (but works with other spirits too), thyme is a particularly ideal addition if you’re partial to a citrusy orange or lemon drink.

If you love garden cocktails and want to get creative, then discover our favourite rum cocktail recipes that you can recreate at home, or find out what your favourite drink says about you, all of which you can find on our blog.