Fall In Love with 3 Empress 1908 Elderflower Rose Gin Cocktails This Valentine's Day!

Instead of gifting a bouquet of roses this Valentine’s Day - consider a bottle of roses. Empress 1908 Elderflower Rose Gin is a rose-colored, handcrafted gin is made with nine botanicals, including red rose petals – a match made in V-Day heaven!

Whether you’re spending the holiday of love with your significant other or you’re planning to party it up with your girlfriends, here are 3 delectable cocktail recipes that you will absolutely swoon over. Here’s my tutorial on IG for how to make all 3!

ELDERFLOWER ROSE 75

Sparkling and celebratory, our Elderflower Rose 75 takes a well-loved staple and adds a special floral touch.

Ingredients: 

• 2 oz Empress 1908 Elderflower Rose Gin

• ¾ oz Fresh Lemon Juice

• 0.5 oz Simple Syrup 

• Sparkling Wine

Method: Shake on ice, fine strain into a chilled flute, top with sparkling wine. Garnish with a lemon twist.

GARDEN GIMLET

Enjoy the effortless elegance of our Garden Gimlet. Add a sprig of lavender to garnish and take in the aromas of a flower field in bloom!

Ingredients: 

• 2 oz Empress 1908 Elderflower Rose Gin

• ¾ oz Fresh Lime Juice

• 0.5 oz Simple Syrup

Method: Shake ingredients on ice. Strain into a chilled coupe or Nick & Nora glass. Garnish with a lavender sprig for aromatics.

BLOSSOM & TONIC

Blossoming with subtle floral notes and citrus essence, this vibrant Gin & Tonic can't be beat!

Ingredients: 

• 2 oz Empress 1908 Elderflower Rose Gin

• 3 oz Premium Tonic Water

• Garnish: Orange Slice 

• Method: Fill a copa glass with ice, add Empress 1908 Elderflower Rose Gin and premium tonic water. Garnish with an orange slice.

Ring in Spring with These Refreshing Cocktails and Mocktails

Can we all agree that it has felt like the longest winter ever? Even though Spring has started, I’m still waiting for the weather to let up. Maybe a light and airy cocktail or mocktail will help activate the season! Here’s a toast to the warm weather, the fresh air and sunnier days ahead with these refreshing bevies…

The Sunset Rose

Ingredients:

• 3 oz Whispering Angel

• 1.5 oz Belvedere Vodka

• .5 oz Lime Juice

• .25 oz Honey Water

• 3 Blackberries

• Garnish with Mint Sprig

Method: Place Blackberries into shaker and muddle. Add remaining ingredients into shaker except the Rosé. Shake with ice and strain into rocks glass over fresh ice. Top with Rosé and garnish with Mint.

Betty Buzz Grapefruit Thyme Fizz Mocktail

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 Bottle Betty Buzz Sparkling Grapefruit

• Meyer Lemon Juice

• Thyme

METHOD: Bring it all together in a lowball glass over ice. Stir gently and garnish with thyme.

THE VOLCAN SMASH

INGREDIENTS

• 2 oz Volcan Cristalino

• 6 mint leaves ripped in half

• .75 oz lemon juice

• .75 oz honey

• .25 oz lime

METHOD: Garnish with Mint. 

Delightful Cocktails for Día de los Muertos

Explosions of color, costumes and beautiful florals is something you may think of when you hear about Día de los Muertos. Although the holiday falls around the spookiest time of the year, the magical celebration is anything but that. Día de los Muertos, or “the Day of the Dead,” is not a Mexican version of Halloween, but rather a celebration of life. From November 1 to 2, the holiday’s colorful festivities are far from somber, with music, delicious food and (often) tequila enjoyed among friends and family as you celebrate those who’ve passed. It’s truly a beautiful time to reminisce and reflect, and why not with a festive cocktail in hand?

Perfect for celebrations both large and small this year, check out three cocktails from Volcan de Mi Tierra! Volcan, which proudly crafts it’s expressions using time-honored tequila-making traditions, can be enjoyed neat just as easily as in a flavorful cocktail.

LA VALOMA

INGREDIENTS                                                                                                                                                 

• 2 oz Volcan Blanco Tequila

• ¾ oz Fresh Lime Juice

• 1.5 oz Fresh Grapefruit Juice

• ¾ Oz Agave Syrup

• A pinch of salt

METHOD: Combine Volcan Blanco, fresh lime and grapefruit juice, salt and agave syrup in a shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously and strain over ice in a highball glass. Top with soda water and garnish with a grapefruit wedge.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 oz Volcan Cristalino

• 6 mint leaves ripped in half

• .75 oz lemon juice

• .75 oz honey

• .25 oz lime

• Mint (garnish)

JALISCO MULE

INGREDIENTS                                                                                                                                                 

• 2 oz Volcan Blanco Tequila

• 3 oz Ginger Beet

• ½ Fresh Lime Juice

METHOD: Combine Volcan Blanco and fresh lime juice in a glass filled with crushed ice. Top with ginger beer and stir. Garnish with a candied ginger and dehydrated lime wheel.

Celebrate National Vodka Day Right with Belvedere Vodka Cocktails

I love me a holiday where I can celebrate with a cocktail in hand! October 4th is National Vodka Day, and the best way to toast to the fun day is with the world’s first super-premium vodka, Belvedere. Made from Polish rye, purified water and a distillation process by fire, Belvedere contains zero additives, in accordance with the legal regulations of Polska Vodka that dictate nothing can be added, is certified kosher and is gluten free. 

