Sage Gimlet cocktail recipe

What kind of cocktail do you make with a gin that you really love? Our go-to is a gimlet, which, when cheered on with a little fresh lime juice and simple syrup, lets a great gin shine.

Our Terra Botanical Gin is a knockout on its own, so you don't need much else to spin it into a fantastic cocktail. We happen to love it in a gimlet, and we know you will, too.

For this gin, we collaborated with Lior Lev Sercarz of the legendary La Boîte spice shop in NYC. Lior created the custom spice blend that gives Terra its woodsy, wild, fresh profile. It is wilderness in a bottle.

The best way to drink Terra is to dress it up minimally, with fresh lime and simple syrup — and a bit of sage, which bounces off Terra's other botanicals so beautifully. 

SAGE GIMLET

Makes 1 cocktail

2 ounces Cardinal Spirits Terra Botanical Gin
.75 ounce fresh lime juice
.75 ounce simple syrup
3-4 sage leaves, plus another sprig for garnish

Add the gin, lime juice, simple syrup and 3-4 sage leaves to a shaker, then add ice. Shake well, then strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a sprig of sage. 
 

Bramble Screwdriver cocktail recipe

Presenting the perfect day drink — the Bramble Screwdriver.

Perfect. Really. How can we be so sure?

Well, we've had our fair share of these in broad daylight. 

But also: It has just two ingredients (it barely needs a recipe, really) and it's incredibly easy-drinking. And, it's familiar — this is a twist on a Screwdriver, which is simply vodka and OJ —but swapping regular vodka for our flavorful Bramble vodka makes it feel like more of a cocktail, without any of the labor. 

Bramble is our black raspberry-hibiscus vodka — it adds a bright, lush flavor to cocktails, and it just happens to be dynamite with OJ. (Did you know that Wine Enthusiast just awarded our Bramble 92 points?)

Brunch, tailgates, Saturdays on the lake ... this is your drink. 

BRAMBLE SCREWDRIVER

Makes 1 cocktail

6 ounces orange juice
1.5 ounces Cardinal Spirits Bramble

Fill a mason jar or Collins glass with ice, then add orange juice. Gently pour in the Bramble, letting it float on top for a layered look. Garnish with a orange wedge, and give it a stir before sipping.

One more thing: Don't skimp on the quality of OJ. At the distillery, we make Bramble Screwdrivers with fresh-squeezed OJ, which will change your life. That's not always convenient at home, though. Pick a better-quality bottled OJ, or if your grocery store fresh-squeezes and bottles OJ, go with that!  

Bramble Boom cocktail recipe

A burst? A blitz? A blast? A boom? Yes, a definite boom. This cocktail recipe by our bartender Alyvia Cain booms with lush berry flavor from our Bramble black raspberry vodka and fresh citrus juices, plus it's flecked with bits of garden mint. 

BRAMBLE BOOM

By Alyvia Cain of Cardinal Spirits

1.5 ounces Cardinal Spirits Bramble
1/2 ounce simple syrup
1/2 ounce grapefruit juice
3/4 ounce lemon juice
1/2 ounce dry vermouth
Fresh mint

 

Add all ingredients and ice to shaker. Shake well, then strain over ice in large rocks glass. Garnish with mint sprig.
 

 

Kickstart My Heart cocktail recipe

Two of our bartenders — Chris Resnick and Baylee Pruitt — got married recently, and their wedding felt so true to them, right down to the cocktails. 

You might know Chris and Baylee as the masterminds of Tiki Tuesday at the distillery. They collect rum and hunt online for cool tiki vessels and they even have matching pineapple tattoos on their arms. They are living la vida tiki. 

So, it was fitting that their wedding had the most perfect tiki touches: elegant birds of paradise bouquets, a delicious curry bar for dinner, tiki mugs shaped like giant pink elephants for the wedding party, pineapple sew-on patches as favors...

...and to drink...

Punch! Three delightful punches, in fact. One with rum, another with tequila and a third with gin. Punch glasses were set out on the tables, and guests took them up to the bar to be filled (and refilled, because you gotta try all three) at their leisure. It felt relaxed and fun and thoughtful, just like the rest of their wedding.

If you're wondering what these two bartenders would drink at their own wedding with a room full of their bartender friends (NO PRESSURE, GUYS!), here it is — the recipe for Kickstart My Heart, Chris and Baylee's herbal gin punch. It's adapted for a single cocktail, but feel free to batch it.

KICKSTART MY HEART

By Chris Resnick of Cardinal Spirits

Makes 1 cocktail

1.5 ounces Cardinal Spirits Standard Dry Gin
1/8 ounce green chartreuse
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce Batavia Arrack
1 ounce green tea
1/4 ounce simple syrup

Add ingredients to a Collins glass with ice. Stir, then top with a splash of club soda.

Blackberry Mojito recipe

This mojito by our bartender Alyvia Cai is anything but the usual suspect — bursting with blackberries, plus our terrific, handcrafted Tiki Rum, fresh-squeezed lime juice and summer mint.

