Botanist's Lemonade: A Springtime Cocktail Recipe

Now that the weather’s warming up, our minds are drifting toward evenings spent outdoors, sipping refreshing cocktails with friends. We tapped our beverage director, Steve Wildy, to supply us with a lightly sweet, floral forward cocktail recipe that’s easily batchable for patio parties. Steve says, “for us, lemonade is an all-year affair, with different flavor accents coming and going as we cycle through the seasons. I personally get most excited about lemonade in the spring, when fresh and floral highlights resonate with warming weather and early blooms.”

Botanist's Lemonade

For 1 drink
1 oz Ketel One grapefruit rose vodka
0.5 oz Canton ginger liqueur
3 oz lemonade (recipe below)
3 oz hibiscus tea (note below)

For a batch that serves 6-12 (makes 2.5 quarts)
12 oz Ketel One grapefruit rose vodka
6 oz Canton ginger liqueur
32 oz lemonade
32 oz hibiscus tea

For 1 cocktail, pour the vodka and ginger liqueur over ice. Add the lemonade and then add hibiscus tea on top to create layered look. Garnish drinks with sprinkled hibiscus flowers, dried rose petals, or pink peppercorns. For a party, simply combine all ingredients together in a pitcher and serve over ice in tumblers.

Lemonade (makes 1 quart)
4 oz lemon juice
8 oz simple syrup (4 oz sugar, 4 oz water)
20 oz water

Tip: Keep a little extra simple syrup and lemon juice on the side to "correct" your lemonade to your own preference towards more tart or sweet.

Hibiscus tea
Dried hibiscus flowers are an easy way to upgrade your simple syrup. Just add a tablespoon to your sugar and water and simmer for 10-15 minutes. This can then be substituted for the simple syrup in the lemonade recipe. Or you can buy a hibiscus-based tea and, once brewed, add it to your lemonade in equal parts.

Be sure to stop by one of our terrain cafe locations to experience our entire menu, full of seasonal ingredients and inventive dishes.