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Cocktail History
The Evergreen Sparkler is a holiday cocktail that was created by food writer and author Jessica Strand and was first published in her book Very Merry Cocktails: 50+ Festive Drinks for the Holiday Season. It’s a simple winter-inspired variation of the Tom Collins templates that pairs the classic’s combination of gin, lemon, and carbonated water with an herbal syrup. For our version, we took the evergreen flavors in a different direction by using pine syrup and tree-flavored bitters in addition to rosemary.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Gin: This is a spirit made with juniper berries, botanicals, and alcohol. We used Bombay Sapphire Gin because it has a crisp and clean botanical flavor. For a mocktail version of this drink, try MONDAY Zero Alcohol Gin in place of the gin.
Pine Syrup: This is a sweetener made with pine tea, white sugar, and water. We made ours at home using Alex’s stovetop recipe.
Lemon Juice: This is the liquid juice of a lemon. We used freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Spruce & Birch Bitters: This is a food product made with spruce, birch, botanicals, herbs, and alcohol. We used Crude Bitters & Sodas “Apothecary” Spruce & Birch Bitters.
Club Soda: This is water that is carbonated through CO2 injection and infused with minerals. We used Polar Premium Club Soda.
Rosemary: This is an evergreen herb. We used fresh rosemary.
Bartending Tools
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:
Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. We used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. We used the Boston shaker from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Hawthorne Strainer: This is used to strain out ice and solid ingredients after the cocktail is shaken. We used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.
Paring Knife: This is used to cut ingredients. We used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.
Juicer: This is used to juice citrus. We used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.
Tasting Notes
The Evergreen Sparkler features punchy aromas of rosemary with a hint of citrus, and it has a flavor that features strong juniper and other earthy botanicals along with a balanced sweet and sour note, followed by a hint of evergreen flavor left in the mouth.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: Interestingly, the recipe from the book called for equal-parts gin, lemon, and syrup—that’s right, two ounces of everything. We opted for a different ratio that produced a more balanced, crushable drink that we both enjoyed. We agreed the Evergreen Sparkler is worthy of any winter bar menu.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Alex’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐
“This Tom Collins riff takes on an evergreen note with a simple syrup made with rosemary and pine needles. We used a food-grade pine tea mix, which is essentially untreated needles, to make ours, and while the pine flavor is fairly present in the syrup, I tend to find that it gets lost in most drinks we use it in; that said, Kendall can always detect it, so I honestly think it’s just me who can’t find its flavor in cocktails. While this drink was delightfully seasonal and honestly quite good, as good as the original even, it didn’t stand out to me as much of a showstopper.”—
Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐
“From the name, I was expecting this to be a sparkling wine cocktail but was pleasantly surprised to see it was a refreshing Tom Collins variation instead, as Alex noted. I think at this point I would be pretty bored by the classic’s lack of complexity, so the woodsy syrup and bitters were a welcome addition. They gave this light and airy drink some depth. Overall, it’s very tasty and would likely be a hit at a holiday party; the only reason I’m rating it three stars is because I probably won’t make it again… unless I have a craving for earthy tree flavors.”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from Very Merry Cocktails: 50+ Festive Drinks for the Holiday Season by Jessica Strand.
Add gin, pine syrup, lemon juice, bitters, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a highball glass filled with fresh cracked ice.
Top with club soda.
Garnish with rosemary sprig.
Ingredients
Directions
Add gin, pine syrup, lemon juice, bitters, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a highball glass filled with fresh cracked ice.
Top with club soda.
Garnish with rosemary sprig.
Make It a Mocktail: Use MONDAY Zero Alcohol Gin in place of the gin to try a booze-free version of this drink.
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More Winter Cocktails
If you like this winter-inspired cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:
Winter Pimm’s Cup: A Pimm’s liqueur cocktail made with lemon juice, simple syrup, ginger syrup, American lager, blood orange slices, cranberries, rosemary, and oregano
Winter Mojito: A rum cocktail made with lime juice, winter herb syrup, soda water, a lime slice, and rosemary
Chartreuse Toddy: A brandy cocktail made with water, Green Chartreuse, lemon juice, honey syrup, and star anise
Frostbite: A tequila cocktail made with blue curaçao, white crème de cacao, heavy cream, and a cherry
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