Well, hello, you gorgeous, sweet-talking readers. I think I’d like to buy you a drink, just to say thank you for the unexpected and lovely outpouring of anti-troll support you laid on me last week. That was….wow. It was wow. Please know I appreciate it, and I have no intention of letting a few anonymous jerk-wads derail this blog.
Since I can’t actually buy everyone a drink, I’d like to do the next best thing. Giveaway!
If there’s anything better than a gardening book, it’s a gardening book with a drinking problem, and I’ve got one that lives up to that promise.
I happen to have two signed copies of The Drunken Botanist to give away, which is kinda cool since this book isn’t even being released for sale until March 19th.
The Drunken Botanist is the latest work of staggering genius to come from Amy Stewart, author of many books including Wicked Plants and co-founder of the fabulous blog, Garden Rant.
The story of how Amy (New York Freaking Times Bestselling Author) Stewart handed me a few copies of her book after the Northwest Flower and Garden Show isn’t nearly as flattering to my garden writer reputation as you might think – she has no idea who I am.
No, basically the extra copies were just too heavy for Amy to lug back on the plane, and I threw myself in her path as a willing book porter. I think I basically jumped up and down with my hand in the air yelling, “Oooh, pick me! Pick me!”
Did I ever claim to have a lot of shame when, after several herbal cocktails, free books were up for grabs?
No. No, I did not.
Which brings me to The Drunken Botanist.
Next time you pull a piece of silk from between your teeth while you are eating a fresh ear of corn, remember that you’ve just spat out a fallopian tube.
Summer barbecues will never be the same: “Is that a fallopian tube in your teeth, or are you just happy to see me?” Yes, this book will change the way you look at plants, even if you already think you know them pretty well.
Stewart manages to turn a seemingly random botanical collection of grains, herbs, spices, fruits and vegetables into a fascinating guidebook to anything that could end up in a cocktail glass or beer stein. She crams cocktail recipes, history, accessible science, varietal suggestions and growing tips into The Drunken Botanist, and keeps the whole jaunt really fun to read.
The only thing this book doesn’t have that you might expect is detailed instructions on how to actually make hooch. There are instructions for simple infusions and cordials, but this is not a winemaking, homebrewing or distilling how to book.
As if combining plants and booze isn’t hedonistic enough, the book itself is a joy to hold and page through. The paper feels burnished, and the color, typography and graphic flourishes are vintage-fun. This is the kind of book-lover’s book that makes you hope Kindles and Nooks never completely take over.
To enter to win one of two copies of The Drunken Botanist, leave a comment below telling me how you use the harvest in your own creative mixology (“Pineapple Sage Mojito!”) If you don’t drink booze, non-alcoholic beverage refreshment options are welcomed, too!
Contest open until Thursday, March 21st at 8 PM PDT. US residents only, please, because of shipping constraints. Two winners will be selected randomly and notified by email.
Good luck, and thanks again for being wonderful.
I have made some of the most flavorful Bloody Mary’s from my own tomato juice (I am a canner, so the juice is available in the winter too) and sage (adds an extra savory boost). Instead of celery, I use a hot pepper from my garden as well to kick it up a notch. Friends ask me how I get it so fresh tasting and I tell them, “The secret is in the soil.”
I can’t provide much guidance as how I make a drink from my garden pickings. I usually eat anything I pick before I bring it inside. What’s left usually gets blended into a smoothie. The closest my garden gets to my drink is when I bring a beer outside after exhausting tomato picking.
The only thing that i grow specifically for drinks is the mint for mojitos!!!
I don’t have a name for it, we just call it “the drink.” Two fingers of gin, some lemonade, and a few sprigs of rosemary. Shake it all up, pour it on ice, and top with sparkling water. It’s delicious!
Well, I can’t say that I have put anything I’ve grown into a drink! Maybe this year I will have my husband mix up something with basil!
Can I bribe you to send me one of the copy of the book at a discounted price (price and s&h will be paid) ;-). Okay, jokes, apart, I am a non-alcoholic and my husband drinks. We have lots of mints in our garden. It seems like those who love to drive, as per husband, loves to drink mojito with mint and lemon!! So, pick some fresh mint leaves, crush them in your mojito.
I love putting mint in my lassi (Indian non-alcoholic beverages). So, put mint, sugar, yoghurt and water in a mixer, blend and drink. Or put mint, sugar, yughurt, water, mango slices or mango-lassi. Even, mint, lemon, water and sugar makes a refreshing lemonade during summertime.
I was just looking at this book online the other day and had put it on Mother’s Day wishlist. I use apple mint and fresh apples for apple mojitos, hot pepper infused gin for bloody mary, and I put a sprig of chocolate mint in with the coffee grounds before brewing for a lightly flavored coffee.
I haven’t made any alcoholic drinks from my garden. I use my peppermint to make a refreshing cool, summer drink–steeping black tea, peppermint and honey together. I am excited about this book–I just put it on my to read list yesterday!
I can’t say I’ve used anything from our garden in drinks as yet. They would have to be non-alcoholic as I am in recovery and my husband doesn’t drink. We could certainly put spinach or kale into our smoothies.
I’m a newcomer to your blog, and I love your style! Thanks for the chuckles along with the great info!
We put cucumbers in our Hendricks gin and tonics. Then I sit and ponder how I could become a good gardener (I currently have a black thumb). The more G&Ts with cucumber I consume, the more sure I become I could do this :)
Pick me, pick me! I love the concept of this book. The comments so far are great too because I would love to drink more of what I grow and you’re all giving me great ideas.
I’ve made wild blackberry infused vodka and wild cherry infused vodka. Eh. I think I need new recipes. Thanks for the giveaway!
I made ginger syrup for drinks. (No, I didn’t grow the ginger – but, it DID grow somewhere.) And, I am currently steeping fir needles for a homemade version of Eau de Vie. If nothing else, at least it’s interesting.
When I lived in a bigger place (I don’t even have a dedicated home for the vaccuum at my house these days) I used to make hard apple cider. Now I mostly stick to infusions or herby cocktails. I love basil and pinapple muddled in some rum…. I supose its like a mojito (basil being in the same family as mint).
Ai karumba! You sure know how to cheer a nearly snowbound (I have skiis and snowshoes but I don’t wanna really have to use them, again, I guess…) Minnesnowtan! Excuse me while I go make Hot Cocoa with some sugar grainy Mexican chocolate with full fat milk. WAIT I think I see some heavy whipping cream behind the milk! Might just add in some chiffonaded orange mint I swiped from the indoor window box of it that’s been sulking ever since I smuggled it back to MN in the shower of my travel trailer after being in Naples FL for 3 months) and toss in a leaf of rose geranium. I am just ravenous for anything flowery sounding! Hold the garlic, that went into the lentil( No, Not lethal!) soup with dried Napolitano Basil, celery, onion n pepper incl some enchilada sauce. It is St. Patrick’s day so I have me green eyes on the ripening Red Haven peaches I have growing up in green-room #1 of my house. Yes I know I live in north central MN. Yes that peach is growing in the LR is zone 3 technically but desires Z5. Dare I mention the Key limes I picked in the back yard of my mother-In Law’s condo while down in Naples. I also harvested some coconuts while kayaking in FL. Hmm put de lime in the coconut and drink it all up!Mayhaps a bit o coconut rum steeped in a coconut for a month? What are the implications of including rutabaga in a smoothie with sage and chervril & pink Himalayan sea salt? So much herbage, so little thyme, wait, I do have some lemon thyme growing in my zone 5 root cellar! Add some honeybell tangerine juice. Snowfront, What snowfront? W-a-a-aait I gotta go turn on the heating blanket on my hubbs’s bed so the seeded flats on it can germinate while he is on the way back from FL. They better come up quick, He is due back in 4 days. Glad he id driving not flying!
I had the most wonderful basil-flavored beer in Boulder, CO, and now I put a basil leaf in my beer – it’s hard to figure out what it is, but it really works
We made Nicino (green walnut liqueur) last year. Recipie on David Lebovitz website.
We also make thai basil martinis and strawberry mint mojitos. Thanks for the ideas everyone!
I make fresh juice using my hand crank juicer from celery, cucumber and ginger. yum.
