Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

Fennel Will Be Your New Favorite Cocktail Ingredient

Amanda Gabriele
By
fennel bulbs
Fennel. Image used with permission by copyright holder

Cocktails probably aren’t the first thing you think of when playing with a bunch of fresh fennel. The herbal root brings to mind bright salads and savory sausage, but it can work really well in your favorite beverage, too. Fennel has a rich, licorice flavor, but it’s refreshing rather than bold. When used in cocktails, it can cool you down on a hot day, and it works as a palate cleanser in between courses of a big meal. It perfectly complements sweet, savory, and bitter ingredients, so it’s easy to use whether you’re a fan of dirty Martinis or Old Fashioneds.

We reached out to some of our favorite bars across the country to see how they are using fennel in cocktails, and each one is balanced, beautiful, and delicious. Stir one up the next time you’re looking to impress even the staunchest cocktail nerd.

Recommended Videos

Flower & Stone

fennel cocktail Flower and Stone
Hakkasan Group

Fennel’s strong anise quality can be an acquired taste. Luckily, a cocktail like the Flower & Stone can ease you in with fruity, citrusy ingredients that elevate and complement fennel’s herbal, vegetal notes. “Fennel has a definite anise quality, and it ties into many foods, particularly savory Mediterranean, Middle East, and East Asian cuisines,” says Tim Weigel, the chief mixologist at Hakkasan Group. “The base spirit [of this cocktail], Bombay Sapphire East, contains a “who’s who” in the spice world including cassia bark, licorice, and coriander, which are also used in the aforementioned cuisines. The fennel dances with said spices to ignite the palate. The fennel and apricot liqueur have a strange affinity towards the other, can’t really explain that one — it just works! Add in some accents like rhubarb and mint for aromatics and yuzu juice for some lively citrus balance, and the Flower & Stone came to be.”

Method: Shake all ingredients with ice and double strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with two viola edible flowers.

Related

* Fennel strawberry syrup: Chop a fennel bulb into 1-inch pieces. Grab a pint of strawberries, chop off the tops, and cut in half. Add the fennel and strawberries to a pot with 64 ounces of sugar and 48 ounces of water. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cool. Strain into a clean container.

This Is the Martini You’ve Been Looking For

fennel cocktail This is the Martini You’ve Been Looking For
Blue Hound Kitchen & Cocktails

We love a dirty Martini to whet our appetites before a good meal, but olive brine isn’t the only ingredient that will give the stirred classic a savory kick. Phil Clark, the head bartender of Blue Hound Kitchen & Cocktails in Phoenix, uses fennel syrup and champagne vinegar to give this Martini a palate-pleasing tang. “Death’s Door Gin is an avant-garde craft American gin (and a runner-up in the Best American Gin category of The Manual Spirit Awards 2018), made in Wisconsin from just three locally harvested botanicals — juniper, coriander, and fennel,” he says. “Inspired by this simplicity and my hunger for a Wiseguy pizza with fennel sausage from Pizzeria Bianco, I wanted to create the perfect pre-dinner cocktail. This is the Martini You’ve Been Looking For is bracing yet refreshing, and complex yet exquisitely balanced. My preference for stirred cocktail garnish is almost invariably a twist of citrus, but here I wanted to reach for the maritime salinity of Kalamata olives to highlight the depths of the fennel flavors.”

  • 2.5 oz Death’s Door Gin
  • .5 oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth
  • .5 oz fennel syrup*
  • 2 dashes Champagne vinegar
  • Kalamata olives to garnish

Method: Add all ingredients, save for the garnish, to a mixing glass with ice. Stir until ice cold and strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a spear of olives.

* Fennel syrup: Bring 4 cups of water to just below a boil. Keeping on heat, add 6 cups of sugar, stirring to dissolve, creating a simple syrup. Add half a cup of fennel seeds, and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce to a low simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes, strain out the seeds, bottle, and refrigerate. Keep for 21 days.

