The English Garden cocktail is a charming blend of gin, apple, elderflower and lime. It’s essentially the tastes and aromas of British summertime in a glass. This English cocktail is quick & easy to make and extremely refreshing.
This post is sponsored by Mixologist’s Garden. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Jump to:
Expect to be transported to balmy sunny days when you savour my take on the classic English Garden cocktail. It’s full of floral notes along with lively fruit – basically, all the aromas you are likely to encounter in an English garden in the summertime.
This aromatic English cocktail is ideal for summer sipping, whether in your own back garden or as picnic season emerges as it can be made in advance and decanted into flasks ready to pour.
What is an English Garden cocktail?
The English Garden drink is a long gin and apple juice cocktail made from 4 core ingredients:
- London dry gin
- Cloudy apple juice
- Elderflower liqueur
- Lime juice
There are a few variations knocking around with some recipes calling for mint to be muddled directly into the alcohol. Other recipes use cucumber and mint as a garnish only.
I decided to include neither the herby (mint) nor the vegetal (cucumber) optional elements in this refreshing fruity drink. Instead, I prefer to let those core flavours do the talking.
I’ve also made use of Mixologist’s Garden fruit garnishes for visual impact as well as their striking fruity aromas which pair so well with this summery serve. They certainly liven up the glass and bring this lovely English cocktail bang up-to-date as well as making it easy and mess-free to garnish.
You may also enjoy my strawberry mojito and blackcurrant mojito recipes. They are lovely drinks to linger over in the summer too.
Why you’ll enjoy this cocktail
- Quick & easy: it takes mere minutes to make this drink and no fancy bar equipment is needed.
- Simple ingredients: you’ll likely be able to pick up all of the ingredients at well-stocked supermarkets or online.
- Long & refreshing: this drink is not too strong, making it the perfect tipple for enjoying on lazy summer afternoons or evenings with family and friends.
- Appearance: laden with Mixologist’s Garden fruit garnishes, this is an extremely pretty drink to serve.
- Taste: expect a gentle hum of alcohol blended with lively apple and lime alongside gentle floral notes.
Ingredients notes
Gin: you’ll need a London dry gin to build your English Garden cocktail. If you want to give a nod to tradition, opt for a gin with accents of cucumber, otherwise a floral lead gin works wonders here.
Elderflower liqueur: this is easy to find in supermarkets and online. It adds an enchanting nuance of summer flowers to this very English cocktail.
Apple juice: always use cloudy apple juice for this drink and ensure that it is not from concentrate. Cloudy apple juice has some fruit solids left in there giving it a deeper and fresher taste than clear juice. The fruit content is also what makes it cloudy. Avoid clear apple juice and apple juice made from concentrate.
Garnishes: trust me, you’ll love the ease and simplicity of using freeze-dried fruits from (paid link) Mixologist’s Garden to effortlessly dress this cocktail up. There’s no chopping or slicing, so no wet fingers or washing up of knives and chopping boards are involved. Instead, the limes, strawberries and raspberries create a very pretty and entirely fitting garnish to this summertime cocktail. The ingredients stay fresh for a long time and don’t need to be kept in the fridge. So, provided you’ve stocked up, you’ll never be short of a garnish for your homemade cocktails and soft drinks again. You’ll find the Mixologist’s Garden range in their (paid link) online shop or on (paid link) Amazon.
Of course, there’s nothing to stop you from adding in fresh mint and cucumber as well, should you wish to.
Equipment notes
You’ll need a cocktail jug (or a general kitchen jug) to make this drink. If you don’t have a cocktail strainer, don’t worry, a small kitchen sieve will work well.
Step by step instructions
- Put a handful of ice into a cocktail jug and pour in the gin, elderflower liqueur, apple juice and lime juice. Stir the contents of the jug for 30 seconds.
- Strain the cocktail into a serving glass filled with plenty of ice with pieces of freeze-dried lime, strawberries & raspberries layered in with the ice.
How to garnish this cocktail
If you want to stick with tradition, then ribbons of cucumber and sprigs of mint are the way to go, but when it’s high summer, I’m all for ease so much prefer the convenience of using the ready-to-use cocktail garnishes from Mixologist’s Garden – it’s as simple as tearing open the packs.
I’ve used their freeze-dried lime slices, strawberry slices and whole raspberries to load up my version of the English Garden drink by building them into the glass along with the ice. I’ve also topped my libation with a few pieces of these fruits threaded onto a cocktail pick.