“Cherry Buzz”…….a cherry infused vodka, raspberry margaritas and sprigs of mint in about everything.
Habanero infused rum makes excellent pineapple-mint Mojitos. I like putting basil in my screwdrivers. Bloody mary’s made from home juiced tomatoes are amazing. Should I keep going..?
I have dreams of making my own bloody mary mix from my garden this year (as a side-wish for a bumper crop of tomatoes this year. So many that I’ll have extras for drink mixes!)
Rhubarb. Definitely rhubarb. Rhubarb infused vodka, rhubarb liqueur, rhubarb slush, rhubarb beer cocktail… I haven’t met a rhubarb drink I didn’t like yet!
We have used our mint in watermelon mojitos and are starting to use more of our other herbs. Sage lemonade w/vodka… A sprig of rosemary in this or that…. Would love a book to give us more ideas!
Blood Oranges and Jack. That’s what makes my world go round (especially if you have too much Jack)!!!! Bountiful crop? Squeeze the juice into ice cube trays for later use!!!
The most creative I’ve been, is to use my Meyer Lemons for the ‘twist’ in a Campari and soda. This might be the year though, that I try making Limoncello out of them.
I have not as of yet grown a garden. This will be my first year and I am eating up all the information I can get to make my experience as productive as possible. We did for a time grow some mint in our window that we used in tea and desserts but the idea of making drinks from what I can grow in my garden had never crossed my mind. I am very intrigued by this book. I never woulda thought.
i grew pineapple mint last year that my husband and I enjoyed in mojitos, it also worked very nicely as a little herb-age in my hens nest boxes, they loved it as it helps them to relax.
We made a big batch of corncob wine last year, which is way better than it sounds like it would be!
The most creative I’ve been is some lemon balm in my iced tea. Clearly, I need this book!
Well f**k! I just went to see if you responded to my post on ‘whine,wine and weed’ and it’s not there, stupid internet! Or maybe, the Trolls ate it? I will give you a short version, “YOU ROCK”
Ok, now that that’s clear I will respond to this post.
Uhm thank you? for letting me know what body part I’m swallowing when I eat corn. Where to start with the knowledge that the silk is actually “Fallopian tubes”, well I know one thing. My friends will never forgive you for me making sure everyone of them get’s to share in THAT visual! :)
Ready for my Recipe!?! Water, and I pour it well! See why I need this book, and the knowledge you so willingly share. I’m a lame-o and proud of it!
Wow! I love Wicked Plants. I would probably use a few recipes for experimenting here at home. Well actually more than a few because I love infusions and cordials and I’m always experimenting to see what new flavors my son and I can enjoy. And it would give me even more things to make with all the plants in my garden.
What a lovely-sounding book! I’ve added it to my Amazon list just in case (!) I don’t win a copy.
I drink mojitos in the summer, using the peppermint that has grown from my neighbor’s yard into mine. I love that the mint is all through the grass in one corner of the yard, but this does mean that I have to remember to pick the mint *before* I mow the lawn, or I won’t have enough mint for the post-mowing libation. ;-)
Rosemary Gin Fizz! Every day, all day.
I don’t make a lot of drinks from my garden. The closest anything from it gets is in my smoothies…would love this book to help teach me!
I don’t drink alcohol (my body does NOT deal with it at all), but I love spooning some fruit syrup into a big bottle of club soda or sparkling water. I usually go through two 1L bottles of water a day, and the fruit flavoring keeps it interesting! And 1 Tbsp of fruit syrup is way better for me than a can of coke. So far I’ve done spiced apple, strawberry, blueberry and plum. This year I want to try peach, raspberry (I never remember to buy raspberries!), rhubarb and maybe some citrus fruits :)
Can’t say I grow these ingredients, but I make a liqueur out of vodka and homemade raw cranberry sauce with cranberries, oranges and apples. Delicious!
I grow mint for Southsides…gin, lemonade concentrate, soda water and lots o’ mint. Delish! I need this book to get creative and add some drinking fun to my garden time.
As a matter of fact I was just out in the yard looking for herbs to put in my husband’s home made “vodka” that has a bit of an off taste and we need to infuse with something Ideas? Maybe fennel or anise? This is exactly the book I need!
Mojito!
I am SO glad you didn’t let some dickheads derail your blog. I keep telling folks this is my favorite blog of them all, and it’d be sad to introduce them to a defunct blog.
Anyway, I make a tomato-agave-lemon-tequila-mezcal cocktail from the pages of Imbibe magazine. I only grow the tomatoes, and sometimes not even that, but still. In summer (and summer only, turns out the puree doesn’t freeze well), the base of it makes a really brilliant summer soda for the non-drinkers.
My favorite drink from the garden is Crème de cassis made from a native current bush that mysteriously appeared in my garden. (thank you birds!). I infuse good quality vodka with the berries then sweeten with simple syrup. Great poured over crushed ice.
Overwhelmed by a profusion of lemon balm, I was determined to use it in as many ways as possible to justify the plants existence in my teeny-tiny yard. I crushed a handful of leaves using a pestle, poured some strawberry flavored vodka over them and let it all steep for a few days in the fridge in a large mason jar. Then I strained it back into the original vodka bottle and spent the next week drinking it mixed with Sierra Mist – pretty good!
THE ST-GERMAIN: elderflowers; rasberries; mint; lemons; brut champagne or club soda!
We infuse lots of different liquids with lots of different berries: blueberries, strawberries, marionberries, loganberries, raspberries, aronia berries … you get the idea-
Mint, mint and more mint for the worlds loveliest Mojitos……………..
Avocado smoothie – all the rage in Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Latin America: blend ripe avocado with milk and sweetened condensed milk (or for non-dairy use coconut or almond milk plus agave nectar) and a few ice cubes.
Juice together
1 med. sweet potato
1/2 pineapple
3 oranges
3 carrots
1 mango
Add
1/2 tbsp of ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg
6-8 ounces of coconut milk
Shake well to blend spices
Add Pussers Rum to taste
I often make tea with the herbs in our garden and hubs likes to use the mint for mojitos. We’re not uber creative with the usage, but we enjoy what we do!
I made some dilly beans last year, which went perfectly with a bloody mary. Lemon balm tea goes well with vodka or rum on a nice hot day
Wheatgrass shots are potent, added to a smoothie made from raw kale, a couple peeled oranges, a beet and an apple and they will knock the socks off any heavy drinker. I suppose I could add a shot of vodka to kick up another notch! This year I am hoping to get strawberries, blueberries and free Pacific Northwest blackberries to make awesome Sangria!
All of my plants must have whiskey in them, because that’s how I water them…usually unintentionally because I am a drunk gardener…sometimes intentionally, because my plants make the best drinking partners, and I don’t want them to miss out.
I make wine from my grapes, cider from my apple and tomatoes juice for Bloody Marys from my tomatoes. Cheers!
Smoothies. Good for all kinds of fruits and veggies :)
We love sangria, and lots of cominations are great lavendar with plums and a rose’ or sweet white, basil with peaches and burgundy, think flavor and scent and mix it up…you can’t go wrong.
Sounds like a great read – I’d love a copy…
I haven’t used anything terribly oddball in my brewing but maybe this will give me some new ideas of things to try…
Matt Jarvis
Eugene, Oregon
I have used lemon balm muddled with Rum, and infused Vodka with lavender.
The lavender infused Vodka sounds interesting. I am growing some lavender in an aquaponics setup, will have to give that a try.
oooo pick me pick me pick me!
i lurk and love, rarely post but here i have to say something (though i am somewhat intimidated by all your lovely readers – wow).
so – limoncello from meyers, pepper vodka (black pepper yet to be grown by me), basil martinis, creme brûlée martinis (goat milk also not grown by me but sourced locally), bloody maria’s, cucumber caipirinhas, squash toddies for fall, gin and beet tonics, anything with ginger – beer spiked, martinis, sangria, the lot – and i know i’m missing about 19 others just from being distracted by my heart pounding and the droplets of sweat forming on my brow at 8.50am.
really – it’s the thought of this very necessary book, not withdrawal or some such.
I use borage and mint & strawberries for my Pimm’s cup!
I sense a drink “cookbook” coming! I love mint in everything! I also love all of Amy’s books especially her first (with slug tossing).