L’Amie

fennel cocktail L Amie
Ferris

Ferris, a cozy new American restaurant that’s tucked inside the MADE hotel in NYC’s Nomad neighborhood, is the kind of place you wish was your neighborhood restaurant. The service is friendly, the atmosphere is lively, and the food and drinks are ridiculously good. Husband and wife team Jeremy Oertel and Natasha David, who have worked with modern iconic bars like Death & Company and Maison Premiere, created this drink for Ferris’ latest menu, and it’s already a tried and true crowd pleaser. A smooth base of Absolut Elyx vodka is married with fennel liqueur, Suze (a gentian-based French bitter), bright lime juice, and spicy ginger syrup to ignite all your taste buds. A topper of club soda gives it an effervescent finish for a perfect year-round libation.

Method: Add all ingredients, save for the soda and garnish, to a shaker tin with ice. Shake and strain into a Highball glass. Top with club soda and garnish with shaved fennel slices.

Oooh, For Me???

fennel cocktail oooh for me
Minnow Bar

We love staying at Kimpton properties because their food and beverage programs are always as thoughtful as the hotels’ design details. The newly opened Kimpton Angler’s in Miami is one of our favorite places to stay when visiting South Beach, especially because on-property Minnow Bar stirs up some of the best cocktails in the neighborhood. Bar director Chris Resnick recently made us this unique refresher, and the flavor profile is unlike anything we’ve tasted before. “My choice of fennel was a savory compliment to the fresh apple juice and a slight nod to the seasonality of both ingredients,” he says. “They both pair beautifully with the pisco.” The sherry comes through first on the palate while the fennel syrup cools and the apple finishes on a sweeter note. Pisco ties it all together to make this an ideal drink to cool you down on a hot day.

  • 1.5 oz Pisco Porton
  • 1 oz apple juice
  • .5 oz lemon juice
  • .75 oz fennel syrup (1:1 simple syrup with steeped fennel)
  • 1 oz manzanilla sherry
  • Fennel fronds, for garnish
  • Apple slices, for garnish

Method: Shake all ingredients with ice and pour into a Pilsner glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with fennel fronds and apple slices.

Sassy

old-fashioned-cocktail-lemon
Image used with permission by copyright holder

We love classic whiskey cocktails like the Manhattan or Old Fashioned, but we’re always looking for new ways to highlight the spirit with seasonal ingredients and interesting flavor profiles. Matt Schulte, the food and beverage manager at Station Kitchen & Cocktails in the Embassy Row Hotel feels the same, and his bar team has been experimenting with exciting ways to please the whiskey drinker’s palate. “Our bartender Jorge came up with the fennel syrup idea, and this cocktail is certainly my favorite on the new fall menu,” he says. “It is very simple but brings many flavors with it. You initially smell the herbal and anise from the absinthe, the rye brings a spice to the drink, initially followed by the licorice and sweetness that mellows out the whiskey just enough. It is a cocktail I would recommend to anyone just finishing a long day at work.”

  • 2 oz Bulleit Rye
  • .5 of fennel syrup
  • 3 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
  • Vieux Carre Absinthe to rinse
  • Lemon twist to garnish

Method: Spray absinthe inside a rocks glass. Add Bulleit, fennel syrup, and Peychaud’s Bitters to a mixing glass. Add ice and stir for 33 full rotations. Strain into the rocks glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Amanda Gabriele
Amanda Gabriele
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Amanda Gabriele is a food and travel writer at The Manual and the former senior editor at Supercall. She can’t live without…
The ‘Wall Street Hustle’ sous vide cocktail is simple elegance we can’t get enough of
Sous vide makes this cocktail recipe come alive
Wall Street Hustle Cocktail

