By Cole Benoit
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Plants and botanicals might not be the first ingredients that many people think of when it comes to cocktails, but nearly everything used in them comes from a plant, in one way or another. Spirits are all distilled from some form fermented plant material, whether it’s barley, agave or grapes. Most sweeteners come from sugar cane or sugar beets and the juices we use all come from the fruit of a plant, not to mention nearly all the liqueurs are based off some sort of botanical or fruit. Then we have vermouth, amaro and bitters, all of which were originally created for medicinal purposes based off the various botanicals used in them. Whether or not they pay attention to it, most people are probably aware they are using a form of plant in common cocktail ingredients such as citrus juice, vermouth or orange curacao, but they might not think of some of the more interesting ways to utilize plants in cocktails. Fruit and vegetable juices aside, the main components botanicals can generally provide are bitterness, aroma and flavor. In regards to bitterness, many of the old world plants used in products like amaro, vermouth and bitters, derive their bitterness from ingredients that were originally added for medicinal reasons. Cinchona, found in tonic, contains quinine, which was originally used as a cure for malaria. Vermouth likely even gets its name from the German word for wormwood, wermut, which is a key ingredient in vermouth. Nowadays, we use these products to provide bitterness to balance the other ingredients in a cocktail, especially sweet ingredients, but we can also use fresh or dried botanicals to add bitterness to a cocktail. Making a syrup with hops, barberry root or woodruff, muddling bitter greens, lime leaf or wormwood into a cocktail, or infusing a spirit with green walnuts, cherry bark or rhubarb are all ways that you could add bitterness to a cocktail. The aroma of a cocktail can really elevate the entire drinking experience and using botanicals here is a simple and excellent 14
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way to do something interesting with your cocktails. Expressing a citrus peel over a drink or using fresh herbs such as mint are the most common examples of this, but you can really experiment with botanicals here. Try using aromatic parts of the plant such as fresh cherry blossoms, eucalyptus leaves, spruce tips or lemon verbena. Another wonderful way of utilizing botanicals for aroma is to soak them in high proof alcohol to make a tincture, which can then be placed in an atomizer. Some examples that make excellent aromatic mists are bee forest mosses, charred cedar wood, bay leaves, lavender or peppercorns. Flavor is the most obvious element that we can use botanicals for but it can also be the trickiest, especially when playing with more unfamiliar ingredients. Many of the stronger flavored ingredients work better as an accent, rather than the dominant flavor, but feel free to experiment. The simplest way to extract flavor from botanicals is to steep them in hot water and then add sugar to make a flavored syrup. A few suggested botanicals that taste wonderful are kola nut, coriander, banana blossom, calendula, birch bark, shiso or even seaweed. You can also infuse spirits or vermouth with anything that you enjoy the taste but make sure to taste the infusion regularly to avoid over extraction. Ultimately, don’t be afraid to think outside the box and experiment with different botanicals, as long as they are safe to consume. Explore local markets, apothecary shops or botanical gardens and let your intuition guide you into the wonderful world of botanicals. Cole Benoit is the founder and head bitters maker at The Apothecary Bitters Company, where they specialize in small batch bitters made from all natural botanicals. Constantly experimenting and creating, he’s also active in cocktail and spirit consulting, designing cocktail programs and products such as amaro, absinthe and liqueurs. His knowledge in these fields has led him into teaching others about these products, through articles, seminars and events.
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SUMMER 2020
