PNW Herb-Infused Gin Bar
A Botanical Experience
What you’ll find in this post:
Inspiration for a gin n’ tonic bar
Little “eco-friendlier” hacks
Ways to use herbs as floral arrangements
A garden snack board
Last weekend we had a long overdue mini summer soirée where I set up a gin and tonic bar in our backwoods for our friends. It was a major hit and made for the perfect fun summer party idea.
Supporting local companies brings be joy and this idea was inspired by the Copperworks gin, a local Seattle distillery. This post in not sponsored.
GIN N’ TONIC BAR
My summer gin cocktail bar was made with:
Fever-Tree tonic water (plain & elderberry)
Los Poblanos lavender simple syrup purchased from Ravenna Gardens
Copperworks gin (Local Seattle company)
ice
juniper berries, cloves, star anise (From World Market, as they have great prices on spices)
a sprig of rosemary, thyme and lavender (all from the garden)
nasturtiums (edible flowers from my garden)
citrus slices (lemon, lime, orange, and grapefruit)
bar tools: cocktail shaker, pestle and mortar (incase guests want to masticate any herbs or spices) swizzle sticks, metal straws, grater and (for whole citrus).
As a host, the best part of this is that most people will want to make their own drinks!
After many combinations, taste tests, and empty glasses later, we concluded as a group on the best gin and tonic concoction. Here is what we came up with: a few muddled petals of fresh lavender in a cocktail shaker, along with ice, a shot of gin, elderberry tonic water, whole juniper berries. We shook it up, strained it into a cup with ice and garnished with herb, and nasturtiums. Bar tenders kiss!
ECO-FRIENDLIER TIPS
I’m not here to say I’m an eco perfectionist, but I want to share with you what I did to make this event a bit more eco-friendly
Used all reusable glasses, plates, straws, stir sticks, & utensils*
Purchased planted herbs and put them in a vase, later to be planted in my garden.
Cut flowers from my garden that will need to be trimmed back.
Our “bear bar” was made from a wood pallet our treadmill was delivered on. We cut it up, assembled it, and stained it. Please note bear bottle opener on the far right.
*Using real plates did make the clean up a bit more difficult, but since our group was fairly small I decided this was manageable. These are just a few little things I did to help keep waste down and keep.
GARDEN SNACK BOARD
For an appetizer I threw together this garden board. I love grabbing unique fruits and vegetables to try and sometimes you can discover some amazing new foods, like this Santa Clause melon from Whole Foods.
Trader Joe’s is my favorite place to grab ingredients for boards like this, figs, Les Petites Carrots of Many Colors, Persian cucumbers, burrata, heirloom tomatoes, peaches, and champagne grapes.
On the bottom right I made a burrata summer salad, which could easily put in a separate bowl. This salad had 2 medium sized heirloom tomatoes, 2 peaches, 2 burrata balls, and about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar. And lastly, freshly ground black pepper and sea salt gave it an extra finishing touch.
Lychee from Costco and local Grand Central Bakery bread (personally my favorite local bread) from Whole Foods.
From my garden I added pea vines, squash blossom, radishes, blueberries and blackberries.
All and all this was a fairly simple set up, that looked super fancy. Most importantly it made for an amazing summer night with good friends making memories in nature with delicious foods and tasty drinks.
