Are you looking for some herbal alcoholic drinks to spice up, and nourish, your drink menu at home? These herbal drinks make for alcohol recipes everyone is sure to love (mind and body)!
The best natural alcoholic drinks are the drinks we make ourselves. I am a firm believer in our health and wellness begins in our very own kitchen.
As a homebrewer myself, I see the vast opportunity for creating alcoholic beverages that are medicinal and nourishing. May we all craft decadent nutritive drinks for our friends and family!
This post will show you all about the various kinds of herbal alcoholic beverages we can make at home. Including the three ways we can infuse medicinal properties into alcoholic drinks. You will learn about herbal beers, botanical mixed herbal drinks, and ways to turn champagne into a herbal alcoholic drink!
After learning these different herbal drinks you will be inspired and ready to make some herbal alcoholic beverages!
This post is all about nourishing herbal alcoholic drinks.
Best Herbal Alcoholic Drinks
It is interesting that in our world today drinking can be written off as “bad”, unhealthy, and in some ways unattractive. In traditional societies, the act of creating and serving fermented beverages was a sacred, and righteous, act. When did we diverge so far from our ancestors?
In one of my favorite books, Uncorking the Past by the archaeologist Patrick E. McGovern, he states,
“… in the Stone Age… A woman like the Laussel Venus might have been responsible for making the magic potion that opened up the hidden resources of the human brain, healed disease, and assured a successful hunt.”
The “magic potion” being any sort of fermented beverage from herbed wine, to beer. These “magic potions” are not so out of reach for you and I. With a tad bit of learning you, too, can be a magic potion creator.
Becoming a magic potion creator will change your perspective on alcohol, drinking, fermentation, and herbalism. The blend of these concepts has long been forgotten as sacred, and even forgotten as our natural instincts!
Your medicine and the exploration of your drunken mind is all within reach. Either in your kitchen right now, or a car ride away.
The 3 Ways to Infuse Herbs for Medicinal Alcoholic Drinks
Below are the main ways in which you can implement the nourishing and nutritive properties of herbs into your cocktail concoctions and make KILLER alcoholic drinks at home.
1. Liquor Infusions
Infusing liquor with herbs are a simple and easy way to extract flavor and medicinal properties from herbs and other plant materials into your favorite liquor. From rose infused tequila to cacao infused bourbon the possibilities are endless!
Infusions can also elongate the lifespan of your herbs. Fermentation has been used for centuries as a natural preservative. So, fermenting or infusing your herbs into liquor will give those herbs longevity.
What you need for an infusion:
- The alcohol of your choice: gin, rum, tequila, vodka.
- Note: vodka will be like a clean slate to add flavors to while run, tequila and gin already have decent and apparent flavor.
- The herb of your choice. *Some examples: lavender, lemon balm, ginger, rose petals, pine needles, elderberries, hops
- A quart size mason jar
How to infuse your alcohol:
Each herb will be different based on their flavor and aroma properties, and whether they are dried or fresh herbs. I would recommend using dried herbs until you are familiar with the process.
- Take 3-4 tablespoons of your dried herb and place in the mason jar.
- Pour your desired alcohol on top of the herb.
- Place parchment paper on top of the jar and then screw the lid shut.
Depending on what you are infusing will determine the length needed for a successful infusion.
- For strong flavorful botanicals like lavender and vanilla bean: 3-24 hours.
- For fresh citrus, and roots: 1-3 days
- Fresh vegetables and fruits: 3-7 days
- Dried herbs that lack strong flavor and aroma: Up to 14 days
Begin tasting your infusion after a few hours, or days depending on material infusing, and drain the infusion when the taste reaches your desirable level.
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2. Herbal Bitters
Herbal bitters are a great way to add bitterness to your mixed herbal drink, but also can double as an herbal supplement.
Bitters can help improve liver function which helps with overall detoxification of the body. Alternatively, they help stimulate digestion so you can enjoy it as a pre or post meal aperitif.
If you enjoy taking herbal supplements in tincture form, then making herbal bitters will be a beneficial addition to your health care regime.
Whether you make herbal bitters for cocktail creation or a casual herbal supplement, you will find them useful. Check out how to make an orange and dandelion bitters here!
3. Herbal Syrups
Herbal syrup is similar to the classic simple syrup. For example, you can make a pine simple syrup, elderberry syrup, violet syrup, etc. The process extracts the nutritive properties into the syrup.
