Spring has sprung, and there’s no better way to celebrate than by using fresh, fragrant herbs to spice up a cocktail. Lavender, mint, dill, basil, and cilantro are all standard compliments to a number of classic mixed drinks and instantly elevate a simple dram to an elegant elixir.
The best way to get fresh herbs for cocktails is to grow them in an AeroGarden. Their hydroponic indoor garden can grow up to six different plants while fitting on a kitchen countertop – like, a studio apartment-sized kitchen countertop. The cocktail and mocktail herb blend will keep you and your bar topped up on fresh herbs, no matter the season.
Mint Cocktail Recipes
Mint leaves have a fresh, clean flavor with a cooling aftertaste. Mint works well with acidic flavors like lemon, lime, and raspberry, and compliments the earthy notes already present in gin or whiskey.
Below are three cocktails that use mint:
Mojito
- About 6 sprigs of mint leaves, plus more for garnish
- Fresh lime juice
- 2 teaspoons of sugar
- 1 ½ ounces white rum
- Tonic water
Muddle mint, lime juice, and sugar together in a Collins glass. Add white rum and top with ice. Stir ingredients and top with tonic water. Garnish the mojito with mint leaf sprigs.
Mint Julep
- About 5 fresh mint leaves, plus more for garnish
- 2 ounces bourbon whiskey
- ½ ounce simple syrup
Combine mint and simple syrup in a rocks glass and gently muddle. Add crushed ice, and pour in whiskey. Stir, then garnish with an additional mint sprig.
Watermelon Martini
- ½ cup chopped watermelon (or ¼ cup watermelon juice)
- 2 large mint leaves
- 1 ounce vodka
- ½ ounce Cointreau
- ½ ounce lime juice
- 1 teaspoon simple syrup
- For the garnish: a small watermelon wedge and a mint leaf
Chop the watermelon. Add the watermelon and mint to a cocktail shaker. Muddle them together. Add the vodka, Cointreau, lime juice, and simple syrup. Fill with ice and shake, then strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a small watermelon wedge and mint leaf, if desired.
Dill Cocktail Recipes
Fresh dill weed is a popular herb in Nordic, Middle Eastern, and Eastern European cuisine– though Americans know it best as a pickle flavoring. Dill is great in drinks featuring cucumber, gin, or both.
Below are three cocktails that use dill:
Saint Dill Martini
- 2 ounces vodka
- 1/2-1 ounce of kosher pickle brine
- Splash of dry vermouth
- 10-12 mustard seeds
- Whole baby kosher dill pickle, for garnish
- A large fresh sprig of dill, for garnish
Combine all ingredients (minus garnishes) in a cocktail shaker, then strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a skewered pickle and dill sprig.
Dill or No Dill
- 1 ⅔ ounces gin
- ½ oz elderflower syrup
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 ounce cucumber juice
- 2 sprigs of dill (1 as garnish)
- Pinch of salt (smoked)
Shake all ingredients together and strain into a chilled coupe or martini glass, garnishing with a sprig of dill.
Dill Cucumber Gin Fizz
- 2 ounces gin
- 1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
- 3 ounces club soda or sparkling water
- Fresh dill
- 4 round cucumber slices (save one for garnish)
In a rocks glass, muddle three slices of cucumber and a few sprigs of dill with gin, lime juice, and a few sprigs of dill. Add ice and top with club soda or sparkling water. Garnish with a sprig of dill and a cucumber wedge.
Basil Cocktail Recipes
The basil leaf’s savory flavor has made it a staple of Italian and Southeast Asian dishes, but it can also compliment sweet, citrusy cocktails. Lightly bruise the leaves with your fingertips before putting them in a drink so they will release even more of their mouthwatering aroma.
