A cocktail garden is the “garden-to-bar” counterpart of the “farm-to-table” movement. Planting one of your own ensures you and your friends enjoy fresh, unique libations all summer long, while empowering you to feel earthy and accomplished. Best of all, a basic cocktail garden is easy to grow and can thrive in small spaces.
Cocktail Garden Tricks and Tips:
There are no hard and fast rules to cocktail gardening, aside from considering what you like to drink and planting accordingly. Maybe you enjoy a basil lime gimlet? Plant basil. Mint julep? Plant mint. Rosemary lemonade mocktail? You guessed it–plant rosemary. Herbs sprout quickly from seed, and can even be grown indoors year round.
Perhaps you want to expand your cocktail garden beyond herbs. Spicy peppers go beautifully with tequila, while a cooling cucumber vodka drink is refreshing on a hot day. Depending on your ambition, ability and the USDA zone you live in, your cocktail garden could even include exotic ingredients such as citrus, pomegranate or kiwi.
Cocktail Garden Extra Credit:
Whether this is your first foray into cocktail gardening, or if you’re a seasoned cocktail gardener looking to expand your repertoire, we have you covered with a selection of books guaranteed to instruct and inspire.
The Drunken Botanist, by Amy Stewart
Described as a “fascinating concoction of biology, chemistry, history, etymology, and mixology,” Amy Stewart’s The Drunken Botanist incorporates esoteric anecdotes, cocktail recipes and growing tips for aspiring cocktail gardeners.
Garden to Glass, by Mike Wolf
Written by expert mixologist Mike Wolf, Garden to Glass includes tips on growing and foraging botanical ingredients, preserving and presenting said ingredients, and methods for making natural cordials, syrups, elixirs, bitters, and more.
The Wildcrafted Cocktail, by Ellen Zachos
Learn from pro forager Ellen Zachos how to find and transform common flowers, roots and berries into components such as “Quick Pickled Daylily Buds,” “Rose Hip Syrup,” and “Chanterelle-infused Rum”–just a few of the ingredients in her catalogue of wildcrafted cocktail recipes.
Shrubs, by Michael Dietsch
The title of Michael Dietsch’s book is not a reference to shrubs of the plant variety, but rather to his revival of a vintage beverage composed of three simple ingredients: fruit, sugar, and vinegar. Dietsch offers a wide variety of ways to customize your shrub of choice, using elements such as botanical ingredients and spirits.
Clean Cocktails, by Beth Ritter Nydick and Tara Roscioli
Clean Cocktails is written by Beth Ritter Nydick and Tara Roscioli, a pair of holistic health coaches who take a guilt-reducing approach to their mixology. Aside from using only low-calorie spirits, they focus on incorporating beneficial ingredients like mint (boosts immunity), ginger (aids digestion) and cilantro (good for detox) in their cocktail recipes.
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