Recipes

Garden Party Cocktails Fit for a Crowd!

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The sun is shining and plants are prospering— embrace the beautiful outdoors with these sips of nature!

Summertime: the season for all things bright and natural. The flowers have bloomed, colours are vibrant, and the good times are rolling ahead.

We always like getting seasonal with our sips-to-share, and summer is especially wonderful for its sunny and botanical vibes. To celebrate solstice, we asked our content creator friends to whip up a selection of cocktails fit for any backyard garden party.

So grab your sun hats, pick some edible flowers and herbs from your garden, and get into the summer mood with these fun sips for your next weekend gathering!

Ready to get started? JUMP to the recipes:
  1. Empress Cup Punch
  2. Empress Bee’s Knees
  3. Rose Gin Tonic
  4. Empress K.I.S.S.
  5. Forager’s Garden Punch
  6. Summer Day

1. Empress Cup Punch @craftandcocktails

Starting with this tasty punch by Ashley, she definitely highlights the bright side of the season with the additions of refreshing ginger beer and bubbly wine along with a soft and fruity strawberry rose syrup. The effervescent and light flavours are perfect for any collective celebration! The following recipes serves one, so multiply by however many servings you want to make!

Empress Cup Punch e1687202029641
Ingredients
  • 1½ oz Empress 1908 Indigo Gin
  • 1 oz Strawberry Rose Syrup*
  • ½ oz Lemon Juice
  • 2 oz Ginger Beer
  • 1 oz Sparkling Wine
  • Sliced Cucumber, Strawberries, Peaches & Edible Flowers, to garnish
Method

Add ice to a punch bowl. Add syrup, lemon juice, ginger beer, and sparkling wine to a punch bowl. Top with Empress 1908 Indigo Gin. Stir and garnish with sliced cucumber, strawberries, peaches, and edible flowers.

*To make the Strawberry Rose Syrup

Muddle 1 cup strawberries, 1 cup sugar, and 2 tbsp dried rose buds together and let set between 4 and 24 hours to extract the juices. Add 3/4 cup water and strain through a fine mesh strainer. Bottle and refrigerate for 2-4 weeks.

2. Empress Bee’s Knees — @Gourmetglow

For those who want to try something more experimental, Suze has this lovely and complex riff on a Bee’s Knees that adds floral elderflower and tangy water kefir for a whole new layer of dimension! With such a refreshing flavour profile, this is perfect for those particularly scorching days.

Ingredients
  • 50 ml Empress 1908 Indigo Gin
  • ¼ cup cucumber, sliced
  • 5 ml Lavender Honey
  • 10 ml Elderflower Cordial
  • 5 ml Lemon Juice
  • 50 ml Water Kefir
  • Top with Fentimans Elderflower Tonic Water
  • Cucumber and borage Flowers, to garnish
Method

Muddle the cucumber, and add it with the gin, honey, elderflower cordial, lemon juice & water kefir to a mixing glass with ice. Stir, and strain into a chilled copa glass. Top with ice and elderflower tonic. Garnish with cucumber ribbon and borage flowers and serve.

Empress Bees Knees 2G Post GourmetglowSuze Morrison Gourmetglow

3. Rose Gin Tonic — @muriellebanackissa

For an extra touch of romance, Murielle created a delicate, floral sip accented by lychee and whispers of orange. That pop of sweetness from the rose rim gives you that hit of dopamine that will leave you coming back for more! As a light and soft sipper, this is the perfect option for those times when you want to keep it low-key with company.

Rose Gin Tonic e1687202099657
Ingredients
Method

Prep your coupe glass with rose rim*. In a shaker, add Empress 1908 Indigo Gin, lychee syrup, and rosewater and shake for 20 seconds. Strain into coupe glass and top with tonic water and squeeze of lemon. Garnish with dried flower.

*To make the Rose Rim

Mix together 1 tbsp granulated sugar and 1 tsp crushed dried rose petals. Brush a lemon onto a section of the glass and dip into the sugar and rose mixture.

4. Empress K.I.S.S. — @RosemaryFairy

We often say that simplicity is best and Allison exemplifies that sentiment in this two-ingredient cocktail. The Empress K.I.S.S. may come together so quickly, but the interplay of bright citrus and soft rose with the botanicals of Empress 1908 Indigo Gin presents a result greater than the sum of its parts. No fuss, no muss!

INGREDIENTS:
METHOD:

Coat one section of your glass with dried flowers using syrup as adhesive. Fill with crushed ice and rose lemonade, leaving room for gin. Top with gin and enjoy!

5. Forager’s Garden Punch — @thekitchenmccabe

Kayley brings all the summer fun to your backyard with this garden punch that maximizes classic florals and juicy strawberries. With such crowd-pleasing flavours, this is sure to be a showstopper at any garden party! Serves 12.

Foragers Garden Punch e1687202307952
Ingredients
  • 12 oz Empress 1908 Indigo Gin
  • 4 cups Fentimans Sparkling Elderflower Soda
  • 4 cups Strawberry Lemonade
  • 1 tbsp Rosewater
  • ¼ cup Lavender Syrup
  • Lilac Blossoms & Rose Petals, to garnish
Method

Fill a punch bowl or dispenser with ice, rose petals, and fresh lilac. Add all ingredients except for gin and mix well. Add ice, lilac blossoms, and rose petals to stemmed glasses. Fill each glass ⅔ full with the floral punch and top with 1 oz Empress 1908 Indigo Gin.

6. Summer Day — @theweekendmixologist

Last but not least, Barlow made this sip that simply evokes a sunset in a glass. With a touch of bitterness from the Aperol against the sweet honey and lively champagne and rhubarb, Summer Day teaches us that time may be fleeting, and so we must celebrate the little moments with our loved ones.

INGREDIENTS:
  • 1½ oz Empress 1908 Indigo Gin
  • ½ oz Aperol
  • ¾ oz Fresh Lemon Juice
  • ¼ oz Honey Syrup
  • 3 dashes Rhubarb Bitters
  • 2 oz Champagne
  • Edible Flowers, to garnish
METHOD:

Add all ingredients except champagne into a shaking tin and add ice. Shake well and strain into a couple or flute and top with champagne.

What better way to get the summer fun started than with a cocktail that highlights the beautiful foliage around us? We hope you reproduce any of these recipes and create precious memories in your own little garden paradise!

Before you go, be sure to enter our contest on our Instagram page for a chance to win the ultimate garden party box! Contest closes at midnight PST, Sunday, June 25th.

For further cocktail and sipping inspiration, you know where to look: check out our InstagramCocktail Page, or Blog!

Sip responsibly!

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