Below are three cocktails that use basil:
Cucumber Basil Slush
- 1 cucumber, sliced
- 2 ounces freshly squeezed lime juice
- ¼ cup basil leaves and more for garnish
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- ¼ cup vodka
- ¼ cup water
- 3 ½ cups ice
- cucumber slices (for garnish)
Mix all the ingredients in an electric blender on the ice crush setting. After all the ingredients are combined and finely chopped, pour the slush into a glass. Garnish with a cucumber slice and a basil leaf.
Gin Basil Smash
- 10 leaves of fresh basil
- 2 ounces simple syrup
- 2 ounces lemon juice
- 4 ounces gin
- Ice
Crush the basil leaves, then combine them with the other ingredients in a cocktail shaker.
Strain into a tall cocktail glass and top with more ice.
Basil Lime Margarita
- 2 ounces tequila blanco
- 1 ounce lime juice
- 1 ounce simple syrup
- 4 basil leaves
- Kosher salt (for rim)
- Lime wheel (for garnish)
Combine lime juice, tequila, and simple syrup with 3 muddled basil leaves in a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously with ice to chill. Strain onto fresh ice in a rocks glass or serve straight up in a martini glass. Garnish with a lime wheel and basil leaf.
Lavender Cocktail Recipes
Lavender flower isn’t just for your grandma’s potpourri dish. This strong, aromatic herb gives a floral kick to anything it’s added to while its subtle sweetness takes the pucker out of tart flavors like lemon. It is easiest to use lavender in drinks by making a lavender simple syrup: just boil 1 cup of water, 1 cup of sugar, and one teaspoon of lavender flowers until the sugar is dissolved. Wait 30 minutes, then strain the flowers out. You can keep extra lavender syrup in a glass jar.
Below are three cocktails that use lavender:
Lavender Lemon Drop
- 2 ounces vodka
- 1 ounce lemon juice
- ¾ ounce triple sec
- ½ ounce lavender simple syrup
Shake all ingredients together and strain into a coupe glass– sugar rim optional.
Lavender Old Fashioned
- 2 ounces bourbon or rye whiskey
- ¼ ounce lavender simple syrup
- 2 dashes of orange bitters
Stir the ingredients together and serve in a rocks glass over ice.
Lavender French 75
- 1 ounce gin
- ½ ounce lemon juice
- ½ ounce lavender simple syrup
- Top with chilled champagne
Mix the gin, lemon juice, and lavender syrup in a champagne flute, then top with the champagne. For the best experience, chill your ingredients prior to mixing the drink.
Cilantro Cocktail Recipes
Cilantro, also known as coriander, has a fresh, lemon-lime tang (though some people think it tastes like dish soap due to a genetic mutation). Used prolifically in Southeast Asian, Latin American, and Pacific Coast cuisine, cilantro mixes well with spicy, tart cocktails. You can also make a cilantro simple syrup using the same method used to make lavender simple syrup.
Below are three cocktails that use cilantro:
Jalapeno Cilantro Margarita
- 1 lime, juiced
- Ice
- ½ ounce cilantro syrup
- 1 ounce Blanco tequila
- 1 ounce Reposado tequila
- 4 small slices of jalapeno
- Extra limes, cilantro, and jalapeno (for garnish)
Shake all ingredients (minus garnish) together and strain into a lowball glass, ice optional. Garnish with a lime wedge, jalapeno wheel, cilantro sprig, or all three.
Cilantro Martini
- ½ ounce gin
- 2 ounces citrus vodka
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves and more for garnish
- The juice from one lime
- ½ ounce simple syrup
Shake the ingredients together with ice and strain them into a martini glass. Garnish with extra cilantro sprigs.
Cilantro Mojito
- About 6 sprigs of cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish
- Fresh lime juice
- 2 teaspoons of sugar
- 1 ½ ounces white rum
- Tonic water
Muddle cilantro, lime juice, and sugar together in a Collins glass. Add white rum and top with ice. Stir ingredients and top with tonic water. Garnish the mojito with cilantro leaf sprigs.