While the art of sous vide cooking has been around in restaurants for ages, it's really just been in the last decade or so that this wonderfully consistent, always delicious cooking method has made its way into home kitchens. We love the sous vide method for its ease of use, reliability, and succulently perfect results, every time. And while many home cooks were skeptical at first, most have (whether they care to admit it or not) come around and finally admitted that a sous vide machine is truly the best way to cook almost everything, from delicate desserts to hearty barbecue ribs. (Seriously. Ribs. Just try them, and we promise you'll never cook them another way again.)
For all of the sous vide recipes floating around out there, though, there may still be one thing you may not have considered preparing in your sous vide machine. And now is the time to remedy that situation because sous vide cocktails are about to become your new favorite indulgence.
Admittedly, the idea may sound a little bit peculiar at first, but there's just no other method of mixology that allows the fusing of flavors the way a sous vide bath does. By gently cooking cocktail ingredients in a vacuum-sealed bag, each element of your drink has time to infuse and intensify. The depth and complexity of flavor this creates is really quite astonishing when compared to a simply shaken and poured cocktail.
The wonderful thing about this method is the creative freedom you can take in becoming your own modern-day mixologist. Of course, your classic favorites will likely rise to a whole new level of sublime when prepared in this way, but feel free to experiment with any spirit you love, from tequila to vodka to gin to whiskey — they'll all taste even better after an infusion with your own mix of fresh herbs and spices, fruits, or any other cocktail ingredient that comes to mind.
And while part of the fun is creating up with your own mixes, if you're looking for sexy in a glass, we've got just the thing — The Wall Street Hustle. This sophisticated and sultry whiskey cocktail from Breville is beyond beautiful in its layered depth of flavor.
So even if cooking isn't exactly your thing, now you have a great excuse to pull down and dust off that sous vide machine you got last Christmas. Trust us.

Wall Street Hustle recipe
Makes nine cocktails
Ingredients:

Read more
Starbucks’ new fall menu has supposedly leaked (and one fan-favorite is missing)
Baked Apple Croissants and Pumpkin Cream Chai Tea Lattes? This fall is going to be delicious.
Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte

It's hard to believe, but it would appear the season of all things pumpkin spice is hurriedly setting in. The subtle hints are everywhere, from marked-down summer decor items clearing way on store shelves, making room for fake fall foliage and toothy plastic jack-o-lanterns, to the heaven-sent commercials advertising back-to-school items (all parents take one collective sigh of relief). Yes, fall is coming, ready or not, and if you're one of the millions who favor fall flavors the most, we have some exciting news. Starbucks' new fall menu has supposedly leaked, and we've got all the spicy details.

Supposedly given to him by a Starbucks employee, Instagram influencer Markie Devo has thrown caution to the wind, deciding to share with the world this year's highly anticipated fall menu from the coffee mega-giant. To be clear, Starbucks has not yet confirmed or denied the leaked menu's authenticity, but the news has fans stirring either way.

Read more
You might want to steal this pro chef’s ‘Jesus juice’ for use in your home kitchen
No matter where you land on the religious spectrum, Jesus Juice is your new savior
Olive oil and lemon

Every now and then, you might find yourself watching a cooking video, or hell, a how-to video about anything, really, and suddenly — bam — there's a genius tip that will change your life forever. A tip so good that you're mad you're only just getting the information. This is one of those tips.
How to Cook Perfect Scallops Every Time
In a recent YouTube video, Chef Will Murray of London's Fallow restaurant demonstrates how to perfectly cook scallops. And while his scallop cooking lesson is wonderfully informative, it was his finishing touch that really caught our attention. In one of those blink-and-you'll-miss-it moments, Chef Murray finishes his perfect scallop with what he calls...Jesus Juice. No mention as to why exactly it's been named Jesus Juice, but we like it, and we're keeping it.
The quirkily named condiment, he goes on to say, is a mixture of pickled lemon juice and rapeseed oil that can finish just about any dish.
Intrigued, we decided to try Jesus Juice for ourselves, and it's not an exaggeration to say it was the best decision we've ever made.
By mixing one part pickled lemon juice with one part oil (Chef Murray calls for rapeseed oil, but any neutral oil will work just as well), you're creating a condiment that can be splashed on just about any dish for an immense boost of texture and flavor. The perfect balance of zingy acidity and fat combine beautifully on seafood, chicken, pork, steak, salads, or absolutely anything else that just needs a special touch.
At this point, you may be wondering where pickled lemon juice comes from, and we're here for you. Just like anything else in the produce section, lemons can be pickled. The result is a zippy, complex, pleasantly sour, intensely lemony ingredient that can be used in an array of both savory and sweet dishes. The pickled lemon juice is what remains in the jar with the lemons, and it makes for an incredibly delicious and versatile ingredient. This is our favorite preserved lemons recipe so that you can try Jesus Juice for yourself.

Pickled lemon recipe
Ingredients

Read more