Last summer we made raspberry gin by soaking a quantity of our homegrown raspberries in a bottle of gin with a bit of sugar. Let it sit for 3 months or so. We opened it on Solstice day eve, with candles all around, with the neighbors who had helped us pick the raspberries. Liquid summer on Winter Solstice with neighbors — what could be finer? I am now inspired to try infusing the wild elderberries and blackberries that grow on the property, the herbs in my garden, and whatever else I can get my hands on.
Berry infused Vodka!
I love throwing a few handfuls of fresh strawberries into the blender along with about two fingers of rum, some sweetsour mix and sugar-syrup for a yummy daiquiri. :)
I haven’t made any drinks with what I grow, but I have certainly gotten several ideas reading all these comments. Happy gardening to all.
We are juice enthusiasts! Almost willing to try anything -we are going to expand our garden this year so who knows what we’ll end up with. Think Spring and garden fresh!
I was obsessed with Thyme Ice Tea last summer; just some fresh thyme and black tea simmered in the sun. I didn’t add alcohol to it yet, but I think a little Pendleton Whiskey would be a nice touch….
Right now, I’m obsessed with cucumber water with either fresh basil or fresh mint. It’s so refreshing and light. It’s like spring in a glass.
Erica, I think you should randomly select only one recipient. For the second one, you should have a survey and let us pick the best one of these responses.
Mm, well, my favourites are infusions, and the best of them all, I think, is rose brandy. Take 2 large handfuls of fragrant wild rose petals, soak in brandy for a month. The taste is truly heavenly, and leaves your breath smelling like roses! I like making fruit syrups when I have a glut of something, that can go in booze, or with club soda, or over dessert, or whatever. Of course, winemaking from whatever’s seasonal and plentiful is also a good use of fruit! Here we have no end of wild blackberries, so there’s always a blackberry wine to be made in late summer.
I have only a balcony (north facing at that!) but i managed to find space for two little raspberry bushes :) Three raspberries in a glass of champagne, and you’ll think you are just the fanciest person who ever fancied ;). I have a couple pots of herbs too, hadn’t thought about using them before, but now am thinking about rosemary infused spirits.
Well, little chance I can compete will all of the above, but I make elderflower cordial from foraged elderberry trees and have finally coaxed an elegant black elderberry in my front yard that produces lovely, fragrant pink-white panicles of citrus-honey scented blossoms. I have found that the resulting cordial (made of course with organic raw cane sugar) pairs favorably with vodka or even gin when I feel like cutting that beautiful sweet-floral-citrus flavor with a little bitterness. This reminds me of an interesting study I heard about on NPR years ago… about a parfumier who approached people on the street with two scent samples: one of just pure jasmine oil and the other of jasmine oil very slightly befouled with a stinky musky scent… something horrible unto itself. Nearly everyone preferred the mixture over the cloying jasmine alone. Hmmmn. Interesting….
Well, your shamelessness is much appreciated! :) I have yet to get very creative with my garden booze infusing. I’ve done a few flavored vodkas with berries and I’ve done a second ferment with my Kombucha using garden fruit too. The jam-garita you posted a while back was definitely a fun way to “use up” the jam before a new batch. In fact it might be time to try that out again…. I’ve also been meaning to make some tomato juice out of the frozen tomato skins I saved to make a bloody mary mix and use up some of my pickled veggies too.
Always have mint on hand for garnishes and, of course, mojitos. But I also use thyme and rosemary in cocktails. :)
ooh. Stewart rocks! so far I haven’t ventured into herbs for more than Tea, but if my mint comes back, we’ll be looking at Mojitos, and of course mint lemonade. oh, and berry margaritas.
1. Homemade grape juice was very refreshing to my daughter during chemo for Ovarian Cancer(please get checked) it is a simple blood test).
2. In the South tea requires mint.
Oh dear Mary I send healing light to your daughter for her situation. Remember sugar feeds cancer. Try bicarbonate of baking soda – destroys tumors.
I have grown a variety of mints for mixing in cocktails- lime mint being my favorite. Pineapple sage is also great for tequila or rum drinks. My husband is a Kentucky boy, and always watches the Derby in May, for which we *have* to have mint juleps. We use homegrown mint for that now, of course! Much easier than remembering to buy some. I’ve heard that cilantro is good in a margarita, but I don’t want to try it.
On a healthier note, I have added fresh-picked kale leaves to smoothies, for a superfood boost!
Catmint mojito!
They told me I couldn’t grow watermelons in western Oregon, but I did. Yellow-fleshed, top-notch. Had so many, in fact, that I had to start using it in weird ways. Lightly blended (read: still chunky) and mixed 50/50 with Malibu (ah, maybe 25/75, it’s hard to say now…cause if you’re gonna drink Malibu, might as well make it stiff). The birds also left me a couple strawberries — how thoughtful of them — which I used as garnish. Yellow drink, red accent. Turns out fresh tropical is possible in OR. Haters gonna hate.
I mostly use herbs from the garden for mojitos and grown-up lemonades and limeades. I”ll also make fruit syrups for mixing with vodka and soda water.
We bit of mint, or basil, or herb of any kind in a glass of whatever liquor I have available. Oh and maybe some fruit or home made bloody mary mix (got Tomatoes?!)
Our garden provides beverages most often in the form of greens for smoothies–chard being our favorite!
We have made cider from our two apple trees which was surprisingly easy and good! I like to use mint, lavender and other herbs to make simply syrups to add to drinks as well. There is a great cocktail called a honey sage gin fizz that I use our own sage for!
mint juleps!!
With a meadow full of Achillea millefolium I make a deliciously fizzy “Yarrow Brew” in the summer! It’s a great addition to a garden party!
Fresh strawberries crushed, agave, lemon water and captain morgan.
Basil lemonade is a favorite. And herbs to make simple syrups for the cocktails (sage and rosemary simple syrups are the most common around here).
I look forward to Nj’s annual watermelon harvest and make big pitchers of watermelon-lime juice. It’s divine on its own or mixes well with tequila, vodka, rum, white wine or even a light wheaty beer. The versatility is great for entertaining families and a variety of tastes. I also freeze a few mason jars full for a sip of July in January.
Mints and lemon verbena get good mileage in mojitos and juleps in my house as well.
Try the verbena in a mojito – trust me on this one !
Winter brings us kumquats and Meyer lemons from indoor dwarf trees that are usually too small in quantity to do much baking with but perfect to garnish a tonic.
My pride and joy, as a hobby bee keeper, is the mead I made with honey, cherries and herbs all from my yard (50×100 semi-urban lot)…looking forward to making a honey-wheat beer this year if “the girls” can spare it!
Now you’ve done it…another book on the must-acquire list. LOL!
I’m very fond of tinctures, and was just thinking already this morning that I really need get a considerable quantity of decent 100 proof vodka in the house. Yeah, okay, not just for medicinal tinctures. :-)
I made new housemate very happy recently by whipping up a fairly large pot of from scratch hot cocoa (involving fresh Kinder goat milk and a lump of real butter, shocked in the cup with heavy cream)…then adding a friendly portion of orange mint tincture that I put by a couple of years ago and never got around to making into liqueur.
Said housemate and I are now exploring the make-a-small-still-from-a-pressure-cooker concept easily found on YouTube. It’s kind of at the top of the list of things to pursue if we ever get ahead of stuff here.
This book looks like all kinds of trouble.
:-D
My downstairs neighbor makes the most delicious lavender kombucha, and I intend to hound him to teach me how…
post directions when you get them!
Well, I just found this site and it looks amazingly enticing. I have to say on the drink front it’s just been the mint for mojitos….so far. I’ll have to put my thinking cap on. Cheers!
Homegrown hops of course for homebrew, but chocolate mint and homegrown limes makes for a very interesting mojito (or margarita depending on our mood).
Last year we made mojitos with our own limes and mint! This year my botanical offerings are multiplied abundantly, as we were able to pull up a huge deck with the landlord’s blessings. The herbs and veggies are already going in the ground! I can’t wait to see what concoctions we can come up with! If our darn orange tree would produce more than flowers we could do more! Gonna try to can bloody Marys and some boozy jam with herbs this year! I’m so stoked, I can’t wait for produce! ;)
We use home canned pickled asparagus (some of the brine as well) to make a fabulous bloody mary. Perfect summer (or winter…or spring….or fall) drink!!! For our children (ok…and sometimes us adults enjoy it too) we use fresh strawberries from our garden to make smoothies and strawberry lemonade. We also use watermelon for a refreshing aqua fresca. So many possibilities!!!!
