Delicious Cocktails From Your Own Herb Garden

Chances are, if you don’t already have an herb garden, you’ve at least thought about growing one. While herbs are most commonly grown for cooking, don’t forget about your booze — you may already be growing great ingredients for backyard cocktails!

What’s great about herb gardens is you don’t need a full garden or big backyard to grow flavorful herbs. Most herbs are easily grown in pots indoors! All you need is a window, some small pots, potting soil, and your herb seeds to get started (and maybe an herb-garden-planting cocktail while you’re at it).

The Best Herbs for Cocktails

Here are some of our favorite essential herbs and edible flowers to stock your quarantine bar:

You can incorporate these herbs and flowers into your cocktail in a variety of ways. Most herbs can simply be muddled into your backyard cocktails, while edible flowers make eye-catching garnishes. You can also go a step further by creating flavored simple syrups or infusing spirits. How, you ask?

Create Your Own Simple Syrup

Flavored simple syrups steal the cocktail show here — and they couldn’t be easier to make! Simple syrups only require water, sugar, and your desired flavor(s). They can be mixed and matched with different spirits, mixers, and muddled ingredients, making them a great (and simple!) way to expand your quarantine cocktail menu. Start with one of these easy recipes, and then try your hand at our original Black Label Bar’s Backyard Cocktails.

Mint Simple Syrup Recipe

To create a delicious minty simple syrup, you’ll need 1 cup each of the following:

• Mint
• Water
• Sugar

Bring all ingredients to a boil. Turn off heat and let stand for approximately 30 minutes. Strain into a sterilized container and put into the fridge. Enjoy up to 3 weeks. Makes about 8 servings.

Honey Simple Syrup

• 1 Cup Honey
• 1 Cup Water

On low heat warm the water, add honey once water is warm and stir until mixed. Pour into a sterilized container and put into the fridge. Enjoy up to 3 weeks. Makes 14-16 servings.

Herb Garden Cocktail Recipes

Sweet Garden Mule

• 1.5 oz McClintock Epiphany Vodka
• 1oz Mint Simple Syrup
• 3.5 oz. Sweet Farm Double Ginger Beer
• 2 Mint Leafs
• 1 Slice of Lime
• 2 Small Strawberry

Yields one 12oz cocktail

How to mix:
Add one sliced strawberry to the bottom of your shaker and muddle. Add your fresh mint, McClintock’s Epiphany Vodka and Mint Simple Syrup and shake over ice. Pour into your cocktail glass, squeeze the lime and top with Sweet Farm’s Double Ginger Beer. Stir with a spoon and garnish with a strawberry and mint leaf.

Gardeners Knees

• 1.5oz McClintock Gardeners Gin
• 1 oz. Honey Simple Syrup
• 3 Lemon Slices
• 4 Fresh Basil Leaves
• 3.5 oz. Soda Water
• 1 Dandelion

Yields one 12oz cocktail

How to mix:
Add 2 slices of lemon and 3 basil leaves to the bottom of your shaker and gently muddle.  Add your Honey simple syrup, McClintock’s Gardener’s Gin and shake over ice. Pour into your cocktail glass and top with soda water. Stir with a spoon and garnish with lemon slice, basil leaf and dandelion.

Experiment With Your Own Flavors

Hanging with the kids? Leave out the spirits so they can enjoy a mocktail with mom and dad! Not a fan of one of the spirits we used? Switch it out for something you do like! Experiment with what you like because the possibilities are endless! And when you’re done, you can relax with your garden-to-glass backyard cocktail and know that you’ve raised the bar for happy hour. Cheers!