Skip to main content

Foraging gets tipsy: How to make an old fashioned and 5 more cocktails with easily foraged items

Forage, mix, drink, repeat

Tincup whiskey and cocktail
Tincup Whiskey

You might be surprised to learn this, but you don’t necessarily need to visit the produce department at your local grocery store or invest in a whole garden of herbs to make delicious, fresh cocktails. If you live near (or within driving distance) of a wooded area, you can forage for cocktail ingredients. Yes, you read that right: Foraging to make an old fashioned, julep, and other whiskey cocktails.

Recommended Videos

Safety is key when foraging. We’ve all heard the tales of random mushrooms and berries you should never eat. The same goes for almost anything you encounter in the woods. Your best bet is to have a field guide to explain what exactly you’re looking at to know if it’s something you’d actually want to add to a cocktail (and if it’s even safe to consume).

You might be surprised to learn that there are a lot of books on the topic. One great foraging cocktail book is In Backcountry Cocktails: Civilized Drinks for Wild Places by Steven Grasse and Adam Erace. With a book like this, you’ll learn all about fiddlehead ferns, edible flowers, herbs that grow on the forest floor, and what berries you can actually eat (and maybe flavor your cocktail).

Another is Forager’s Cocktails: Botanical Mixology with Fresh, Natural Ingredients by Amy Zavatto. It teaches you how to forage, what to look for, and how to preserve the berries and herbs to use in future cocktails.

To get you started, the folks at TinCup Whiskey came up with six simple and flavorful cocktails using foraged ingredients like mint, honeysuckle, dandelions, wile asparagus, and other herbs and wild ingredients. Keep scrolling to see all of the cocktails below.

Honeysuckle Old Fashioned

Ingredients:
1 ½ oz. Tincup Whiskey
½ oz. Honey Suckle Syrup
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Garnish: Orange Peel

Method: Build ingredients in the order listed directly into a mixing glass, fill the glass ¾ full of cubed ice, and stir for 8-10 seconds. Fill a rocks glass with a heaping amount of ice, strain the cocktail into the iced rocks glass, and garnish.

Honeysuckle Syrup – In a container, stir and dissolve 1 ½ cups of sugar and 2 cups of water. Add 1 cup of freshly picked or bought Honeysuckle flowers, cover the container, and place in the fridge to infuse for 3-5 days. After 3-5 days, train liquid into a bottle or container, discarding flowers.

Flash infusion method – Warm simple syrup and heat to a simmer. Remove from heat and add honeysuckle flowers to the syrup, cover, and leave to sit for 1 hour. Strain finished liquid into a bottle or container, discarding flowers.

(Do not use stems or green leaves, only the blossomed flowers.) Please exercise caution in foraging; only consume identified ingredients verified safe for consumption.

Tincup whiskey and drinks
Tincup Whiskey

5 more delicious cocktail recipes

Honeysuckle Julep

Ingredients:
2 oz. – Tincup Whiskey
3/4 oz.- Honeysuckle syrup
8 Mint leaves
Garnish: Mint sprig

Method: Build all ingredients directly into the glass, stir, fill the glass with shaved or cubed ice, and give a final stir with garnish.

The Wild Berry Daisy

Ingredients:
1 ½ oz. Wild Strawberry infused Tincup Whiskey
½ oz. Simple Syrup
¾ oz. Fresh Lime Juice
Garnish: 3 wild Strawberries speared (if large berries, use 1 for garnish)

Method: Build ingredients in the order listed directly into a mixing glass, fill the glass ¾ full of cubed ice, and stir for 8-10 seconds. Fill a rocks glass with a heaping amount of ice, strain the cocktail into the iced rocks glass, and garnish.

Wild Strawberry Infusion – Combine your bottle of Tincup whiskey with freshly foraged wild strawberries in a container. Cover the container and allow it to infuse for three days at room temperature in a dark storage space.

Using a fine tea strainer and coffee filter, strain infused Tincup Whiskey back into the bottle, discarding all berries.

Tip – If you would rather buy store-bought, regular or pink strawberries will also do excellent for you!

The Fisherman’s Cocktail

Ingredients:
2 oz. Tincup Umami Infused Whiskey
Garnish: Can garnish with Dandelions or seasonal flower if desired

Method: Build ingredients in the order listed directly into the coconut, and refrigerate for 1 hour. Serve with a straw.

If you don’t live in Florida or where water coconut grows wild, you can buy at the local grocery store or use bottled coconut water and sub a rocks glass for the coconut drinking vessel.

