Homemade Golden Bear Tonic Cocktails and Mocktails

Have you been making the tonic we featured a few weeks back? I tell you, I have become a little obsessed. It is difficult now to send empty citrus rinds to the compost, when I think of them as the backbone of this delightful tonic. And true to the practice of using the freshest and most perfect ingredients, I have made variations of this tonic as different ingredients have worked their way through my larder.  I will miss the fresh elder flowers when they are gone; they are just about at the end of their usable bloom, now. Perhaps you might find a few stragglers in shaded locations, or higher up in elevation towards the Sierras. The flowers can also be purchased dried. Make you some of that delightful tonic, if you haven’t already. Then you can use it, in mocktails and cocktails like the ones that follow.

Gin and Tonic, or Herbal Soda

Make this with gin, for a delightfu twist on the classic Gin and Tonic. Omit the gin, and it becomes a delicious herbal soda, where the flavors of the tonic really shine. Either way, it is delightful.

Combine in a glass full of ice:
1 1/2 oz gin (omit to make herbal soda)

1 oz tonic syrup

5 oz club soda

Rub a wide slice of lemon rind over the rim of the glass.

Express the oils from 2 wide strips of lemon peels over the top of the drink.

Sprinkle a few crystals of coarse sea salt into the glass, Katie’s special touch.

Garnish with fresh herbs and the lemon peels. Here, we used hyssop.

Coldbrew Tonic (non-alcoholic)

This one’s punch comes not from alcohol, but from the caffeine in cold-brew coffee. It is dark and light and bitter and the tiniest bit sweet, herbal and complex and refreshing. It will pick you up like Uber.

To a tall glass of ice, add :
3/4 oz tonic syrup.

Pour over 2 oz coldbrew coffee.

Top off with a few ounces of club soda.

Garnish with a twist of lime rind and a sprig of mint.

Whiskey Sour

This one’s a beauty, a classic, with a rosy twist.

Combine in a shaker:
3/4 oz lemon juice

3/4 oz tonic syrup

1 egg white

2 oz whiskey
Dry shake these ingredients (shake without ice)

Add ice to shaker and shake again.
Pour through a fine strainer into a glass.

Express the oils from a wide strip of lemon into the drink.

Garnish with a fresh organic rose, if desired. We plucked this one out of a bouquet we’d picked that morning…in the spirit of “whatever is most perfect,” indeed. While this is not a traditional garnish, oh my. It was heaven to smell this rose while sipping, and it was one of the most beautiful cocktails I’ve ever seen.

Over to You

It’s part of our mission here at Mountain Feed to help you make delicious, sustainable, homemade food more often. Stop by and say hello on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. Or, as always, you can do it the old fashioned way and come by the store to speak with one of our in-house experts.