Many whiskies already incorporate floral notes like rose, heather, or lavender, and floral-scented ingredients or colorful seasonal garnishes are a great complement, bringing renewed life to your whisky cocktail regimen. More than a just pretty face, edible pansies deliver a wisp of wintergreen, while borage tastes of cucumber, and nasturtiums are peppery and radish-like. Both beautiful and flavorful, floral whisky drinks have a way of growing on you.
Best in Show
Double up on the chamomile in this sherry and high-rye bourbon cocktail.
Get the Recipe: Best in Show
The King Is Dead
Earl Grey tea syrup and Pimm’s liqueur lift and accentuate an Irish single malt base, with bitters and Chartreuse adding acidity and brightness.
Get the Recipe: The King Is Dead
Butterfly Pea Whiskey Sour
The namesake flower adds vivid purple color and subtle flavor to this Sour variant.
Get the Recipe: Butterfly Pea Whiskey Sour
Dress your drink with edible flowers
Look for edible flowers at your local farmers’ market, plant your own, or have fresh-picked buds shipped overnight from vendors like Marx Foods and Gourmet Sweet Botanicals.
Szechuan Buttons—Also called electric daisies or buzz buttons, these golden buds have an electric quality on the tongue. Mixologists value them for the ways they can alter and heighten cocktail flavors. Angel Teta, bar manager at Ataula, Portland, suggests using them on a Sour variation.
Elderflowers—Popularized by St-Germain elderflower liqueur, elderflowers have a floral sweet note with a hint of vanilla that plays well in bourbon-based punches, says Teta.
Cornflowers—Also known as bachelor buttons, they come in a variety of colors. “They taste like cucumber or fresh raw green veggies, so they work on more refreshing drinks like a Paper Plane, Smash, or even to embellish a Julep,” Teta says.
Gem Marigolds—Vibrantly orange, yellow, or red, gem marigolds have a spicy, bitter, citrusy taste. Try them on bourbon Boulevardiers in place of the orange twist to add more depth and spice, Teta suggests.
Nasturtiums—These peppery flowers come in red, orange, yellow, and pink. Teta recommends using them to give a Kentucky Buck more kick, enhance the spice on a Lion’s Tail, or add complexity to a Brown Derby.