The Mountaineers Mary

Ingredients:
1 ½ oz. – Wild Ramp infused Tincup Whiskey
3 oz. – Your favorite Bloody Mary Mix
1 dash – Tabasco
Garnish: A thinly sliced stalk of Wild Asparagus (raw form), lemon & lime wedge, and 2 wild ramp slices

Method: Build all ingredients directly into the glass, stir, fill the glass with shaved or cubed ice, and give a final stir with garnish.

Wild Ramp Infusion – Combine your bottle of Tincup whiskey with freshly foraged wild ramps in a container. Slice the stalks for the ramps into 2–3-inch slices, cutting across the ramp from side to side. Cover the container and allow it to infuse for three days at room temperature in a dark storage space.

Using a fine tea strainer and coffee filter, strain infused Tincup Whiskey back into the bottle, discarding all Ramps. (You can refrigerate and use it as a garnish if used the same day.)

Tip – Asparagus or Leeks will also work well if you would rather buy store-bought.

The Backwoods Sour

Ingredients:
1 ½ oz. – Tincup Whiskey
¾ oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
¾ oz. Simple Syrup
Garnish: Freshly foraged, dandelion and a wild basil leaf

Method: Build all ingredients directly into a mixing glass, fill the mixing glass ¾ full of ice, and shake for 10 seconds. Strain into rocks glass with a heaping amount of ice and garnish.

With all of these drinks, please exercise caution in foraging; only consume identified ingredients verified safe for consumption.

Christopher Osburn
Christopher Osburn is a food and drinks writer located in the Finger Lakes Region of New York. He's been writing professional
7 classic tequila cocktail recipes that prove it’s more than just a party shot
Mixing a drink with tequila as the star? Here are the recipes you ought to make
Classic margarita cocktail with salty rim on wooden table with limes and drink utensils

To me, tequila always -- first and foremost -- calls to mind slammers. When I think about this spirit. I can almost taste the tequila, salt, lime, and regret. However, tequila needn't be only a party shot. In fact, it's a wonderful tool for any home bartender, as it can be mixed into a range of fruity, sour, or even savory drinks. My personal favorite is the Michelada, a savory tomato and beer-based cocktail that was a revelation the first time I tried it. It's like a funky, sharp, spicy version of a Bloody Mary, and it's an absolute pleasure to enjoy with tacos or other Mexican food.

But that's just the tip of the tequila cocktail iceberg. There are tons of beloved tequila drinks, from a classic margarita to a refreshing Paloma. Tequila goes well with sharp citrus fruits like lemon and lime and can be lengthened with fruit juices or sodas to be more sippable and less heavily boozy than in its shot form. It can also go well with more bitter flavors, if you're looking for something darker and moodier, such as a Negroni variation.

Read more
WhistlePig collaborated with Alice Cooper to launch an alcohol-free pre-made Old Fashioned
WhistlePig and Alice Cooper collaborated to make a non-alcoholic whiskey cocktail
WhistlePig

Whether or not you partake in it or not, you’re likely well aware that we’re currently in the midst of “Dry January”. This is the month when many drinkers decide to take a break from alcoholic beverages after the chaos of the holiday season. Vermont’s famed WhistlePig Whiskey distillers launched a new non-alcoholic pre-mixed cocktail with a rock and roll legend to celebrate this alcohol-free month.
WhistlePig Sex, Drugs, Rock & Dry Old Fashioned

It’s called WhistlePig Sex, Drugs, Rock & Dry Old Fashioned, and it’s a collaboration with music legend Alice Cooper. It begins as a 100% Rye Non-whiskey barrel-aged in maple syrup with adaptogenic Cordyceps, Schisandra Berry, and aphrodisiac Damiana.

Read more
Learn how to master the Coquito cocktail with these great recipes
Want to drink like they do in Puerto Rico? Mix up a Coquito, or little coconut, with these great recipes
Coquito cocktails

When it comes to holiday drinks, you have your classic choices like eggnog, and I often reach for a warm winter cocktail like an Irish coffee. But in Puerto Rico there's another drink that embodies the taste of the season: the Coquito.

While people most often drink it around Christmas, this sweet drink is suitable for any time of year, and it'll be a hit with anyone who loves a delicious dessert cocktail. It's perfect for the cool winter evenings when I want something cozy, creamy, and satisfying to sip on as I huddle down against the snowy weather. So this year, why not try a Coquito cocktail instead of an eggnog?
What is a Coquito?

Read more