Jun 2, 2025 05:55 PM
(This post was last modified: Jun 2, 2025 05:57 PM by Magical Realist.)
"Simply put, botanicals are ingredients that come from plants—they also happen to be packed with nutrients. "From marigold petals in our vodka to hibiscus in our hard seltzer, botanicals are the building blocks for each of our beverages," McLachland says. Selecting and sourcing botanicals is unique to each drink, which means there's a world of options when it comes to all the ways you can use them. "For instance, the California bay leaf, rosemary, and grapefruit in Amass's dry gin are all hand-picked from my Los Angeles backyard, while other ingredients are selected straight from the source—clove in Sri Lanka, ashwagandha in India, lime leaf in Thailand, to name just a few," McLachland adds.
Rooted in History
Stewart explains in her book The Drunken Botanist that the history of many herbs, spices, and fruits are the very history of medicine. Humans have been using botanicals to treat ailments for centuries. And while drinking a botanical-infused beverage should not be viewed as professional medical advice, there's nothing wrong with considering the benefits of something like a digestif that's aimed to sooth an unsettled stomach at the end of a big meal.
Medicinal properties aside, classic beverages that are rooted in history, like absinthe and chartreuse, are intrinsically linked to botanicals. The latter is so inseparable with botanicals that only two Chartreuse monks know the identity of the 130 plants and flowers that are blended and distilled to craft this iconic liqueur. As for absinthe, its identity is defined by the balance of wormwood, anise, mint, and spices—that is, botanicals.
How Infusion Works
Masarin defines infusion as the specific process of steeping a raw material (usually in water) and extraction as a more general term for separating the functional or flavor elements of a raw material into a concentrated form through force, be it alcohol or other substances.
The dotted line between botanicals and consuming them are the processes of extraction and infusion. "To create our apéritifs, we steep our fruits, herbs, and botanicals in a blend of fermented chardonnay grapes, grape brandy, and a little bit of raw cane sugar. Nothing else added—that's it," Hambrecht says. "We developed our extraction process in-house, and it enables us to pull beautiful flavor from each whole ingredient." Over at Gray Whale Gin in California, botanicals are wild-foraged or sustainably sourced. "The distillation process is a one-shot London dry technique, where we start out with a six-times distilled, gluten-free, GMO-free corn base distillate," Mokhtari explains. "We then do one last distillation. The fresh botanicals go in a vapor extraction basket, and the dried go directly in solution. The resulting gin is a wonderfully sippable, balanced taste of California in a glass."
The Power of Plants
The appeal of sipping on something that's been infused with botanicals is its innate connectedness to nature. "We think of gin as the garden basket of the world. There are so many different varieties of gin that you simply never get tired of it, and they each tell the story of the place it comes from," Mokhtari says. Gray Whale Gin's six botanicals all come from the migratory path of the California gray whale—Big Sur: juniper; Santa Cruz: mint; Sonoma: fir trees; Mendocino: sea kelp; Central Valley: almonds; and Temecula: limes.
While there has been an influx of small-batch brands focused on botanicals, mass companies such as Ketel One have also noticed and responded to the growing migration toward wellness. "Over the last few years, we've noticed a shift in drinking behavior," Kupfer says. "Consumers are making a move toward conscientious living." Ketel One's Botanical portfolio offers three varietals that are 30 percent ABV and distilled with real botanicals....
What to Order at the Bar
So you're at the bar and want a botanical beverage—what do you order? "I look for botanical pleasure in vermouths, amaros, and bitters," Volfson shares. If you happen to be in town and can pay a visit to one of her restaurants, at Damian, she is serving a smoked highball that's infused with lapsang souchong tea and garnished with fresh eucalyptus. "At Cosme, we make a Yuzu Raspado garnished with a bouquet of herbs. Both have some internal cooling affects that make them summertime choices." Volfson doesn't use any processed sugar in her beverage programs, but instead, natural sweeteners like honey and maple syrup. "These sweeteners can carry the flavor and energy of certain botanicals and alcohol," she explains. "This is similar to concepts of fats like oil or butter, and vinegar and water. One isn't necessarily better than the other, it just really depends on the properties you are looking for through infusion."
https://coveteur.com/botanical-infused-drinks
Rooted in History
Stewart explains in her book The Drunken Botanist that the history of many herbs, spices, and fruits are the very history of medicine. Humans have been using botanicals to treat ailments for centuries. And while drinking a botanical-infused beverage should not be viewed as professional medical advice, there's nothing wrong with considering the benefits of something like a digestif that's aimed to sooth an unsettled stomach at the end of a big meal.
Medicinal properties aside, classic beverages that are rooted in history, like absinthe and chartreuse, are intrinsically linked to botanicals. The latter is so inseparable with botanicals that only two Chartreuse monks know the identity of the 130 plants and flowers that are blended and distilled to craft this iconic liqueur. As for absinthe, its identity is defined by the balance of wormwood, anise, mint, and spices—that is, botanicals.
How Infusion Works
Masarin defines infusion as the specific process of steeping a raw material (usually in water) and extraction as a more general term for separating the functional or flavor elements of a raw material into a concentrated form through force, be it alcohol or other substances.
The dotted line between botanicals and consuming them are the processes of extraction and infusion. "To create our apéritifs, we steep our fruits, herbs, and botanicals in a blend of fermented chardonnay grapes, grape brandy, and a little bit of raw cane sugar. Nothing else added—that's it," Hambrecht says. "We developed our extraction process in-house, and it enables us to pull beautiful flavor from each whole ingredient." Over at Gray Whale Gin in California, botanicals are wild-foraged or sustainably sourced. "The distillation process is a one-shot London dry technique, where we start out with a six-times distilled, gluten-free, GMO-free corn base distillate," Mokhtari explains. "We then do one last distillation. The fresh botanicals go in a vapor extraction basket, and the dried go directly in solution. The resulting gin is a wonderfully sippable, balanced taste of California in a glass."
The Power of Plants
The appeal of sipping on something that's been infused with botanicals is its innate connectedness to nature. "We think of gin as the garden basket of the world. There are so many different varieties of gin that you simply never get tired of it, and they each tell the story of the place it comes from," Mokhtari says. Gray Whale Gin's six botanicals all come from the migratory path of the California gray whale—Big Sur: juniper; Santa Cruz: mint; Sonoma: fir trees; Mendocino: sea kelp; Central Valley: almonds; and Temecula: limes.
While there has been an influx of small-batch brands focused on botanicals, mass companies such as Ketel One have also noticed and responded to the growing migration toward wellness. "Over the last few years, we've noticed a shift in drinking behavior," Kupfer says. "Consumers are making a move toward conscientious living." Ketel One's Botanical portfolio offers three varietals that are 30 percent ABV and distilled with real botanicals....
What to Order at the Bar
So you're at the bar and want a botanical beverage—what do you order? "I look for botanical pleasure in vermouths, amaros, and bitters," Volfson shares. If you happen to be in town and can pay a visit to one of her restaurants, at Damian, she is serving a smoked highball that's infused with lapsang souchong tea and garnished with fresh eucalyptus. "At Cosme, we make a Yuzu Raspado garnished with a bouquet of herbs. Both have some internal cooling affects that make them summertime choices." Volfson doesn't use any processed sugar in her beverage programs, but instead, natural sweeteners like honey and maple syrup. "These sweeteners can carry the flavor and energy of certain botanicals and alcohol," she explains. "This is similar to concepts of fats like oil or butter, and vinegar and water. One isn't necessarily better than the other, it just really depends on the properties you are looking for through infusion."
https://coveteur.com/botanical-infused-drinks