Botanical Cocktail Hour: spring sipping

If like me, the recent arrival of sunny weather has made you all excited about warmer evenings, walks in nature and of course the botanical delights which are emerging at the moment, you might like to try out my pretty spring cocktail recipe which is inspired by the joys of spring.

I've been making botanical cocktail blends for years, experimenting with flavours, infusions, decoctions, macerations and syrups. It always brings me joy to discover a new flavour combination or ingredient, and the results are often fascinating. Our palates have become accustomed to detect a certain range of flavours but by branching out just a little, you can discover a whole new world of flavour to add to your repertoire.

If you’d like to give botanical mixology a go, the brilliant and inventive book from Lottie Muir at Midnight Apothecary is well worth a read and has inspired me many a time to create my own botanical infused recipes, too. I've included the recipe for one of these below. Of course, I encourage a mindful approach to alcohol, and if you wanted to, you could make this recipe without the booze. Just sub in the Violet vodka for some Violet syrup instead!

🌸Floral Spring Cocktail Recipe🌸

Ingredients

Violet-infused vodka (or syrup for non-alcoholic version)
Ice cubes
Violet caster sugar (or vanilla, or normal sugar if you don’t have floral sugar to hand)
Earl Grey & Grapefruit Bitters (Angostura works fine, too)
Simple syrup (or Violet syrup)
A Lemon & an Orange
Edible flower petals (I used Rose)
Tonic Water or Soda if you prefer. I prefer tonic!

Method

Step 1
Dip the rim of your glass in water or lemon juice, twisting it in a dish of sugar to coat the outer edge of the glass.

Step 2
Add 25ml of edible flower-infused vodka (or syrup, for the non-boozy version) to your glass, along with some ice cubes. I used my own wild-foraged Sweet Violet 𝘝𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘢 𝘰𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘢 vodka. (See my recent posts and reels on Instagram for how to make this, and the syrup).

Step 3
Add a dash of bitters to the glass. I used some home-made Earl Grey tea and Grapefruit, but Angostura will do.

Step 4
Add a dash of simple syrup to your glass, for the vodka version. This is easy to make if you don't have any, and you can find recipes online.

Step 5
Stir all the ingredients together in your glass with a bar spoon or wooden chopstick.

Step 6
Remove some peel from an orange or lemon with a vegetable peeler, squeeze gently or twist to release the volatile essential oils, and add to your glass. This will give your drink a lovely citrusy edge!

Step 7
Top up with soda or tonic as you prefer, and add a squeeze of lemon. At this point, if you've used the purple violet syrup or vodka, your drink should magically turn a gentle pinky hue. This is due to the PH changing with the addition of the acidic lemon juice or tonic water. Who knew science could be so much fun!?

Step 8
Add a sprinkling of edible flower petals, to decorate. I used Rose (𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘢).

Chin chin! 🍹

Please let me know what you thought of the recipe, as I love hearing from you!