herbal beverages
one of the beautiful drink options for Gal’s Night Out coming up in February
I’m gearing up to provide non-alcoholic herbal beverages at an amazing local galentine’s day event. I’m so excited, and I’ve been having a lot of fun creating and taste-testing different mocktails. I know there is some controversy over using the term “mocktails” - I personally love the idea of herbal drinks as a distinct category from cocktails, so I get it, but for the sake of simplicity, I do sometimes refer to them as mocktails. Whatever you call them, they are delicious, and such a fun way to get a dose of herbal benefits!
First…I usually start with whatever I want my base to be. My current favorite is a 100% cranberry juice/sparkling water combo. Then, I make up some kind of an herbal simple syrup, because…well, 100% cranberry juice is TART! Rose, lavender, thyme, rosemary, ginger, and holy basil all make amazing simple syrups. You can make your simple syrup with whatever sweetener you choose, but for the sake of longevity, I usually use a simple syrup made with organic cane sugar in a 1:1 ratio with water. Infuse the herbs into it as you’re making the simple syrup, then strain.
Next up: citrus. I can hardly stand the thought of a drink without citrus in it! Lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit. It doesn’t matter to me, but I almost always add a generous amount of citrus juice. Mix the cranberry juice, simple syrup, and citrus juice together, then top with sparkling water. And, the finishing touch: add some herbal mix-ins! I’ve been developing some herbal glycerites with the specific intention of mixing them into beverages. Relaxing, calming, energizing, nourishing…pick whatever blend you’re feeling like, and mix a couple of droppers into your drink. Bonus is that they taste good and most of them add a nice splash of color (they range in color from pink to red to purple to…who knows what one I’ll come up with next). This has been such a fun addition to my herbal formulas!
If you’re local, come join me at Homestead Studio in February for Gal’s Night Out! It’s going to be such a fun time of mixing and matching your favorite herbal formulas to create a custom drink, plus there are some other fun workshops too! There will be more info about it coming up on my instagram!
it’s a rough job creating and taste-testing these drinks!