The Botanist That Gets Drunk Adding Flowers and Herbs

How Do Flowers and Berries Make a Brew Better?

Anyone who has ever spent more than a passing glance at ingredients for alcoholic drinks knows that beer requires plants such as hops and barley. However, some of those same people might also have stumbled upon the occasional wine or spirit whose description included  garden plants and flowers like roses and violets (see Creme Yvette or the Italian Rosolio for examples) or berries (it should be noted that most chili peppers are technically berries and have lead to a handful of rather...[fire] alarming concoctions). Considering that some drinks even make use of honey, a substance which requires the pollen of flowers to create, it's no wonder or small step for an enterprising individual to make use of the very sources of pollen in one's distillation methods.


Anyone curious about, or adventurous enough to actually try, using flowers and berries in their home distillation should quickly figure out how he or she wishes to extract their vital flavor, also called an "essence." There are actually three methods for utilizing plant essence in one's drink-making.

• Water Extraction. This method distills whatever essences are planned with simple water. More accurately, the essences-to-be are left to soak in water contained within a miniature still for a time. When enough time has passed, tubing is then inserted into the top of the essence vessel and then utilized to extract the essence via distillation.
• Alcohol Extraction. This follows a process similar to the method employed when extracting essence by water. However, the culinary term for steeping fruits, berries, and other would-be essences in a liquid for the purpose of augmenting its flavor is referred to as macerating (as well as a cousin to the more commonly known as "marinating," used when accenting the flavor of meat).
• Steam Extraction. This is a method used only for working with herbs, but I mention it here for the sake of being thorough and complete. Steam extraction involves placing your herbs within a wire basket and suspending said basket over a pot of boiling water. As the steam rises up through the wire basket, the distiller then collects the condensed herbal extracts and allows it to condense for use in whatever particular drink the distiller plans on producing.

Regardless of the method employed, once the essences are properly distilled and collected, they can then be used in whatever recipe the distiller is working toward.

Buy Garden Plants