The Verdant Garden- a spring-inspired cocktail made with gin that is herbally and citrusy with vibrant grassy notes! A garden in a glass.
This Spring-inspired cocktail, called the Verdant Garden is the perfect balance of flavors- citrusy and herbally with a delicious complexity that even adventurous sippers will appreciate.
Gin (or vodka) is paired with a splash of Chartreuse, fennel frond simple syrup, muddled cucumber, tender herbs, celery bitters and lemon, and to me, it’s like drinking a Spring Garden. It was inspired by a drink I often have at a local restaurant here where I live called Ruins, and I totally fell in love with it!
Green, complex and refreshingly tart, The Verdant Garden is my kind of cocktail.
I hope you enjoy it!
To make this spring green cocktail, muddle cucumber and tender herbs like basil, mint, celery leaves, or Italian parsley with fennel-infused simple syrup in a shaker, then add Vodka or Gin, Chartreuse, celery bitters, ice, lemon juice and shake well, then simply strain and serve it up.
For garnish, thinly slice Turkish cucumber with a vegetable peeler lengthwise into long curling ribbons and place them in the drink.
Scatter with spring violets for color and enjoy!
Cheers and love,
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The Verdant Garden
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 2
- Category: Cocktail, drink
- Method: shaken
- Cuisine: northwest
Description
The Verdant Garden – a spring-inspired cocktail made with Vodka or Gin, spring herbs, cucumber, Chartreuse, celery bitters and lemon. Herbal, citrusy and slightly grassy. Delicious!
Ingredients
Units
- 1–ounce simple syrup (see note for fennel-infused)
- 1 small Turkish cucumber, sliced into 1/4 inch slices (about 1/2 cup)
- handful tender herbs, torn (tarragon, dill, Italian parsley, celery leaves, or mint or a mix)
- 4 ounces Gin (or vodka)
- 1/2 ounce Chartreuse (or an Anise flavored liqueur)
- 1 1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
- splash celery bitters (optional, but amazing)
- Garnish- 2 thin slices of Turkish cucumber and violets ( optional, or use a sprig of herb)
Instructions
- Make simple syrup, and cool (see notes)
- Place cucumber and herbs in a shaker and muddle with the simple syrup.
- Add Vodka, Chartreuse, fresh lemon Juice and the celery bitters.
- Fill with ice and shake well.
- Strain through a fine mesh strainer into two chilled glasses. Serve up.
Notes
To make simple syrup, mix 1 part water with 1 part sugar (or honey) in a small pot, (like a 1/2 cup of each) and for a delicious twist, add some fennel fronds -the green leaves and stems from a fennel bulb. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. The longer you leave the fennel in, the more flavor, so I like to make this ahead and let it sit all day or overnight, then strain. The fennel elevates this drink 100%!!!
Nutrition
- Calories: 278
Awesome cocktail. I used honey for the syrup and I used a little less than the 1 oz since the honey can get dominant.
Oh my gosh, this is SO good! I decided to make this because I have a bunch of cucumber and parsley that is going to go bad in a few days. This is one of those cases where I’m not crazy about most of the individual ingredients separately, but when mixed together, they somehow become delicious! I didn’t make the simple syrup, I instead dissolved a bit of honey in the lime juice. I used a blend of parsley and celery leaves, because I did not have celery bitters. This tastes like the joy of Persephone herself!
That is awesome- I forgot about this recipe…. glad you found it!