Cocktail friendly indoor herbs – Get a fragrant kitchen or dining room
Spice up your cocktail with home grown herbs
Secret ingredient truly unforgettable cocktail is often the herb used in it. Whether muddled,minced or just used as a garnish,herbs add zing to your cocktail. But sadly, they have a short shelf life. So,why not grow your own cocktail garden? There’s nothing more satisfying that planting your own herbs to use in your favourite drink latter: Trust us,it can be fun,easy and cool. For herbs are the easiest to maintain-much easier than growing fruits or flowers. Also,they require very little space. You can get a fragrant kitchen or dining room by growing them indoors. So,here are eight cocktail friendly herbs to get you started
Mint Leaves – King of cocktail herbs
Min’s unique flavour makes it a versatile leaf addition to almost any liquor. Mint even has few sister plants,like pineapple mints and chocolate mint that we can use in special drinks. Juleps and Mojitos are well known for using mint,but it adds a refreshing flavour wherever used
How to plant/grow mint : Mint grows like weeds. Buy some seedling from your local nursery ( plants,vegetables seeds are available our on line stores) and plant them in a grow bad or containers that you can place in a partially shaded
Thyme – Adds a sophisticated woody flavour
Thyme adds a sophisticated woody flavour to a really sweet drink. Lemon thyme,which has slight hint of citrus. It is used to counterpart flavours that include lemons,apples and pears
Plant in you home garden: At the edge of a walk,along short garden wall,or it in containers. Its hard to grow from seeds because of slow,uneven germination,so buy plants or cuttings
Basil is a herb with various health benefits. In India it is commonly called by the name ‘Tulsi’
Basil is another herb you wouldn’t expect to see outside of a pasta dish. It has delicate licorice flavour it brings to drinks. It is great for all purpose. Cinnamon basil or Thai basil to create the perfect addition to your drink
How to grow : Seeds sprinkle in a couple of pots or containers. Place them on a sunny windows or in garden where they get lots of sun. Harvest leaves from the top a few at a time so that the plant has healthy growth through out the year
Cilantro – Coriander (Cilantro-Coriandrum sativum L) one of the world’s oldest spice
Leaves,roots and unripe seeds – all have the same aroma. some people sre addicted to its refreshing lemony-ginger aroma with notes of sage: others find it is disagreeable. The flavour is delicate yet complex,with suggestion of pepper,mint,and lemon. Crush it or use to decorate it, the flavour remains the same
How to plant : this is fast growing annual plant. sprinkle the seeds (wide bowl shaped containers of at least eighteen inches wise an 8to10 inches deep) and cover them with about 1/4 inch layer of soil. Leave your seedlings in full sunlight
Cilantro leaves uses- Coriander health benefits,how to protect these seeds and leaves from diseases to know more read our spice article
What’s the health benefits of using Coriander leaves? Can it be used in our diet?
Coriander (Cilantro-Coriandrum sativum L) one of the world’s oldest spice
Sage – woody,earthy and tad bit peppery
It has wonderful distinctive flavour, but should be used sparingly. Muddled,infused into spirits or prepared in syrup,sage ads savoury complexity to cocktails,but the flavour can be overpowering for some. Try adding some leaves to your next gin fizz for an unmistakable garden taste
How to plant : It requires little care and is tolerant of different soil types and conditions. The soil should be well-drained and plants should get ample sunlight. Prune palnts whenever necessary. Cut the oldest branches to promote new growth
