Distilled herbs, flowers and spices have been used as ingredients in alcohol for centuries, as many of the spirits mixed into our favourite cocktails today were once lauded for their medicinal properties. Here are a few of our favourite herbal elixirs and where to find them around town.
Chartreuse
This colourful yellow-green tinted liqueur is derived from 130 herbs, flowers and plants that has been produced by French Carthusian monks since the 18th century. The Woods has shaken up this healthy elixir with the Refresh cocktail off of its Oasis menu, which uses complementary ingredients including chia seeds, kombucha and chlorella – a fresh water algae from Japan and Taiwan that boasts detoxing properties – as well as vodka for equal measure.
Fernet
An amaro bitter liqueur, Fernet is made from a secret recipe of over 27 herbs and spices, including myrrh, chamomile, aloe and saffron. It was first concocted in Milan in the 19th century, then brought over to Argentina by Italian emigres, where it’s now drunk as a digestif or combined with Coca-Cola. Buenos Aires Polo Club has several options on their drinks menu featuring Fernet, such as the 7th Chukker – a drink that combines Fernet Branca with the manufacturer’s mint-infused variety, Branca Menta, as well as Cynar, another unique liqueur made from distilled artichokes.
Gin
Prized for its alleged medicinal properties, gin has been around since the Middle Ages and is said to have originated in the Netherlands, later becoming popular in England and throughout the rest of Europe. While juniper berries are the base of all gins, varieties of the popular spirit – such as the Eden Mill St Andrews Love Gin – infuse a custom bouquet of aromatic botanicals including angelica, coriander, rose petal, hibiscus and raspberry leaf. This fragrant drink pairs well with Chambord and fresh raspberry puree – as The Optimist’s Rose Fizz cocktail, a new addition to their menu, which also features rose syrup for its colour and fragrance.
The post Swing into summer with these floral cocktails by homegrown Hong Kong watering holes appeared first on Home Journal.
