What started out as my friend Jamie and I discussing an idea for a story on gardening took less than a minute to turn to why everyone should have a cocktail herb garden. A cocktail herb garden is great for everyone from the advanced gardener to the novice (or noob as my boys would say) and it doesn’t discriminate based on how much gardening room you might have. You can plant one in your big, huge backyard garden, stick a pot on your front step or just dedicate a window sill inside. Either way, get ready to take your cocktails (and recipes) up a notch and look like Martha effing Stewart next time your friends come over.
What to plant:
Rosemary
Basil (hands down should be in every cocktail herb garden)
Lemon Thyme (Thyme is great too, but Lemon Thyme is where the real magic happens)
Mint (pro-tip, clap the mint in between your hands to let the flavor and smell release)
Cilantro
Jamie’s Green Thumb Option: She usually plants the herbs as companion plants to the rest of her garden because they deter pests so they work double duty- taking care of her garden and then taking care of her post-gardening cocktails.
Brooke’s Lazy Lady Option: Grab a little pot and grab a packet of seeds, put them in the dirt close to how the directions say, and see how they do. Do a little pot with basil and repeat in other pots with whatever herb you like. I’ve always had good luck, and if you don’t, then grab another packet of seeds and try again, nothing lost.
Real Lazy Lady Option: Grab a basil plant from the store, stick it in a pot and reward yourself with a cocktail for being the smartest one in the bunch.
Now that you’ve got herbs growing, let’s cheers with some of our favorite herbed cocktails:
Cilantro Margarita
None of us can remember who got this recipe in our sticky, little, lime covered hands first, but we all love it! I made a few pitchers for my husband’s work BBQ and it was a hit (minus I got jalapeno in my eye so I was walking around like a one-eyed pirate filling up everyone’s glasses. Live and learn.)
Ice
1+ shot of tequila per person
Fresh lime juice
Bunch of Cilantro
2 Tbl. lemonade powder (like Country Time)
Dash of Roses lime juice if you want to
1-2 jalapenos (optional, but even this wuss loves it)
Of course it really is better with freshly squeezed lime, but you do you (and I usually don’t do). Here is the real, original version vs. my Lazy Lady version.
Original Version: Fill your Vitamix or blender with ice, add 1+ tequila shot per person, juice from a bunch of fresh limes, add in your roughly chopped cilantro, the lemonade powder, a little more Roses lime juice and optional jalapeno. You’ve just made yourself one delicious cocktail my friends.
Lazy Lady Version: Fill your Vitamix or blender with ice, eyeball how much tequila you want, skip the fresh lime juice and fill with pre-mixed lime margarita mix (and some water because that stuff can be so syrupy. Side note- have you tried Costco's margarita mix that comes in a two pack? It's a summer staple in our house.), maybe a little Country Time if you’re feeling frisky, add in the bunch of cilantro and jalapeno and blend that bitch up.
Jamie’s Cucumber Blueberry Gimlet
Simple Syrup Ingredients:
1 C. Water
1 C. Sugar
Gimlet Ingredients:
¼ C. blueberries, more for garnish
8-10 slices cucumber, more for garnish
1 oz fresh lime juice
1 oz gin
Basil or thyme or garden herb of your choice
Soda water (optional)
In a small saucepan, combine your simple syrup ingredients stirring constantly over medium heat until all sugar has dissolved. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for three minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and allow to cool 5-10 minutes in the refrigerator or 30 minutes on the counter.
For the gimlet add blueberries and cucumber into a shaker and smash several times with a muddler until juices are released; add lime juice, syrup, and gin, and top with ice cubes (optional soda water). Cap the shaker and shake vigorously until well combined, about 20-30 seconds. Then pour the mixture into a glass, half-filled with ice. Garnish with cucumber slices, blueberries and a sprig of whatever you've got growing in that cocktail herb garden! Serve chilled.
Five Wives Vodka Strawberry Spring Thyme
2 oz. Five Wives Vodka
2 oz. of lemon sour (half simple syrup & half lemon juice)
4 strawberries
2 thyme sprigs
Muddle berries, thyme with lemon sour, add Five Wives Vodka and ice, shake and strain into ice filled glass or coupe glass without ice.
Jamie made this for a bunco night she hosted and everyone loved it…they just forgot to play bunco!
Lemonade Vodka Spritzer
Vodka with lemonade, cut with soda water and lemon, serve over ice and add a rosemary sprig. To be honest, a sprig of anything in a cocktail and it just elevates the look and feel of it.
Another good combination for this type of drink: Watermelon, mint and blueberries and really any fruit you have in your fridge, or on your counter, and a sprig of whatever you have in your cocktail herb garden. That is the beauty of the summer cocktail herb garden. You have options. Endless options.
Other quick favorites to get your creative juices and your cocktails flowing:
Gin & tonic loves a rosemary sprig
Moscow Mule- this is where you really get to slap that mint!
Mint Julep is another magnificent minty concoction
Our cocktail garden goddess Jamie also says that she “No shit, I find the best drinks out of the Costco magazine!” Who knew? Maybe I’ll read that thing now.
Here are Jamie’s favorite kitchen utensils to complete your cocktail garden experience.
Everyone needs a muddler and this one comes with a super professional looking little cocktail spoon too which will come in handy, and it's less than $6. (Although Jamie says an ice cream scoop works double-duty as a muddler when you can't find the damn muddler. )
You will definitely want a hand juicer AND when you enter the big leagues you can get this electric juicer that our friend Gretti has been impressing us all with.
Here is our herb garden cocktail guru, Jamie, and her favorite cocktail guinea pig about to dive into one of her latest concoctions. Cheers!
Here it's only 8:10am and I'm thinking cocktails. Well, as they say, "It's 5 o'clock somewhere." Definitely going to try some of these cocktails.