Five Flowery Cocktail Recipe To Celebrate Mom!
These five refreshingly floral cocktails put a whole different spin on the term "mom-approved."
Mom Could Use a Drink
Toast the No. 1 lady in your life and all that she does. Tailor-made for a boozy Mother's Day brunch, these fresh, floral spins on classic swigs will have Mom feeling all warm and fuzzy on her big day. Garnished with flower petals and sprigs themselves, we can't help but think they'd go perfectly with a bouquet to match (hint, hint).
Lavender-Pink Peppercorn Vodka Sodas
A regular vodka soda is a notoriously one-dimensional drink, but a combination of lavender and pink peppercorns lends the drink a floral note with a bit of a bite.
The combination of lavender and pink peppercorns gives a regular vodka soda a floral note with a bit of a bite. Add the leftover syrup to seltzer for a grown-up soft drink.
Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup dried lavender
1 teaspoon pink peppercorns, plus more for garnish
1 vanilla bean
8 to 12 ounces good-quality vodka
1 liter club soda
Sprigs of fresh lavender, for serving
Lemon wedges, for serving
Directions
- Combine the sugar, lavender, peppercorns and 1 cup water in a small saucepan.
- Split the vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape out the seeds with the back of a paring knife and add them to the saucepan.
- Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring to submerge the lavender.
- Cook until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, and let the syrup steep for 10 minutes.
- Pour the lavender syrup through cheesecloth placed over a fine-mesh strainer, and refrigerate the syrup until completely cooled.
- Fill 4 Collins glasses with ice.
- Add 2 to 3 ounces of vodka and 1 ounce of the lavender syrup into each glass, and top off with club soda.
- Crush some peppercorns on a cutting board with the back of a knife.
- Stir the cocktail with a long spoon, and garnish with lavender, lemon wedges and crushed peppercorns.
Rosewater Gin and Tonic
This simple twist on the classic cocktail cuts the distinctive bitterness of tonic with fresh strawberries and the essence of rose. You can add a squeeze of lime juice, too, for a more familiar flavor.
This is a simple twist on a classic cocktail. We love the combination of rosewater and fresh strawberry. You can add a squeeze of lime juice, too, for a more familiar flavor. Look for edible dried rose petals in specialty food stores or online.
Ingredients
1 teaspoon dried edible rose petals
6 ounces tonic water
1 1/2 ounces good-quality gin
1/2 to 1 teaspoon rosewater
1 strawberry, for garnish
Directions
- Drop 1/2 teaspoon of the rose petals into a highball or Collins glass, then fill the glass with ice.
- Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon rose petals.
- Pour in the tonic water, then the gin, then the rosewater, and top off with a bit more ice.
- Make a slice in the strawberry from the pointed end almost to the root, and balance the strawberry on the rim of the glass.
Hibiscus Rum Cocktails
Mom deserves to stop and smell the flowers on her day. Dried hibiscus flowers bring a sweet and tart flavor (think cranberry) to this crimson cocktail that's infused with ginger and mixed with rum.
The hibiscus brings a sweet and tart flavor to this crimson cocktail (think cranberry). Find the dried flowers in specialty foods stores or look for them online.
Ingredients
One 1/2-inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup dried hibiscus flowers
12 ounces dark rum
Orange wedges or slices, for garnish
Directions
- Bring 3 cups water and the ginger to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat.
- Add the sugar, stir until dissolved and remove from the heat.
- Add the hibiscus flowers, and let the tea steep for 10 minutes.
- Strain the tea through a fine-mesh strainer, and refrigerate it until completely cooled, about 15 minutes.
- Fill 6 wineglasses with ice.
- Add 4 ounces of the hibiscus tea and 2 ounces of the rum to each glass.
- Stir, and garnish with orange wedges.
Elderflower Rob Roy
A traditional Rob Roy is made with sweet vermouth. For a lighter version, we used an elderflower liqueur instead, but kept the Scotch and a touch of herbal flavor.
A traditional Rob Roy is made with sweet vermouth. For a lighter version, we used an elderflower liqueur instead, but kept the Scotch and added a touch of herbal flavor.
Ingredients
2 ounces single malt Scotch
1 ounce elderflower liqueur, such as St-Germain
2 dashes bitters
1 small sprig rosemary, snapped in half
Directions
- Combine the Scotch, liqueur, bitters and rosemary in a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
- Cover the shaker, and shake well to combine and chill the ingredients.
- Strain into a chilled martini glass.
Orange Blossom Margarita
If Mom has been known to like a margarita or two, this sophisticated and citrusy spin will do the trick. We love how the perfume of the orange blossom water — used to wet the rim of the glass — mixes with the tequila and lime in this twist on a classic drink.
We love how the perfume of the orange blossom water — used to wet the rim of the glass — mixes with the tequila and lime in this twist on a classic drink.
Ingredients
2 ounces tequila, preferably a good-quality blanco
1 1/2 ounces fresh lime juice (from 2 limes)
1 ounce Honey Syrup, recipe follows
1/2 ounce orange-flavored liqueur, such as Grand Marnier
Kosher salt, for the rim of the glass, optional
1/2 to 1 teaspoon orange flower water
Mandarin orange with stem and leaf or orange slices, for garnish
Honey Syrup:
2/3 cup honey
1/3 cup water
Directions
- Combine the tequila, lime juice, honey syrup and orange-flavored liqueur in a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
- Cover the shaker, and shake well to combine and chill the ingredients.
- Spread the salt in a flat dish.
- Dampen a paper towel with some orange flower water and run it along the rim of a margarita glass.
- Press the rim into the salt to coat.
- Strain the margarita into the glass.
- Cut an "X" into the bottom of the orange almost all the way through, leaving the stem end intact.
- Slide the orange onto the side of the glass as garnish, and serve.
Honey Syrup:
- Cook the honey and water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the honey is melted, about 2 minutes.
- Let cool completely. (The honey syrup can be refrigerated for up to a month.)
Recipes: https://www.foodnetwork.com/profiles/talent/food-network-kitchen
Photos: Matt Armendariz ©2014, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved