The Verdant Garden Recipe
A spring-inspired cocktail made with vodka or gin, fresh herbs, cucumber, Chartreuse, celery bitters, and lemon. Herbal, citrusy, and slightly grassy—absolutely delicious!
How to Make the Best The Verdant Garden
The Verdant Garden is the perfect cocktail to welcome spring. This refreshing drink celebrates the season’s bounty with a beautiful blend of fresh herbs, crisp cucumber, and bright citrus. Whether you prefer gin or vodka as your base spirit, this cocktail delivers a sophisticated, garden-fresh experience that’s both elegant and easy to make.
What sets this cocktail apart is the combination of muddled herbs and Chartreuse—a French herbal liqueur that adds complex botanical notes to the drink. The cucumber provides a cool, refreshing backbone while the lemon juice brings brightness and balance. A splash of celery bitters ties everything together with a subtle savory undertone that makes this cocktail truly memorable.
Serve The Verdant Garden at your next spring gathering or enjoy it on a warm evening when you want something light and herbaceous. The gorgeous pale green color and edible flower garnish make it as beautiful to look at as it is delicious to drink.
The Verdant Garden
A spring-inspired cocktail made with vodka or gin, fresh herbs, cucumber, Chartreuse, celery bitters, and lemon. Herbal, citrusy, and slightly grassy—absolutely delicious!
Ingredients
Cocktail
Garnish
Instructions
Cocktail
- Make simple syrup and allow it to cool completely. For extra flavor, you can infuse it with fennel.
- Place the cucumber slices and torn herbs in a cocktail shaker. Muddle them together with the simple syrup until fragrant.
- Add the gin (or vodka), Chartreuse, fresh lemon juice, and celery bitters to the shaker.
- Fill the shaker with ice and shake vigorously until well chilled.
- Strain through a fine mesh strainer into two chilled cocktail glasses. Garnish with cucumber slices and violets or herbs. Serve immediately.
Notes
- For a fennel-infused simple syrup, simmer equal parts sugar and water with a few fennel fronds until the sugar dissolves, then cool completely.
- Turkish cucumbers are smaller and sweeter than regular cucumbers, but English cucumbers work as a substitute.
- The celery bitters add a wonderful savory depth—don't skip them if you can find them!