Just started my own garden in Portland this year thanks to your inspiration and advice, which has been truly indispensable! I adore that your posts are full of incredible knowledge and simultaneous irreverence, and man, this book seems to be in the same fantastic anti-hoity-toity vein! So great!
That said, I did plan my garden mostly so that it could source a killer Mezcal Bloody Mary. We’ve got tomatoes, jalepenos, and lots of things that will be pickled and presented on a skewer in the drink for flavor and entertainment: carrots, radishes, beets, onions and pole beans, to name a few. Things are sprouting now – I can’t wait! Your blog has seriously guided the way!
Mint in sun tea :p
I was addicted to chocolate mint martinis the summer before I was pregnant. We infused the vodka with chocolate mint and marley mint (mint from a plant in Bob Marleys yard apparently and oh so yummy!) and then added a fresh sprig to the drink. So good I dreamt about them while I was pregnant! So glad the baby is out now! :)
Rye Whiskey and Sage Spritzer! Or perhaps a whiskey sage mojito !
I have more pears and apples than I can use fresh, and I am not a big apple or pear sauce eater, so I can a LOT of them, then end up using the stored fruit rather than the canned. I was trying to figure out what to do with the canned fruit before I canned even more and invented this drink, or I think I did, who knows? I take a jar of pears, apples or a combination of both, pour the juice and fruit in a blender in batches so I don’t end up wearing it (from personal experiance) and blend til smooth. Pour into a container and chill well. Before serving, I blend a bunch of mint into about 1/4 of the puree.. I love mint, so I use lots, but some people like less. To serve it, if you are being fancy, mix club soda, lemon lime soda, or gin (one of my faves) over a glass of the puree, stiring well, then drizzle the green mint puree over the top and serve with a straw, using the straw to swirl in the mint. If you just want a refreshing drink in the afternoon, steep a pot of mint leaves nice and strong, strain and add to the puree, then store in the fridge, just pour a glass, add the liquid of choice if it is too thick (or if you like gin) and go sit in the shade!
I do a couple infusions here and there, but my favorite so far has been transforming my raspberry liqueur into raspberry brandy cream liqueur.
Watermelon, crushed. Good vodka. Blender.
Summertime in a martini glass.
Hops for the homebrew! But I also have been doing a bunch of infusions over the last year. Cucumber, basil, and pepper vodka, and I have some lemoncello in process as we speak!
My latest concoction is quince-infused tequila. It is absolutely fabulous. No need to make a cocktail, it’s sipped, very slowly.
I just got a Vita Mix so I want to make my own tomato juice for bloody marys, similar to Snap E Tom, I love canning so hoping I can figure out a nice substitute since its getting harder and harder to find. I love herbs in drinks so interested in this book love stuff like this and books especially, LOVE books, self taught is my thing…..
While not alcoholic, it’s good! Cranberry or other jucie (pineapple also very good) with basil. Make by infusing the juice with basil…….pour hot juice over a crammed container of basil, let sit until cool, strain. Enjoy! Makes wonderful jelly too.
I am new to the herbal cocktails, but love to do non-alcoholic herbally refreshing drinks. I would love to learn how to make some amazing cocktails! I could easily see myself using all my garden amenities; mints, lavender, cucumber, basil, fruits, you name it! How divine!
~What raspberries & strawberries that actually make it into the house get frozen & dropped into sparkling lemon water & consumed on those hot days — we have hot days in Seattle, right? — while gardening.
~Sage, lemon balm, mints, & rosemary garnishes in gin based yumminesses…
~Fig syrup in everything I can think of, drinks & other goodies
~Sun tea from all herbs, sweet & savory
OMG I am so glad it’s gardening season!!
ooh… i keep hearing about this book and it sounds amazing. I don’t know how to mix drinks, so the only drink i’ve tried from my garden is mint tea. an amazing neighbor farmer makes pumpkin beer, honey basil beer, and i’m not sure what else… but jokingly (i think) spoke of offering an alcohol CSA… i’m in if that day comes!
I like to make fruit-infused vodkas and herb-infused simple syrups. Delicious!
Sadly, the only thing I’ve done so far is to use my home-grown meyer lemons to infuse vodka, but I hope to branch out more since moving and starting an actual garden last year. I added a dwarf cherry tree and some blueberry bushes to the lemon, lots and lots of herbs, and will be growing cucumbers this year; those are all things I love to use in beverages. :D
So far, I’ve been using my rhubarb to make infused vodka (which is delicious and a little bit different) and mint for mojitos and tea.
We started growing our own mint for mojitos a couple of years ago. I will be trying my hand this year producing my own wines from blackberry and plums and hard cider from apples and pears.
While not technically from my garden, a friend and I made about 5 gallons our own lemoncello many years back from another friend’s meyer lemons. It was the best drink and folks were begging us for their own little bottles. I haven’t been able to recreate it since and think the key was that tree. With all the fun ideas from everyone here, I will definitely be infusing more drinks this year!
We make limoncello but I buy the lemons to use in it. I have made lavendar-infused and mint-infused simple syrups, though, and the herbs come from my garden. And then I use the leftover lemons and the simple syrup to make (non-alcoholic) mint lemonade. Yum!
I love the basic mojito – warm, fresh mint from the garden, rum, sugar, and lime. It gives me an excuse to crush the mint with my muddler, which is always fun after a few “samples” of the mojito!
We make our own tomato juice inthe summer and use it in bloody mary’s and we’ve used our starwberry harvest for the usual daquiri. This year, however, we plan on making raspberry wine because we have such a huge harvest, we can never eat them all! And I plan on trying to make raspberry brandy. Slainte!
Elderberries, mint, purslane, lemon juice and gin… divine!
We use a light nettle infusion and parsley juice to make a smoothie that works well with rum or vodka.
The kids love to mash the raspberries and mint (and pretty much anything else they think will taste good) into a special summer drink. It’s quite refreshing for the grownups with the addition of a finger or two of tequila. Yum!
We made marigold wine last summer, as well as dandelion wine. Also all sorts of fruit wine–pear, peach, apple, blackberry, blueberry. No mixed drinks though. My husband is the drinker in the house and he prefers wines.
In early spring I love to make a rhubarb syrup, add some vodka, and top it off with seltzer and a twist. Sometimes I add a little spritz of rise water if I’m feeling romantic.
fresh mint is the ONLY was to make a julep
I MUST have this book. As soon as I saw it come up in my feed I was like “That is SO me” Anything that combines gardening and cocktails is a WIN in my book… but sadly, I don’t have a book.. therefore the inherent need for THIS one.. I enjoy making mojitos (the right way – none of that imitation premade mixer junk) and lavender & rosemary spiked lemonades. MMmmm. I can almost taste summer already. I’d be over the moon – with an herb infused drink in my hand, of course – if I were to win. Thanks for offering such an awesome giveaway.
My girlfriend and I grow hot peppers that we put into tequila to make a spicy and delicious infusion. Great for a Bloody Maria!
Rosemary-Lavendar Lemonade!
Fermenting mania right now!
I use muddle mint from my garden with local peaches (instead of ice cubes) and bourbon to make what I like to call a Kentucky Sunset.
Mint for mojitos, cucumbers for a lovely gem called Gordon’s cup (http://orangette.blogspot.com/2008/05/something-more-exciting.html). I’ll put pureed fruit in just about anything – blueberry gin and tonic, strawberry margarita, etc. Green beans make a great garnish for a bloody mary and lavender is super yummy in a simple syrup to add to just about anything.
Cucumber vodka! Black raspberry cordial! And of course, mojitos. Got hooked on mint juleps recently so will be planting more mint.
This book sounds like something to share with several friends (including some who don’t garden but do tend bar.)
Sorry, can I post again? We also make hard cider that is the best damn stuff in a bottle. And it’s easy. If you haven’t tried making this, you’re missing out. Commercial ciders are too sweet.
I use my mint for mojitos and lemons for French 75s. If I ever try my hand at distillation, I grow almost all the herbs that I would want to but in absinthe.