How to make herbal syrups for cocktails:
- Choose your desired herb(s). Example combinations might be: orange & thyme or apple & cinnamon.
- Using a 1:1 ratio of sugar and water, bring the sugar water to a simmer on the stove. You can substitute cane sugar for honey or maple syrup.
- Once simmering and the sugar has dissolved, place 2-4 tablespoons of herb. More herb, more potent color and flavor.
- Simmer for additional 5 minutes with pot covered.
- Taste! If you want more flavor, allow to simmer longer.
- Once done, strain out the plant material with a fine mesh strainer and/or cheesecloth.
Now you are ready to make some herbal alcoholic beverages!
Herbal Alcoholic Drink Recipes
And we are onto the herbal alcoholic drink recipes! Most recipes will need a cocktail shaker and/or a cocktail glass.
I recommend finding some herbs that are sustainably sourced and ethically produced. Rebecca’s Apothecary is to DIE for and recommend all their products.
1. Tulsi (Holy Basil) & Lemon Martini
Holy Basil is seen as an adaptogenic herb. Which means it helps the body react better to stress and anxiety to restore to balance quicker. Lemon is a great cleansing agent in the body. So, sip this martini when you are under more stress, or when you feel your body needs a rebalance.
What you need for this recipe:
- 2 oz Tulsi infused vodka
- 1/2 fl oz Lemon syrup
- 1/2 fl oz Dry vermouth
- Cocktail shaker
- Martini glass
Use these measurements at your discretion, if you want more lemon syrup or more vodka, don’t be shy. This is YOUR cocktail, not anyone else’s so enjoy the art of the craft.
How to make this cocktail:
In a cocktail shaker combine your tulsi vodka, lemon syrup, and vermouth and fill about half way with ice. Shake hard for about 20 seconds and strain into your martini glass. Option to garnish with a lemon slice.
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2. Orange Elderberry Whiskey Sour
Orange and elderberry combination is jam packed with antioxidants, flavonoids, and Vitamin C, which all aid our immune systems. Sip this nourishing whiskey sour during the colder months to decompress and support your immune system.
What you need for this recipe:
- 1/2 oz Elderberry simple syrup
- 2 oz bourbon
- 3/4 ounce fresh squeezed orange juice
- 1 egg white for frothy texture (optional)
Use these measurements at your discretion, make sure to taste the drink as you go and add what suits your style!
How to make this cocktail:
Add ingredients into a shaker without ice, and give a good shake. Then, add ice and shake again until chilled. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with orange peel or orange slice!
3. Pine & Lemon Balm Holiday Moscow Mule
Lemon Balm is a lovely sedative and nervine relaxant. While lime juice and ginger help cleanse and support digestion. Sip this cocktail in the evening to melt the stress away, relax your nervous system, and give your digestion a boost.
What you need for this recipe:
- 2 oz pine needle infused vodka
- 1 oz Ginger & Lemon Balm syrup
- 1/2 oz of fresh squeezed lime juice
- Carbonated soda
Use these measurements at your discretion, make sure to taste the drink as you go and add what suits your style!
Add vodka, syrup and lemon juice into a cocktail shaker. Give it a good shake. Pour into a copper mule mug, add some ice. Then, top off with carbonated water. Garnish with sliced ginger, vanilla bean, and/or lime slices.
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4. Cardamon Rose Eggnog
What you need for this recipe:
- 4 oz of eggnog (either homemade or store bought)
- 1 oz of strong cardamon & rose petal syrup
- 2 oz Kentucky bourbon
- Rose petal and/or cinnamon sticks for garnish
Add all the ingredients into a mug or cocktail glass and stir together. Garnish with cinnamon sticks, cardamon powder, and/or rose petals.
Those are just a few examples of herbal alcoholic beverages you can make at home.
From making herbal bitters, herbal syrups, and infusing your liquor, the combinations are endless. Not only in flavor, color, and overall look of your mixed herbal drink, but also the combinations of different herbal remedies to help support your mind and body.
Overall, we can use drinking alcohol to our advantage by exploring our mind’s hidden resources, inviting herbalist concoctions for our mind and body, and understanding the role fermentation plays in our natural human instincts.
This post was all about how to make nutritive herbal alcoholic drinks at home.
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