BLACKBERRY MOJITO

By Alyvia Cain of Cardinal Spirits

2 oz Cardinal Spirits Tiki Rum
3/4 oz fresh lime juice
3/4 oz simple syrup
4 blackberries
Fresh mint
Club soda

In a shaker, muddle 3 blackberries and simple syrup. Add the rum, lime juice, and mint to the shaker, and then add ice. Shake well, then double-strain over ice in a Collins glass. Top with club soda, then garnish with a blackberry and mint sprig.

Rabble Rouser cocktail recipe

This cocktail recipe combines our Standard Dry Gin with blackberries and sage, but the real beauty of this recipe is that you can play around with the types of berries and herbs you use. How about raspberries and mint? Strawberries and basil? 

Pluck whatever herbs from the little pots sitting on your patio. Use up whatever berries you scooped up at the farmers' market. Go to town. 

Our Standard Dry Gin is up for the mix-and-match challenge. We distill it with whole natural botanicals and spices — aromatic juniper, orange zest, fragrant coriander seeds, and earthy angelica root — and it really sings when it's combined with fresh ingredients in a cocktail like this.

RABBLE ROUSER

By Chris Resnick of Cardinal Spirits

1.5 ounces Cardinal Spirits Standard Dry Gin
.75 ounce fresh lemon juice
.75 ounce simple syrup
3 blackberries, plus one more for garnish
2 sage leaves, plus one more for garnish

Muddle simple syrup, blackberries and sage in a shaker. Add gin and lemon juice, then fill with ice. Shake well. Double strain into a small rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with a blackberry and sage leaf.

Rubus Punch recipe

When it comes to summer punches, let's make a pact. No sugary pre-made mixers that come in jugs with handles. And, no Very Berry Blue Typhoon Wave Cooler.  No tubes of frozen juice, either.

When it comes to summer punches, let's keep it fresh, OK?

This Rubus Punch recipe by our bartender Chris Resnick, made with a trio of fresh juices and our terrific Bramble black raspberry vodka, is a fruity, fizzy cocktail that's fit for a crowd. Chris tips this punch into tiki territory with cinnamon syrup (the secret ingredient that all of your past summer punches have been missing). 

RUBUS PUNCH

By Chris Resnick of Cardinal Spirits

Makes about 8 cocktails

12.5 ounces Cardinal Spirits Bramble (about 1.5 cups, or half of a 750ml bottle) 
4.25 ounces fresh lemon juice
4.25 ounces fresh watermelon juice (you can give a few big chunks a whirl in a blender, or simply mash them with a muddler or fork)
2 ounces fresh grapefruit juice
2 ounces cinnamon simple syrup (recipe follows)
Club soda, to taste
Lemon wheels, for garnish

Combine Bramble, lemon juice, watermelon juice, grapefruit juice and cinnamon syrup in a pitcher. Add a few big scoops of ice, then stir several times to combine. Pour into small rocks glasses filled with ice, then top each glass with club soda. Garnish with lemon wheels.

*To make cinnamon simple syrup: In a saucepan, combine 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar and 4 cinnamon sticks, and let simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Cool completely then remove cinnamon sticks before using.

Beach Scene cocktail recipe

How to make a summery Beach Scene cocktail using Cardinal Spirits Tiki Rum.

BEACH SCENE

Makes 1 cocktail

By Jake Cifuentes

3/4 ounce simple syrup
1 ounce grapefruit juice
1.5 ounces berry-aronia juice
2 ounces Cardinal Spirits Tiki Rum
Club soda
Edible orchid, for garnish

Add all ingredients except club soda and flower to a shaker, then add ice. Shake vigorously, then strain into a tall glass filled with ice. Add club soda to top off the cocktail. Garnish with an edible orchid if you're feeling fancy. 

Old Glory cocktail recipe

Looking for that perfect cocktail to serve on the 4th of July? Or any summer weekend, really? It doesn't get much easier — or prettier — than this Old Glory, made with Cardinal Spirits Vodka, muddled berries and coconut water.  

With such light, fresh flavors, a top-notch vodka is key. Our vodka makes this cocktail. It's some of the smoothest vodka around - many people have told us it's the only vodka they'll drink straight.

It's not your average tasteless, odorless vodka. It has character by design. A very light entry with a bright floral finish. We ferment and distill it on site from white grape, and the some of the fruity aroma and flavor intentionally remain in the spirit.

OLD GLORY

By Stella Snyder of Cardinal Spirits

Makes 1 cocktail

4 raspberries
6 blueberries, plus more for garnish
.5 ounce simple syrup
.5 ounce fresh lemon juice
1.5 ounces Cardinal Spirits Vodka
2 ounces coconut water

Muddle raspberries, blueberries, simple syrup and lemon juice together in a mason jar or large rocks glass. Fill glass with ice, then add Cardinal Spirits Vodka and coconut water. Stir gently, then garnish with a skewer of blueberries.