Cherries infused with sugar and vodka; plum halves infused with sugar and rum; apple wine in a carboy; plum wine in another carboy (I got tired of canning and juicing excess apples and plums so wine seemed a natural segue.) I’d love to win one of these books. “If you have a library and a garden, you have everything you need” ;o) (not my original saying – maybe I got it from you! – but I think it’s true.)
Ginger Mint Mojitos…
Cucumber and Basil in my Pim’s Cup. Looooooove it
I love to use fresh herbs from my garden for tea, hot or cold!
I just loved seeing you at the Flower and Garden show last month. Im not terribly creative, so simply use my home grown mint for mojoitos. Love em and always a hit with guests.
A sure sign of summer for me is a home-grown mint julep! Yum!
Wow, so many good ideas, I can’t wait to try some! My current favorite is The Bees Knees which is the juice of 1 lemon (from my tree), two fingers of gin, 1/4 cup honey (from my neighbors hive who pollinates my plants). Dilute the honey slightly with hot water so it mixes better. Shake with ice and pour in you favorite martini glass (which for me is a rocks glass since I spill). This is insanely good
I have made strawberry-basil martinis which are incredible. As well as monitors with mint and basil. Last year I made hard cider with the apples from my trees.
oooo pick me pick me pick me! lush here again.
grapefruit campari and tonic. lavendar wine. sage julep… don’t knock ’til you’ve tried it, and yes the original time was inadvertent – chin chin to happy surprises. eau de vie from plums in a garbage can with leaves and dirt – french style. jalepeno gin madness – cool and clear over cubes. more to come as i ‘member – off for raspberry champers.
gosh, gardening is such a joy.
Infused vodkas using herbs from the garden, hot peppers, watermelon, and strawberries for a whole bunch of refreshing cocktails over the summer.
my mint plant is my Mojito Tree, and after discovering Hendricks gin, I am looking forward to muddling my homegrown cucumbers in a Hendricks and tonic. :)
My friend calls it El Sanguino- it’s a tequila bloody-mary. We made an amazing version using our own homegrown tomatoes, cilantro, and pickled jalapenos. This year I’m trying to grow cumin, so that would definitely go in, and if I grow enough chiles I could make my own chile powder. Stirrer? Your own celery or cucumbers or sticks of bell pepper or… um… anything you grew that can be cut into stick shape ;). Knocks you down, but hey, sometimes Sunday morning calls for an extra kick.
Not sure I have any good recipes, but as I am going to try to grow jalapeno peppers again this year I may have to try making a drink featuring them ;)
I may not have any drink recipe ideas but the book looks so interesting – count me in.
I make Bloody Mary mix with my tomatoes, cilantro and hot peppers. I also infuse vodka with my oranges and/or Meyers lemons. Oh, and lets not forget mojitos with mint that I can’t get rid of in the yard.
I’m relatively new to the whole gardening game so my garden right now consists of some herbs and wild blackberry bushes that I obviously can’t take credit for. During the summer I make countless drinks but one of my favorites is consists of making a blackberry simple syrup that I mix with fresh mint lemonade, some vodka or gin and a little bit of club soda. My other is a twist on a classic G&T with a thyme simple syrup added which pairs well with gin’s herbal notes.
So excited to see this book in person! Tart cherries from a local farm make their way into cherry bounce in my kitchen.
How I use the harvest( of my local farmer’s market; and friends herb garden.) This cocktail is a little more labor intensive but soooo worth it:
Pineapple Sage Martini/ The Winterflower
5 chunks of fresh pineapple ( reserve one chunk for garnish)
1/4 oz Homade elder-flower syrup( using locally grown elder-flower, dried, then steeped in simple syrup)
.5 oz St. Germaine’s elder-flower liqueur
2.5 oz high quality vodka( I fly with the “Goose”)
3 leaves of fresh sage( reserve a leaf for garnish)
The juice of 1/2 fresh Meyer lemon( Though any fresh lemon will do but it has to be fresh)
Muddle the pineapple and sage in a shaker
Add ice cubes, elderflower syrup and liqueur , the vodka and the lemon juice
Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with the pineapple chunk and sage leaf
Short-cuts and cheats: you may omit the elderflower syrup but the bouquet won’t be as lush and you don’t have to muddle the pineapple if you can get good quality pineapple juice.( 3 tbls per cocktail) The kind in a can with the blue label isn’t the quality I speak of;)
Because I have a very shady garden, about the only thing I can contribute to a cocktail is a little crushed mint! However, if you were to include the sweat of my brow – that would just be disgusting! I have a lovely spot in my shady yard for the drinking of any libation and that’s what I look forward to as I sit at my computer and watch a squirrel poke its head out of a hole in a tree and wonder that it’s snowing again! Dang! Where’s my spring and my cocktail under the trees!
Lemon verbena, you know how they go on about how delicate it is, how not hardy? Every year I believe, every year I stare worridly at my poor baby, wondering if it will survive. Every year it gets over four feet tall, and I can’t figure out what to do with it, there is lemonade, there is hot tea, there is flavored sugar, and, there is BOOZE! Yeah.
Herbal simple syrups, mint tea, and my favorite — blackberry shrub. It’s blackberry simple syrup with vinegar added, so not too sweet (I think my proportions were 4 blackberry:2 sugar:1 vinegar). Himalayan blackberries are invasive here in Portland, so I canned plenty of blackberry jam, syrup, and shrub last summer — the shrub is getting used the most. I like it with club soda, with or without vodka or gin.
We infuse liquors as well, with cucumber or peppers. And we use lots of herbs in our drinks, including mint, thyme, lemon thyme, basil, etc. One of my favorite drink recipes when the gold cherry tomatoes come in, and the basil is going wild is the August Sun (recipe here: http://www.squareoneorganicspirits.com/TownSquare/TS_MixologyArt/TS_cucumbercocktails.html)
What a great idea for a contest, there are a lot of drink ideas here! I don’t currently make drinks from the plants I grow — which is why I find this book so interesting. I do love to mix home-grown herbs into my cooking in unusual ways — like fresh bay infused into my pumpkin tart.
I come from the humid tropical part of Australia, where refreshing drinks are always sought!
I love the sound of this book, The Drunken Botanist, I’ll buy it if I can’t win it ;)
We use the trailing mint, from our garden, to make the most divinely refreshing sweet mint tea.
Wow, where to start? Just about every edible herb makes it into tea or coolers at some point, sometimes alone sometimes in combinations. I love to take fresh mint, sliced cucumbers, grated fresh ginger, and sliced lemons and add them to a pitcher of water for a refreshing anytime flavored water. We drink a lot of lemon grass tea around here too (boil pot of water, remove from heat, add fresh lemon grass, cover and let rest until cool *** unless I am impatient) served over ice. LG tea is pretty sweet without adding anything but some like a little honey to sweeten it. Sour orange aide, yum and so easy. Also add whatever fresh fruit we have to wine to make sangria. Make our own Muscadine Grape wine too. The list goes on…..
Fresh mint mojitos, strawberry basil daiquiris and this year I WILL find a way to make rhubarb alcoholic.
I love using my basil for basil gimlets and of course our peppermint for mojitos. I made plum and peach wine last year. This year I hope to make elderberry and dandelion wine. I also am infusing blackberries in rum to make cordial.
So far the only thing I have grown specifically for drinks is Stevia, as a sweetener. I’m just now starting an herbal apprenticeship through Morningsun Herb Farm so I am looking forward to a lot of herbal teas and such. One of the instructors told us about using Mugwort for some beer she made once and Morningsun will be selling three kinds of Hops this year.
For my wedding I infused vodka with cilantro, juniper berries, lemon grass, chillies, and a whole host of other things to make the best bloody marys for the morning after.
I made a dandelion chai that is fantastic with fireball whiskey to to mull red wine.
Basil blueberry spiked lemonade, an idea borrowed from Little Ones Beverage Co. in Bellingham. A true oasis camped out at a summer music festival….
Truth is though, I’d really benefit from knowing more about the produce in my yard so that I can come up with even MORE creations!
Muah ah hahahaha
Im very impatiently waiting for my mint to come back. Im pregnant and all i want is a virgin mojito with my pineapple mint.