 If there’s any vodka I order in a cocktail when I am out, it’s definitely Belvedere! So why not celebrate with it at home, too? Here’s a few of my favorite Belvedere cocktails to enjoy and to do National Vodka Day right!

BELVEDERE AIR

Ingredients

1.5 oz / 45 ml Belvedere Vodka

.75 oz / 20 ml Fresh Lemon Juice

.5 oz / 15 ml Honey Water (2:1 Honey to Water)

2 oz / 60 ml Almond Milk

Sprig of Mint

Method: Place all ingredients into a shaker and shake hard with ice. Strain into highball glass over fresh ice, and garnish with mint sprig.

HERITAGE ROCKS

Ingredients

2 oz Belvedere Heritage 176

Lemon Twist

Method: Serve over a large chunk of ice or large cubes

EVERGREEN ROYAL

Ingredients

60 ml / 2 oz Belvedere Smogóry Forest

7.5 ml / ¼ ozChamomile Tea 

15 ml / ½ oz Honey

2 Dashes of Angostura Bitters

Grapefruit Peel 

 Method: Add all ingredients to mixing glass over cubed ice and stir. Fine strain into a rocks glass over block ice. Give the fresh grapefruit peel a gentle twist before garnishing

My Favorite Alcohol-Free Drinks I Discovered During Sober October

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I decided to do a little bit of re-setting for my mind and body by eliminating alcohol for the entire month - SOBER OCTOBER! I really only ever have drinks on the weekend, but it goes without saying that it’s never a bad idea to take a step back for a minute and dial it all in. In October, I was all about creating mocktails and discovering brands that offer alcohol-free beverages. I was so surprised at not only how many options there were, but actually at how amazing and truly delicious each of them proved to be! A mocktail definitely does not need to be just a seltzer and lime. What I drank this past month surpasses what’s expected. The great part? You could whip up any of these at any time of day if you’re craving something with a bit more of a kick! Today, I’m sharing with you all of my favorites that I highly recommend, whether you’re going alcohol free for a month, you are alcohol free in general or if you just enjoy something really freaking tasty… I have a feeling most people fall under that category!

MOCKTAIL CLUB

Get ready to have your taste buds tantalized with the luscious non-alcoholic drinks from Mocktail Club. Made in the US with the highest quality and natural ingredients, Mocktail Club creates healthy, refreshing drinks reminiscent of classic cocktails, but with a modern twist. Each of these sophisticated drinks are created with functional benefits and include antioxidants and prebiotics for digestive health.

Mocktail Club has four flavors to choose from: 

Capri Sour: Tasty and tart, this drink has pomegranate, cranberry, apple cider vinegar and lemongrass – think Italian Spritz.

Bombay Fire: A unique blend of pomegranate, chili, agave and infused tea that leaves you with a warm burn like a traditional Old Fashioned. 

Havana Twist: Refreshingly sweet with a tangy zest of lime and hint of spice with cardamom; a new age take on a Mojito.

Manhattan Berry: Like its namesake, this drink is sophisticated with a mix of blackberries, pear shrub and a dominant linger of ginger.

DAMRAK Virgin

The non-alcoholic alternative contains the recognizable botanicals, including citrus peels, lavender, and coriander seeds, that its alcoholic counterpart, Damrak Original Gin, is known for. Damrak is the first gin brand to launch a non-alcoholic alternative, with Lucas Bols’ master distiller Piet van Leijenhorst spending two years perfecting the zero proof formula, ensuring that even at 0% alcohol, the spirit can stand out in a cocktail and mirror Damrak Gin’s flavor profile. Damrak Virgin 0.0, a gluten-, sugar-, and calorie-free distilled spirit, was the highest rated in the 2020 Ultimate Spirits Challenge Non-Alcoholic Spirit category. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that, worldwide, the rate of alcohol drinkers fell by nearly 5% over the past several years, creating the perfect window of opportunity for Damrak to introduce this non-alcoholic variant.

SUNTORY ALL-FREE

ALL-FREE is the latest exciting release from the renowned Japanese distiller and brewer, mostly known in the U.S. as the maker of Yamazaki and Hibiki whiskies. By combining modern technology with their brewing experience, the brand has created a crisp, light and innovative beverage with zero calories and 0.00% alcohol. Not sure what to concoct with a can of one of these? Here’s a fab recipe for the drink shown here.

Blackberry ALL-FREE Shandy by Elliott Clark (@apartment_bartender)

Suntory ALL-FREE

3-4 blackberries, muddled

1 oz fresh grapefruit juice

½ oz fresh lemon juice

2 oz green tea

½ oz simple syrup

Fresh mint and blackberries for garnish

Directions: Add ice, muddled blackberries, grapefruit juice, lemon juice, green tea and simple syrup to cocktail shaker. Shake and strain into a glass over ice. Top with Suntory ALL-FREE. Garnish with fresh mint and blackberries.

FERM FATALE SHRUB-BUCHA

Ferm Fatale isn’t JUST the world’s first line of zero sugar, wildly fermented, raw, live, and organic “ready to drink” mocktails in classic cocktail flavors. Ferm Fatale is a SOCIAL REVOLUTION.

Ferm Fatale mocktails are high in B vitamins, good bacteria, yeast, and enzymes that support and detoxify your liver instead of tax it. These detoxifying elements make you glow from the inside out, so you can wake up and crush it the next morning. Drinking dirty is about consuming good bacteria, knowing that the gut is the source of health. Local, seasonal, small-batch, and artisanal, these drinks are meant to inspire you to live your joy day or night.

Available in 4 varieties, including Nojito, Margarita, Madame Mule and Cosmopolitan.