Guides
5 Ways to Use Florals in Your Cocktails
Add a splash of blossoming magic to your springtime drinks!
It goes without saying that we love using flowers in our sippable creations. This time of year, floral ingredients radiate with colourful elegance and add delicate nuance when paired with gin. Read on to discover our favourite ways of incorporating the seasonal blooms to your own cocktails at home!
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1. Garnish
Is there anything as gorgeous as a drink adorned with a flower? Even if your base cocktail recipe doesn’t have floral ingredients, this type of garnish works wonders for elevating any of your spring and summer tipples! The soft nose when you raise your glass to take a sip makes for an illuminating experience.
You can use fresh flowers from your local florist, but if you want to make it even easier, dried and pressed are just as delightful. Make sure you use an edible varietal that has not been treated with toxic pesticides.
Need ideas on what flowers to use? Check out a list of our favourites on our blog!
2. Syrup
Ready to get crafty? Customized syrups have always been one of our go-to ways to add some panache to our cocktails, and incorporating florals is both easy and delish. We prefer to use dried flowers for syrups due to their more concentrated flavour, but feel free to use whatever you can find.
Try making a rose syrup for @preethi.venkatram’s Empress Rose Blossom Spritz!
Ingredients
- 1½ oz Empress 1908 Elderflower Rose Gin
- 1 oz Rose Syrup
- 1-2 Strawberries, chopped
- ¾ oz Fresh Lemon Juice
- ¼ oz Elderflower Liqueur
- ¾ oz Simple Syrup
- Soda Water, to top
- Dried Rose Petals, to rim
Method
Brush a little simple syrup on the side of your glass and pass it through the dried rose petals. Set aside. In a cocktail shaker, muddle rose syrup and chopped strawberries. Add fresh lemon juice, elderflower liqueur, and simple syrup to the shaker. Add ice, and shake well until thoroughly chilled. Strain the mixture into a coupe glass over ice. Top with Empress 1908 Elderflower Rose Gin and soda water. Stir to combine, and enjoy!
*For the syrup, add ½ cup sugar and ½ cup water to a small saucepan and let it simmer, until the sugar has dissolved. Add in ½ cup dried rose buds or petals. Let it simmer for 2 more minutes and then remove from heat. Cool to room temperature, then strain and store it in the refrigerator.
3. Soda
For the ultimate thirst-quencher, pick up a floral soda with that added bonus of crisp effervescence. Refreshing and lovely if you’re looking for a subtle approach, this mixer makes for a perfectly sessionable drink when you’re out on the patio. Something as simple as a gin and soda just because more elevated!
Enjoy the Rose Lemonade to celebrate the romance of springtime!
Ingredients
- 2 oz Empress 1908 Indigo Gin
- 5 oz Rose Lemonade
- Lemon Wheel & Rose Petals, for garnish
Method
Build ingredients over ice in a chilled collins glass, starting with the rose lemonade and floating the gin on top. Garnish with a lemon wheel and rose petals.
4. Liqueur
Quite a few classics and respective riffs call for floral liqueurs— take the Aviation with crème de violette. With richer texture and flavour, a little goes a long way and they’re a great option when you’re looking for a more assertive ingredient!
Sip like an Empress with the Royal Aviation by @jfdesfosses!
Ingredients
- 1½ oz Empress 1908 Indigo Gin
- ¾ oz Fresh Lemon Juice
- ½ oz of Maraschino
- ¼ oz Crème De Violette
- ¼ oz Simple Syrup
- 2½ oz Dry Sparkling Wine
- Absinthe, to rinse
- Cocktail Cherry, to garnish
Method
In a shaker, add all ingredients except for the absinthe and sparkling wine. Add ice and shake. In a chilled coupe glass, spray some absinthe to coat the inside of the glass. Fine strain the cocktail into the coupe, and top with the sparkling wine. Garnish with a cocktail cherry. Enjoy!
5. Bitters
Maybe you want just a touch of complexity, but aren’t looking to make the cocktail overly floral. Here’s where bitters come in to shine! Adding a dash or two is fantastic way to sprinkle some spring essence while also bridging flavours together.
Experience a drink made for springtime with the Elderflower Rose G&T by @takestwoeggs!
Ingredients
- 2 oz Empress 1908 Elderflower Rose Gin
- 3 oz Tonic Water
- 2 dashes Lavender Bitters
- Thyme Sprig, for garnish
Method
Fill a glass with pebble ice. Pour in the Empress 1908 Elderflower Rose Gin, tonic water, and bitters. Stir to combine. Garnish with a thyme sprig, and enjoy!
6. Bonus – Honey
We all know that honey starts at flowers, right? The applications here might appear to be the same as an infused syrup, but the origin of honey species actually affects their flavour composition on a more intricate level! The environment of the fields that the bees pollinate plays a huge role in the final tasting notes of the produced honey since the nectar that the bees collect varies from flower to flower. For instance, buckwheat blossoms tend to result in a robust, molasses-like sweetness while lavender will be much lighter with understated florals.
The floral fragrances, of course, will be more pronounced with a straight infusion, but it is a great idea to check out the offerings of your local honey farms and experiment with different varietals to experience that unique sense of terroir!
There’s no better way to showcase honey than with the Bees Knees!
Ingredients
- 2 oz Empress 1908 Indigo Gin
- ¾ oz Fresh Lemon Juice
- ½ oz Honey Syrup
- Lemon Twist, for garnish
Method
Shake all ingredients over ice to chill and strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with expressed lemon twist and enjoy!
We hope this sparked some drinkspo for your next springtime serve! Whether you’re already a big fan of hints of flowers in your sips or you’re looking to start dipping your toes, you might discover a new favourite cocktail with one of these techniques.
For more cocktail inspiration, check out our Instagram, Cocktail Page, or Blog!
Sip responsibly!