Waiting for my new 2oo+ cider apple trees start bearing we are sipping blackberry syrup in white wine.
I love rhubarb so I always make assorted rhubarb syrups that go great with booze.
Mint and strawberry mojitos!
I make liqueur out of rhubarb. It has to age about 18 months to get really mellow, but we love it.
I’m not a big drinker so I make a sparkling water with foraged blackberries and fresh sage from my tiny herb garden on the balcony of my apartment. It’s really refreshing.
Oh, where to begin? I’ve been a little obsessed with this for over a year now:
- thyme & cucumber infused gin
- lemongrass infused tequila
- rose-petal infused gin
- hibiscus & goji berry infused gin
- violet liqueur
- ginger liqueur
- my “amaro scuro,” with angelica, cardamom, bitter orange peel, cinnamon, star anise, wormwood, wintergreen and cacao nibs steeped in brandy. It’s an acquired taste.
- herbal syrups, especially cinnamon syrups and rosemary, which do wonders in cocktails.
- bitters! angostura-style, orange, grapefruit, chocolate mole, more to come.
In other words, don’t get me started.
We currently grow box herb gardens for cooking and I make non-alcoholic mint juleps with our overzealous mint plant. Would be fund to grow others for the loaded kind :)
I used lemon zest and juice from Meyer lemons, along with some local honey, to make a homemade version of Korean lemon tea. Good with hot water for tea, seltzer for an iced drink, and with vodka for a version of a lemon drop.
We like juicing the pomegranates from our trees, adding to sparkling water (or champagne), and a few sprigs of mint over ice…Also recently tried making Nocino, a liqueur made from unripe green walnuts & vodka…
We take the mint and lavender from around our back porch and infuse it into lemonade. It’s the best refreshing summer drink!
So far I haven’t used anything from my garden for drinks (I just put the garden and tiny orchard in last spring ). I have provided friends and relatives with tons of mint for their drinks though. I am hoping to eventually get enough of a fruit orchard for apple juice, as well a good crop of strawberries this year for smoothies!
I make Fresh lavender into lavender simple syrup. Mixes well with an herbal gin! Refreshing and slightly sweet. :)
My favorite lately has been spirits of Artemesia with pure cranberry juice, a splash of aloe vera juice and sparkling water!
Green smoothie with mint and chard! As for alcohol, hubby does homebrew and we made a beer last year with our first homegrown hops. Very fun!
Rumtopf with backyard and farmers market berries and stone fruit. And I also canned up some rhubeena to make cocktails with, but have yet to get around to it!
I married a brewer/distiller/general fermenter. If he can get his hands on anything containing fermentable sugars before I can dry it, can it, freeze it or cook it then it ends up in a liquid form. I’m happy to hand over excess fruit bits for vinegar however.
Ooh, this book looks amazing! Thanks for the giveaway opportunity. :) The main herb in our yard is mint–some previous tenant was innocent enough to actually plant in the ground, and now it’s all over the place. So I tend to just dry lots and lots of leaves and use them for brewing the most refreshing iced tea in the land. Not very creative, but certainly delicious.
We love home-brewing. Among the wonderful concoctions we have created in our kitchen from our harvests are: black raspberry wine, lavendar mead (from our own honey), spruce beer (a very strong brew), wild-harvested apple cider/wine, and pine beer.
We love experimenting with fermenting and are always looking for new inspiration for our brews ; ).
Oooooooooo lavender mead!! I am jealous!! Was it hard to do?
I love feijoa lager and feijoa wine. I am making rosehip syrup to go with anything light.
I have an exquisite scented spearmint plant that needs appreciation in a summer drink.
Pepino has a lovely summer cucumbery taste to add to summer drinks. My garden is a mass of possibilities from elderflower, to yacon, passionfruit, pear,peach,manderin,tamarind, and on and on.
Every summer we host a kraftskiva (Swedish crayfish party) and Hubby likes to make infused akavits to share. He picks up some good vodka and we add mint or fennel or lemon verbena to create different flavors. We’ve also tried rosemary, juniper, and different sages with ok to great results.
Last fall we planted a lime and a lemon tree-I can’t wait to make limeade and lemonade!
I make my own liqueurs–herbal and fruit. Yum!
uh uh uh pick me pick me pick me!
sugared rose petal sangria, hot mulled wine with plum segments, rosemary/ hot pepper/ fresh lime margaritas. shots of homemade apple brandy with a cinnamon-twig-impaled cherry.
just dreaming aloud here as i’m between GARDENS. UGH
I’m hoping to craft a hyper-local variant of a classic Aviation using Bing cherry liqueur made with cherries harvested from our neighbors tree, another neighbor’s violet infusion, Veracity gin, and muddled sorrel in place of the lemon. Nothing, including the infusion bases, has or will come from more than roughly two miles away.
I use brandy or bourbon in my blackberry jams, amaretto in any peachy spread, and ginger liqueur in my spiced pear butter. Can you say yummmmmmmmmm hiccup !?
I make elderflower cordial when our bushes are in bloom every year. We enjoy it with gin or lemonade for the kiddos.
WOW just found your site FUN
I grow spearmint for summer mojitos and have used my cucs and rosemary syrup in gin
Our house came with a bit of a mint problem in the side yard–mint everywhere, invading the personal space of all the other nearby plants. But, I turned that invasive frown upside down by muddling mint all summer long in many fun and tasty mojitos–mango black pepper mojitos being my favorite.
Pickled vegetables (cucumbers, beans, jalapenos, peppers and carrots) and canned tomato juice make great “home grown” Bloody Marys. Mint and other herbs for crushing into mojitos, and flavored vodkas. Just finishing a new garden with 500 sq ft of raised beds and room for berries, fruit trees. Jams, jellies spiked with liqueurs. Love your blog.
Cilantro in Margaritas…yummmm…always have to find a way to use that extra cilantro!
I once finished off a swig of beer that had been unintentionally left in the garden overnight, figuring it would still be good after a cool summer night, and forgetting the most common garden use for leftover beer. The slugs added a distinct sliminess to the brew, but not a lot of flavor. Can’t recommend it.
I second, third and fourth adding a rosemary sprig to any gin-based concoction. Asparagus is great in place of or in addition to celery in Bloody Marys. Nasturtiums make a nice martini garnish.
I make a blackberry-rosemary simple syrup. It’s great with sparkling water, champagne, vodka, or a combination!
Well, Erica, another sign of my misspent youth:
“Bloody Mary is the girl we love!”
Over ice cubes pour…
Vodka (Finlandia)
Erica’s canned Tomatoes (Juiced)
add dash Chilula Hot Sauce (or two dashes)
stir with one Pickled Asparagus spear
add sprig of fresh Dill
“Everyone should have something to believe in…
I believe I’ll have another drink.” W.C. Fields
I made a gallon of dandelion wine last year. It turned out a bit over sweet, but I’d never tried it before. Really neat experiment!
I admit I’m not that creative yet, though I’d like to be! This is where the book would come in ;)
I do love muddling basil in drinks, and am of the opinion that it goes well with most things, often in copious quantities. Drives my boyfriend crazy.
I make a strawberry mojito by mashing up my own mint and fresh berries with stevia, lime and club soda. I bet black berries would taste nice too!
BEET VODKA!
Holy Smokers! There’s a lot of great ideas on here-but I don’t think I saw my fave-beet infused vodka. It’s crazy good! A tradition at our thanksgiving, winter solstice, new years’ eve and Easter (aka Polish Fest) celebrations. Peel and slice a healthy bunch of beets, and put them in a 2 quart mason jar, cover with 750 monopolova or other fine vodky, put in a cool dark place for 3 days, and strain back into the original jar. Store in the fridge (freezer makes it weird) for moths. Drink it straight–mmm.
Love using fresh herbs in my drinks! One of my favorites is summer stone fruit, basil, vodka and a bit of sugar, muddled together and let it sit. Serve chilled one part fruit mixture, one part Prosecco. Yum, yum! Can’t wait for summer!
We are planning on planting hops to do a little homebrew! Otherwise, it’s limes and tequila. Cheers!
it’d be great to soak some ginger into rum, and make a dark and stormy with even more gingery kick!
ps glad you aren’t swayed by a few trolls, keep on writing to good fight!
sigh pick me pick me pick me hop hop :)
strawberry margaritas with little berry leaf brollies from summer patch, and coconut/ chili chi chi’s served in the nut (from when i lived in the islands). gosh, i miss those.
