As spring rears its welcomed head, we long for its bounty. Everything begins to come alive, and we witness shoots,flowers, buds, and other growth just waiting to burst. It’s a chance to introduce exciting new ingredients into your cooking, and this should be no different for your cocktails. I don’t know about you guys, but during the winter, I crave boozier drinks ike negronis and boulevardiers.They are a familiar hug of comfort and warmth.

But as later winter turns to spring, I find myself anticipating the arrival of flowers and love to incorporate them into my cooking and drinking. On a recent trip to Sincerely Coffee Roasters in midtown, I came across some blue pea flower and jasmine tea. The beautiful scent of jasmine combined with the smell of fresh pea shoots from the butterfly pea flowers felt like an invitation to spring. One remarkable thing about this tea is that its blue pigment turns to a fuchsia with the introduction of acid like lemon juice. Cocktail inspiration struck!

For the cocktail, I decided to go with gin since it already has some really wonderful botanical properties, and I’ve historically had great success infusing it with a variety of teas. I put some tea in a clean jar, poured some gin into it, and allowed the mixture to steep, stirring frequently for one hour. The result was a strikingly blue gin with a jasmine aroma. I decided to use the tea to make a simple syrup as well so I could get the maximum amount of tea flavor. I mixed the blue gin, tea-infused simple syrup, cappelletti, and lemon juice in a shaker and shook until cold, then strained into a small glass with a little ice. The result was a boozy fuschia cocktail that was balanced with a hint of sour candy flavor. I hope you enjoy!