The result is bright and colourful. If you’re lucky enough to try this version, you’ll also discover that as you linger over this gin and apple juice cocktail the strawberries and raspberries emit a lovely blush hue to the drink too.
Expert tips
- Prepare the serving glass before mixing the cocktail so you can take an extra moment to layer the fruit in as you build up the ice in the glass.
- Don’t be tempted to mix this cocktail directly in the serving glass. It needs to be mixed with ice to dilute and chill the drink sufficiently.
- Of course, stirring the ingredients together in a jug is also much easier than trying to stir them together in the serving glass.
Frequently asked questions
In all honesty, this English Garden gin cocktail is suitable anytime you fancy sipping something long, refreshing, fruity and gin-based. That said, it is particularly suited to warmer weather and the outdoors, so think along the lines of a relaxing evening in the garden, picnics or BBQs.
Yes, you can. Plenty of English Garden cocktail recipes use elderflower cordial instead of liqueur. As cordial is generally sweeter and more intensely flavoured than elderflower liqueur, reduce the amount to 10ml and taste the cocktail before serving it. You can add more cordial if you think the drink calls for it.
This is a great cocktail for making a batch of in a jug. Include plenty of ice and give it a good stir before pouring it into the serving glasses. Just don’t let it sit too long in the jug before pouring it out as the ice will continue to dilute the drink as it sits in the jug.
A hi-ball glass is often used to present this drink in. However, the English Garden cocktail looks fabulous in a Copa gin glass too. Failing that, a large wine glass would suffice – just add the ice carefully so that your glass does not shatter.
Variations
- Mint and cucumber: muddle 10 mint leaves and 3 slices of cucumber in the base of the cocktail jug before continuing with the recipe. Add slices of cucumber and a mint spring to your drink along with the freeze-dried fruits.
- Add bubbles: top up your glass with English sparkling wine, Prosecco or Cava to turn your drink into a sparkling English Garden drink.
- Substitute the gin: try vodka or tequila for a change to the classic base spirit in this libation.
- Add rose or violet liqueur: just replace half of the elderflower liqueur with the alternative of your choice for added floral interest.
- Make a non-alcoholic English Garden cocktail: swap the gin for your choice of alcohol-free gin and substitute 10ml elderflower cordial for the 20ml elderflower liqueur.
What to serve with this cocktail
This long drink is delicate, fruity, floral and slightly on the sweeter side. For this reason, you would be wise to avoid heavily salted or spicy snacks. Instead, try the following ideas:
- Cheese: pick a few milder English cheeses to nibble as you sip. You can’t go wrong with a medium-strength cheddar, creamy goat cheese or brie-style rinded soft cheese.
- Fruit platter: put together a fresh and colourful array of summer fruit plus some apple, of course. You could even drizzle over a little elderflower liqueur and scatter some crushed free-dried strawberries and raspberries over the top to create a little extra visual excitement.
- Cake: a classic vanilla sponge cake filled with fresh cream and strawberries would work well alongside this English Garden gin cocktail. Alternatively, keep with the theme and bake an apple cake.
More summer cocktails
Don’t miss my other cocktail creations using Mixologist’s Garden hassle-free fruit garnishes. They’re all delightful.
Have you made this English Garden cocktail recipe? Why not show me how you garnished it by posting a photo on Instagram and tagging me @jane_littlesugarsnaps. Please also leave a recipe rating and/or comment to let me know how you got along. I always love hearing from readers.
📖 Recipe
English Garden Cocktail
Ingredients
- 50 ml London Dry Gin
- 25 ml Elderflower liqueur
- 75 ml Cloudy apple juice
- 15 ml Lime juice
Garnish
- 6 Mixologist's Garden freeze-dried strawberries
- 6 Mixologist's Garden freeze-dried raspberries
- 4 Mixologist's Garden freeze-dried lime slices
Instructions
- Put the gin, elderflower liqueur, apple juice and lime juice into a cocktail jug with a large handful of ice and stir for 30 seconds.
- Half fill a Copa glass or hi-ball with ice, layering in 3 lime slices, 4 whole raspberries and 4 strawberry slices as you do so.
- Strain the cocktail into the glass. Thread 2 raspberries, 2 strawberry slices and a slice of lime onto a cocktail pick and add to the glass. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Prepare the serving glass before mixing the cocktail so you can take an extra moment to layer the fruit in as you build up the ice in the glass.
- Don’t be tempted to mix this cocktail directly in the serving glass. It needs to be mixed with ice to dilute and chill the drink sufficiently.
- Of course, stirring the ingredients together in a jug is also much easier than trying to stir them together in the serving glass.
Leave a Reply