It’s not simply the booze and other liquids you use to mix cocktails that distinguish them. Certain herbs were meant to be used in cocktails, whether as a garnish, an infusion into simple syrup, or a muddling ingredient (see mojito recipe below).
Add some depth of flavour to your cocktails with these four herbs:
- Lavender and Rosemary Mint
- You should always rouse the herbs you plan to use in a cocktail before incorporating them. When you do this, you are ‘disciplining’ your herbs. This is important both before muddling and when adding sprigs as garnish.
- Put a new branch in your palm and clap your hands together. This allows for additional aroma and flavour to permeate the beverage.
ROSEMARY
Due to its robust flavour and resilience over all four seasons, Rosemary is frequently used in mixed drinks. It matches well with gin-based beverages and also mixes nicely with whiskey.
If you’re looking for a simple and refreshing cocktail using Rosemary, try this one:
- Club Soda and four ounces of Hidden Temple Gin
- Grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed, 1 ounce
- One sprig of mint, one sprig of fresh Rosemary
Fresh muddled mint is essential to the flavour of your basic mojito. This traditional herb is one of the most popular used in cocktails. This is because the taste of mint in summer drinks is unparalleled.
Make sure you’re using an actual muddler while crushing your mint. Mint should be trained, and then its leaves should be added to a mixing glass. Crush the mint with a muddler in a circular motion. Add a few lime wedges or a minimal chaser to the beverage for optimal results.
Put together a traditional Mojito by adding the following:
- 10 mint leaves, a couple of lime wedges, and a jar of molasses.
- 6 slices of lime
- 2 Tablespoons White Sugar
- 1 cup of ice
- White Rum from Bacardi, 1.5 oz.
- 1/3 mug Club Soda
- In the serving glass, muddle the mint leaves with the juice of two lime wedges. Sugar and two more lime wedges should be added to the muddler and muddled together. Then throw in your rum and top it off with club soda.
LAVENDER
Check out our guide on making simple syrup for instructions on distilling one of the most fragrant plants, lavender, into a delicious, flavorful syrup. This preparation method allows it to be batched alongside most herbs and used as a conventional alternative to simple syrup.
Due to its fragility, lavender may not require special treatment when used as a garnish.
Using your lavender simple syrup, try this recipe for a Lavender Collins:
- 2.5mL of Gin from the Hidden Temple
- Lemon juice, 1 ounce.Five ounces of Lavender Syrup.
- Fizzy Drinking Water