Mint anything… I grow 4 types of mint. Love me a cuke mint yogurt smoothie or mint lemonade, or fresh mint tea. I have plans for mohitos too.
Oh, and pick me- shipping will be cheap.
I have a teeny garden on the balcony – where I grow herbs, tomatoes, curry leaves and chillies (apart from some flowering and ornamental plants). I usually use the produce in my cooking and for salads, but using mint is our fav. way to flavor drinks (both, alcoholic and otherwise). A sprig of mint and a slice of lemon helps me get my daily quota of water.
I just made rosewater!
Yeah, this is going to make me sound like a boozer, but it’s totally worth it for a book. We do a couple half-gallon jars of blackberries in rum every year, that’s my favorite, mint in mojitos, we’ve played around with blackberry and elderberry wine, haven’t made anything to die for. I make mint extract with mint and vodka, probably going to try a few more extracts this year, did Slivovitz (sp?) this last fall, not bad, not good enough to do again. The strawberries we put in vodka were awful, the elderberries and the blackcap raspberries tasted medicinal – not everything has been a success.
I’m a life-long canner, jams, jellies, salsas, sauces….but how much of those goodies can you eat without something to drink?
My new passion is making limoncello! I’m starting a new gallon today with lemons that are in abundance right now, and am going to try a batch with my blood oranges this season!
When life gives you lemons, make limoncello!
That book sounds awesome! I’ve not made a lot of drinks out of things from my garden, largely because the garden is so small. I did make a pretty amazing rhubarb syrup last year, which was usually drunk with bubbly water but went really nicely with rum as well. I’ve got loads of strawberries in the freezer (some from the garden, most from an over-exuberant berry picking expedition) that would make margaritas, if only I remembered to do it!
It’s not necessarily a drink but fresh fruit soaked in vodka or rum is very good. Cherries left in fireball or a vodka watermelon. It’s all good. I also happen to dabble in the occasional mojito, strawberry margharita, sangria with fresh fruit, etc. Would love to have this book!
First, I just want you to know that the corn silk/fallopian tube reference is *so* getting used hahaha! =)
One of my favorite drinks is a fennel & blood orange cocktail. Chop up a bulb of fennel, soak the vodka in it for a day or two (depending on how strong you want that fennel flavor to be), and mix it with some freshly squeezed blood orange juice. If you need it a little sweeter, simple sryup works wonders, and if you dig some fizz, add club soda. It’s a fairly versatile beverage.
It sounds a little odd, but the flavors work beautifully together! My mom’s favorite garnish is a piece of black licorice, if you dig that stuff. I think a little slice of fresh blood orange is better!
rosemary and mint are two of my favorite herbs to use in drinks! This year i’m hoping to experiment with different types of mints, and see what I can come up with.
Wow – thanks for thinking of having such a cool giveaway! Isn’t the whole purpose of having a garden to make things that you can then imbibe? Glad it’s not just me! ;) I’d say my three favorites to use in drinks from the garden are 1. The mounds and mounds of fresh hops we harvast. They smell so AMAZING when you can pull them right down from the vines and get covered in the resiny goodness of their flowers in the process! 2. Of course a never-ending supply of mint for summer mojito parties with friends. 3. Tomatillos (after a brief stint in pickling brine) sit so happily at the bottom of my dangerously dry martinis.
Thankful to start off this weekend thinking of all the wonderful garden beverages to be had in the coming months! Cheers!
I make a Lemon Balm margerita. Spearmint works really well too.
Oh man, I am going to have to go out and buy that. I love using rosemary in pretty much everything…spiked rosemary lemonade anyone? With strawberries floating in it. I need more ideas though!
meanrabbit88(at)gmail(dot)com
Well I’ve never made and drinks from the garden. My neighbor is always making mojitos though, so I think this year we’ll throw in some mint from my yard!
I love Amy Stewart’s book and saw her speak a couple of years ago when “Wicked Bugs” came out. I’m exited for this book. Mints and basils are terrific in drinks – with or without alcohol!
i have messed with infusions based on fruits of all kinds. just started with herb infusions after playing with vinegars. would love to win this book, but like others i have put it on my “will get” list just in case.
Pick me pick me! I love a gin and tonic infused with rosemary.
This is making me thirsty! I’m working up to some infused vodka… but a lot of the other comments are going to end up on the to mix list!
All the herbs we grow are up for grabs in our mixed drinks. Tho- honestly, we probably use the farmers market for more inspiration than our small garden. This book is exactly where my husband and I meet our passions and hobbies together. I from the garden and he from the bar. We are avid ‘infusionists’ as well!
Mint Julip!
pick berries, pick radishes, pick seeds, pick me
what else can i think of? at the end of a long, hard day – like today – i always fancy a little muddled hemlock over a dry gin on the rocks. that gets the blood, well, flowing. have i mentioned limoncello yet? in the bubbly bathtub – actually make it a lime one. that’ll do the trick.
Nothing new or too original here. But we’ve been growing hops for years. Started out mostly decorative then evolved into actually brewing our own beer with our hops. Mint for mojitos, cucumber and mint for a mojitos-like drink, we use our tomatoes for a killer chipotle salsa that we occasionally throw in the blender for equally killer Bloody Mary’s. I’m dying to learn how to make sipping fruited vinegars. Bought some wonderful flavors in Portland last spring and got hooked! Just need to learn how if anyone can advise…(hint! hint!)
I make shrub with raspberries then drink it all year long, with and without vodka. :)
oh my gosh – pick me, pick me!!!
I’ve used mint in drinks before…..but that’s as creative as I”ve managed to go….squash, tomatos, peppers don’t really go in drinks per say and sadly, I don’t grow any fruit yet. However, I’ve made a mean sangria with farmer’s market offerings. Yum.
Ice tea from chocolate mint and stevia!
I can an 8-Veg juice that makes a mean Bloody Mary. That and the Strawberry Jam Margarita that introduced me to your blog.
I must admit I haven’t made much in the way of cocktails from my garden, but occasionally in the summer I enjoy some mint in a sweet milky iced coffee. Sounds odd but it’s delicious!
I have been wanting to try my hand at making my own tonic water since a gin and tonic is my favorite cocktail. That, and I would love the book for ideas on kombucha flavorings. Thanks!
Well it is more a weed than something I garden. Dandelion wine!
Basil In Peach Sangia, Chocolate Mint In White Russians.
I am still learning and experimenting. Loquat seeds soaked for a few weeks in brandy or rum makes a yummy drink.
moooo pick me
hibiscus iced tea with lime. elderflower cordial with lemon zest. and if a drop or 3 of sparkling wine were to fall in, well, i’d say…
these aren’t the droids you’re looking for. move along
I totally just went to the store and bought fresh mint. jammed it in a glass. It roots CRAZY easy. It will go in a container (cuz HELLO, MINT!)… then it will find its way into mojitos!
Sadly, I haven’t really done much using of my garden in my drink mixology. I love a margarita in the garden or an IPA. Actually, I do recall doing raspberry lemonade (only the raspberries were from my garden) but that was for the kids mostly… I’d love to see what other possibilities I’m missing out on!
I have gotten into the habit of mixing up raspberry mojito’s in the summer. Yumtastic. I also made some rhubarb infused vodka last year that was delicious….I have just started on this alcohol infusion path and would love to read Amy’s book!
If I were brave enough to plant mint. I would defintly make mojitos. Alas. Im so nervous it will take over i havent made the plunge. Im jealous of all you homemade bloody mary gals.
I love watermelon, fresh mint, fresh honey, and avocado blended together with a little chile powder, salt, and olive oil. And, the finishing coup is vodka, both keeping it fresh and giving it that extra kick. It’s super delicious!
Well not being a fabulous gardener nor drink maker the most I can boast is garnishing pretty drinks made by carefully following pinterest instructions with a sprig of my lucky to be alive mint:) but I adore the concept of this book and so hope to win- maybe drinking WOULD improve my gardening?? mmmm….
Lavender gin martini. :-)
I steep juniper berries, sage, other herbs and spices in gin — then use the gin in a much improved gin and tonic.
