Floral Flavors in Cocktails

Every spring, we love incorporating floral flavors into our cocktails. Some of our spirits have floral accents already (hello, lavender in Gin No. 6!), and we can both amplify them and add new floral tones in a variety of ways. Here are some tips and tricks for incorporating floral flavors into your drinks!

Fresh or Dried Flowers

Ideas: lavender, violet, lilac, elderflower, honeysuckle

There are so many ways to use flowers from your garden or yard in your cocktails! Just make sure they have not been treated with pesticides or other lawn chemicals that could end up in your beverages, and wash them before using them.

Here are a few of our favorite ideas for fresh or dried flowers:

• • Infuse in a Simple Syrup – you can use the syrup for cocktails, for fresh lemonade/limeade and even snow cones! Use 1 cup water and 1.5 cups sugar for the syrup.
    • Fresh flowers – put 1/2 cup of fresh flowers in a bowl. Bring water and sugar to a simmer; pour over flowers and let sit for about 30 minutes. Strain out the flowers, then store in the refrigerator. Best used within 14 days.
    • Dried flowers – bring water, sugar and 1 tbsp of dried flowers to a simmer. Simmer for 4-5 minutes, then cool completely. Strain out the flowers, and store in the refrigerator. Use within 30 days, ideally.

• • Infuse in a Spirit – you can also infuse flowers into North Shore Vodka, Gin No. 6 or another favorite spirit. Alcohol is a very good extractor of flavors and smells, so this process doesn’t take that much time.
    • Fresh flowers – In a clean glass vessel, add 1 cup fresh flowers and top with 1 bottle of spirit. Check at least daily for intensity of flavor. After 2 days, strain out flowers and taste. If additional flavor is desired, add another cup of fresh flowers and infuse for another 1-2 days, then strain out the flowers. Ideally, use within 60 days; will never spoil but flavors will oxidize over time and change/decline.
    • Dried flowers – In a clean glass vessel, add 2 tbsp dried flowers and top with 1 bottle of spirit. Check at least daily for intensity of flavor. After 2 days, strain out flowers and taste. If additional flavor is desired, add 2-3 additional tbsp of dried flowers and infuse for another 1-2 days, then strain out the flowers. Use within 60 days; will not spoil but flavors will oxidize over time and change.

• Make a Tincture – you can also infuse your flowers into a concentrated tincture, that you can then use a few drops to add floral flavor to just about anything you make. In a clean glass vessel, add 1 cup flowers compressed down as much as possible (or 1/4 cup dried flowers) and cover with vodka or another higher-proof neutral spirit. You’re aiming for a much higher flower-to-spirit ratio here than in an infusion. Shake periodically, ensuring flowers remain covered, over 1-2 days. Strain out the flowers; if additional intensity is desired, add another cup of flowers and cover with the same spirit (add more spirit only if absolutely necessary to cover the flowers). After 2 more days, strain out flowers and taste. If additional flavor is desired, add another cup of fresh flowers and infuse for another 1-2 days, then strain out the flowers. Use within 60 days; will not spoil but flavors will oxidize over time and change.

Floral Teas

Ideas: chamomile, lavender, jasmine or even a floral blend

The trick when working with tea is to actively manage the time of exposure with the tea leaves. Like brewing tea, you want to remove the tea leaves after a few minutes to avoid pulling tannins and other undesirable traits from the tea. You can do all the things we listed above with a floral tea too:

• Infuse in a Simple Syrup – brew a double or triple-strength tea, following the tea instructions (e.g., steep 2 or 3 tea bags in 1 cup of hot water for 5 minutes). Remove the tea, straining out any liquid from the tea bags. Use the liquid to make a simple syrup (1 cup tea + 1.5 cups sugar) – bring to a low simmer, simmer briefly, then remove from heat. Cool completely, then store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
• Infuse in a Spirit – In a clean glass container, add enough tea bags/leaves for 3-4 cups of tea to a 750 ml bottle of vodka or gin. Check after 10 minutes with a taste test, and check every 5 minutes until desired flavor intensity is achieved – likely within 30 minutes at most. Strain spirit through cheesecloth or fine strainer to remove tea. Repeat with new tea if additional flavor is desired.
• Make a Tincture – you could also infuse your fruit tea into a concentrated tincture following the guidelines above for dried flowers, although we would definitely not recommend this with a caffeinated tea.

Floral Liqueurs

 Ideas: violette, bergamot, chamomile, orange blossom

Have a lot of flowers on hand? You could totally make your own floral liqueur starting with the infused spirit approach above, then sweeten it with an infused simple syrup. Or, you could buy one of the delicious liqueurs out there these days with floral notes and use it in a drink like an Aviation, Blue Moon, Violet Fizz or our May 2023 drink of the month, Bloom²! Some of our favorite floral liqueurs these days include violet liqueurs like Rothman & Winter or Giffard, bergamot liqueur Italicus and chamomile liqueur Sibona. They all play amazingly with gins, and are fun to incorporate in others way too. Let us know what you come up with!