Edible Flowers For Cocktails

When you think of flowers, you probably don’t imagine them being used in a cocktail. And yet, edible flowers are starting to become the norm in some restaurants and bars. More than just a pretty garnish on your table, edible flowers can actually make your drink taste better!

Lavender

The name of this flower comes from the Latin lavare, which means “to wash,” so it may have been named for its cleansing properties. Lavender has been used as a natural dye, perfume and aromatherapy.

Lavender is grown commercially around the world for its scented flowers and oil. It’s also used in cooking as an herbal seasoning to flavor meats, vegetables or desserts. The purple petals can be candied and eaten straight off the stem like gumdrops or spread onto cakes before baking. If you’re looking for a new way to use lavender in your cocktails you’ll need about 10-12 fresh leaves per cocktail glass; just add them directly into your drink after straining out any other ingredients (like fruits).

Hibiscus

Hibiscus flowers are delicious, fresh, and full of vibrant color. They can be found in most grocery stores during the summer months. Hibiscus is known for its tartness and is often paired with sweet ingredients like candied ginger to balance out its flavor profile. If you’re looking for a way to make your cocktails stand out from the crowd, try adding an edible flower or two!

Calendula Blossoms

Calendula Blossoms can be used in both non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks. The petals add a sweet, floral taste to drinks such as fruit juice or tea. You can also steep calendula blossoms in vodka or gin for use as an infusion. In addition to being flavorful, they contain antioxidants that may help protect against cancer, arthritis and heart disease.

Rose Petals

Rose petals can be used to add a subtle, floral flavor to cocktails. They’re also a great way to bring some color into your drinks without adding any additional liquid. Because of their delicate nature, rose petals are best used as an accent rather than the main ingredient in your cocktail.

To use rose petals in cocktails:

• Add 3-4 drops of rose water into your drink before shaking (this will help keep the petals from falling out).
• If you’d like a stronger flavor from the roses, add them after shaking but before straining/filtering.

Chrysanthemum

The chrysanthemum, also known as the mum, is a perennial flowering plant of the genus Chrysanthemum in the family Asteraceae. They are native to Asia and northeastern Europe, from Turkey east to Russia, Japan and China. The chrysanthemums are one of the oldest flowers. They were cultivated for their aesthetic value in East Asia (China) 2200 BC.

Nasturtiums

Nasturtiums produce beautiful small flowers that come in red, orange, yellow and white varieties. Nasturtiums are edible, so they can be used as garnish on cocktails or placed in the bottom of a glass to add flavor to a drink. They also look great when floating on top of fruity cocktails like sangria or pisco punch.

Jasmine Flowers

Jasmine flowers have a sweet and floral taste. They’re delicious, but they can also be quite expensive. The jasmine flower is a very popular ingredient in Middle Eastern cuisine, so it’s easy to find at markets in the area. If you don’t live near an area with a large Middle Eastern community, you may need to order these online or from someone who does business with them regularly.

You can use jasmine blossoms for many cocktails like Mojitos and Daiquiris because of their delicious flavor blend and subtle aroma that will enhance any drink!

Edible Flowers For Cocktails

• Let’s get extra fancy and make your drinks look as good as they taste.
• Start with a cocktail that’s already delicious, like this one from the Waldorf Astoria New York—it’s awfully sweet and has a strong citrus flavor. The flower garnish is easy to add, but it makes for a dramatic effect:

It’s easy to be intimidated by the idea of making your own cocktail, but we hope that we’ve given you some useful tips and ideas. We also want to leave you with one last thought: don’t be afraid! Just have fun and experiment with different recipes, ingredients and techniques until something clicks for you. The most important thing is that it tastes good!