I eat everything from my garden. But I do use my tomato juice as a base for many things.
I have yet to grow anything for my homebrew as I am just getting started and found your wonderful blog when I found the Garden Coop! I am in my Whine, wine and weed stages with just my flower beds, but my chicklets (2 easter eggers, 2 orpingtons, 2 wyandottes) love the weeds! I would like to know if there were any after effects of the spent grains you and your homebrew hubby fed your flock…? We have yet to finish the coop and already I have grand plans for a garden on our urban lot. My husband loves it when I wake him up on Saturday mornings with a truck load of gravel, soil, sand, lumber, etc and his weekend all planned.
If I can get any points, my brothers tripple chocolate espresso stout is to die for! He is our designated brewer, and it is for him I would love to get this book for.
Oh! Pick me! I have been trying for a few years to have one of those runaway mint patches to no avail. I probably only get a few good mojitos a summer. However, this post inspired me to mix in something else from the garden. Raspberry mojito anyone? Raspberry basil mojito? Hmmm…that one may be going a little too far. ;)
Cheers!
Ooo! I love Amy’s books. I’ve read Wicked and also the earthworm book… and I can’t believe I didn’t see your presentations at the garden show! I was there for the better part of a Saturday… hmph!
Alcoholic garden beverage of choice: I have made multiple syrups, sometimes intentionally, sometimes when the jelly just does not set. Lemon and elderberry syrup have been very useful for mixed drinks! Elderberry syrup and vodka go very well with a mix of lemonade for late summer night drinking!
I first saw this book online at Territorial Seed Company who is selling “Drunken Botanist” seed packs – so cool! Here’s my cocktail go-to’s: mint mojito of course, sage & gin with seltzer, rosemary lemon salt rim on a bloody mary, raspberry puree with rum. Mmmm…gotta go mix something up right now!…
BEET MARGARITA!!!
Yes it is amazing! I use a 1.5 oz tequila (silver), .5oz triple sec, splash of sweet and sour, fill with freshly made beet juice, shake it! I top it with a few sprigs of cilantro to add flare. It is a must try and amazing beverage on a warm summer day. Enjoy!
I am not a drinker because I do not like the taste of beer and the other stuff is way too expensive for my wallet. However I am an avid reader and pick me so I can get to reading again.
I’m pregnant and therefore currently not drinking, but my head is swimming with ideas for when this baby is on the outside! Mojitos with homegrown mint! Bloody marys! Cucumber martini! Can you tell I’d love a drink? :)
I love a sprig of rosemary in lemonade. I know lots of people use mint, but I am not a fan of it.
We’re in Florida so we make lots of citrus liqueurs. Key lime liqueur is a unique touch in a Long Island Ice Tea. I would love a copy of the book to add to my mixology knowledge. Thanks for offering!
you Rock Erica! found you via MMM (luv him so).
lovely blog and lovely spirit ~
I coat the rim of a lowball glass with sugar, put one leaf sweet basil and one sprig of orange mint with the juice of one orange in the bottom, muddle it, fill halfway with ice, and pour in equal parts Grey Goose vodka and ginger ale simultaneously, served with an orange slice on the side when I feel fancy. We just call it Mommy’s Minty Orange-ade lol. I make it sans-vodka for my daughter’s tween friends when they come over. It’s really great for sitting outside in the patio garden reading on a warm day while the kiddoes play nearby.
My favorite mixer to make is a rosemary & thyme simple syrup. Cook a few sprigs of both rosemary and thyme in water, add a bit of sugar and cook until dissolved. Strain out the thyme and rosemary and store in a ball jar in your fridge to use to make a myriad of cocktails. My favorite being gin, grapefruit, club soda and a splash of this simple syrup. Delish and refreshing.
Dilly Beans in bloodies, nuff said.
Before i make salsa i roast my tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos, onions and garlic in the oven in a roasting pan. The juices that are expressed get poured into mason jars and become the most delicious bloody Mary’s ever!!
I am all about the mint (in water, in tea, in just about everything), largely because I am currently limited to a container garden on my rather shady balcony, so my options for planting are pretty limited (although I had cherry tomatoes do surprisingly well last year!). I’ve only really moved beyond drinking just wine this past year, so I’m hoping there will be more plant-alcohol experimentation this growing season.
This sounds AWESOME! We grow apples and pears for cider and perry, grow hops for beer, mint for the mojitos, and celery for bloody marys!
I like to grow lovage and use the lovage leaves instead of celery in my Bloody Marys. I also use the lovage stems as straws. Besides that I like to make rhubarb bitters and nocino (green walnut liquor) out of plants that grow on my property.
Thanks for the cool giveaway! I ferment vinegars with all sorts of fruit scraps and then make raw pickled infusions (asparagus in live strawberry vinegar right now) and shrubs. I also make liqueur from our loquat pits, it’s like nocino!
I won a Margarita contest with a Hibiscus Margarita I made using a syrup I made from dried Roselle flowers from my garden (Hibiscus sabdariffa), fresh lime juice, Cointreau and, of course, tequila.
I love using rosemary or basil with gin
Mint+limoncello+lemonade=dangerous. Also non-alcoholic thyme+red peppercorns+club soda=tasty!
Always interesting what clicking on a seemingly interesting article (npr) may lead…and I’m so glad it led me here. Just a quick comment to mention my new discovery of using loquats, sort of apricot/peach like, from a tree that sprouted up in my small yard which was from a seed dropped by a bird! Another happy accident. I’ve been experimenting with using the loquats in margaritas, but even more successfully with bourbon and now hendricks gin. It’s my loquatail: muddled loquats, hendricks gin, a touch of lavender syrup, and soda water. Careful, as several makes one loquacious.
Came here from your comment on the NPR article … I find that lemon and lime are the ideal garnishes for pretty much any mixed beverage, but my winter favorite is a hot toddy: hot water, whisky, honey and lemon. Gone are the days when I could pick meyer lemons from the backyard in California, but they are still mighty tasty!
My favorite non-alcoholic harvest beverage is cucumber water, and my favorite alcoholic harvest drink is by far rhubarbitas :) Hey, rhubarb is almost here!
The only thing that makes me even tolerate the mint in my garden (or more technically in a whiskey barrel as far away from any soil as I can get) is the promise of it freshly muddled in summertime drinks. Mix it with some ginger infused vodka and a shot of soda and I’m a happy girl!
Green smoothies (spinach, kale, etc) or homemade grape juice only at present, but I’m intrigued! :)
I love your site with my whole soul!
First, I’d just like to say that I need to try all of these drink ideas! They’re wonderful. My favorite garden drink is a shot of homemade blueberry or blackberry syrup, one shot vodka, club soda to taste for however strong a drink you desire, with a fresh grown mint sprig. Yum.
Along with the hops we grow that become part of the beer we brew at home, a cucumber right off the vine, peeled and sliced lengthwise is a delightful garnish for either a Pimm’s Cup or a Bloody Mary made with a home-grown mixed-vegetable juice (tomatoes, carrots, bell pepper, celery, etc). Now we need to try all of the drinks people have described above! I guess this will be the summer of the drunken botanists at our little urban homestead. . .
I make a roasted beet juice and rosemary – vodka “martini”. It’s now my favorite special drink. I even bring a vial of my homemade beet juice concoction to restaurants and add it to vodka ordered at the bar. :)
I hope I win a copy of this book!
Thanks.
I’ve never thought of making drinks from my garden (sad, I know!). But now I have something to look forward to this summer :)
Last year I made a popular bloody mary mix straight out of the garden – it was sort of in between bloody mary mix and gazpacho, and quite tasty with or without vodka. Looking forward to new adventures this year!
If, next summer, I should be eating corn on the cob and drinking a basil mojito, and the thought of fallopian tubes causes me to laugh so hard that I choke–I’ll know who to blame!
Aarrrgh. I just found your blog. Too late for the contest. :( Great post, btw.
How did I miss this contest? Would love to have that book. Ah well…maybe I’ll have to let go of a few coppers…
I always make home brew from my crop, honey, therefore mead. Since I don’t care for straight mead, I make what’s called melomel, honey mixed with fruit. I use the fruit from my farm as well: blackberries, persimmons, and blueberries. It’s a wonder I get any beekeeping done!