It’s official. I have a new cocktail obsession. I call it the Garden Party. A beautifully floral cocktail, it’s bursting with botanical goodness. If you are partial to gin and tonics and looking for something interesting and fun for your next party, this is it!
On top of gin you’ll find the flavors of rose, hibiscus, lavender, and elderflower all beautifully balanced into a deliciously cozy yet refreshing cocktail.
First make the simple syrup. Add the water and sugar to a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and just begins to boil. Then turn off the heat, add the rose water, and stir to mix. Leave the syrup to cool or transfer to a lidded container and chill until you are ready to use it.
Garden Party Cocktail: Method
Measure out and add everything but the tonic water to a shaker.
Top with ice, close the shaker, and vigorously shake everything for about 30 seconds.
Double strain using a hawthorne strainer and a fine mesh strainer into either a coupe glass (sans ice) or a rocks glass (with a large ice cube). Top with tonic water and garnish with a lime wedge, an edible flower, or dried rose buds to serve.
Notes
Very Important! When purchasing rose water, make sure you buy rose water and not rose extract or essence. Rose extract or essence is roughly 3 times more concentrated than rose water and can sometimes taste medicinal or chemical. IMO they aren’t a great substitution for liquid applications and you really need this specific ingredient.
If you don’t have the main (hibiscus) bitters, you can substitute or mix and match with lime, lavender, and orange bitters and get equally delicious versions.
If you don’t have access to Fever Tree elderflower tonic, you can definitely use different flavors. Their Indian tonic, Mediterranean tonic and lemon yuzu tonic go nicely with this cocktail as well. And, there is always unflavored tonic water available.
Also, if you would like to use a different gin, make sure to look for something citrus forward with some nice floral notes. I would steer clear of anything heavily vegetal or briny. It would take away from the clean, light florals and weight the drink down. Leopold Bros. Summer Gin and Empress Gin would both work well in this Garden Party Floral Cocktail.
If you want to turn your drink into a gin fizz, nix the tonic water and do one of these two things, depending on the ice you have.
1. If you have large cubes for rocks drinks, use a reverse dry shake: Add the ice an all the ingredients, except for the egg white, to a shaker. Cover and shake for 30 seconds. Then, fish out the ice cube, add in the egg white, and dry shake (no ice) for another 15-30 seconds. Strain, as written, and serve.
2. If you have standard ice cubes, use a standard dry shake: Add the egg white in at the same time as all the other ingredients, but this time without ice. Cover and dry shake for 15 seconds. Then, add in ice and shake for 30 seconds. Strain, as written, and serve.
The reverse dry shake makes a thicker, creamier foam. However, it can be a task to fish out the ice if you start with multiple cubes. I suggest you have an extra cup or the other side of your shaker (depending on what you use) along with a strainer. This way you can quickly strain before the second shake.
Also, the egg white foam will set faster and last longer in this cocktail because the acid from the lime juice acts as a stabilizer. Neat right?!
If you don’t want to use an egg white, substitute with .75oz (22.5ml) of aquafaba (the liquid drained from canned or re-hydrated chickpea/garbanzo beans).
All a gimlet is, is a cocktail with gin, simple syrup, and lime juice. Like a daiquiri with gin instead of rum. So, just leave out the tonic.
A quick note on not using tonic: I really like floral flavors, so drinking this without it added is right up my alley. If floral flavors are not really your cup of tea, the additional liquid is a solid bet. You can always taste the cocktail before making the full Garden Party Floral Cocktail to see what you think!
P.S. If you want to really pop-off on your gimlet game for future cocktails, consider making a cocktail sherbet with citrus oleo saccharum.
