Christmas Tree Cocktail
A bright green herbaceous gin cocktail with rosemary, lime and a splash of soda, designed to taste as fresh as a forest in winter.
Ingredients
- 50 ml London dry gin — or a contemporary herbaceous gin
- 20 ml fresh lime juice — freshly squeezed
- 15 ml rosemary simple syrup — see method
- 60 ml soda water — well chilled
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary — one for the syrup, one for garnish
- 50 g caster sugar — for the rosemary syrup
- 50 ml water — for the rosemary syrup
- 1 handful cubed ice — for the highball
Method
- Make the rosemary syrup by warming fifty grams of sugar with fifty millilitres of water and one sprig of rosemary until the sugar dissolves, then leave to cool and infuse for thirty minutes before straining.
- Fill a tall highball glass with cubed ice to chill it.
- Pour the gin, lime juice and fifteen millilitres of rosemary syrup into a shaker filled with ice.
- Shake briefly for around ten seconds, then strain into the highball glass over fresh ice.
- Top up with cold soda water, stir once gently and stand the remaining rosemary sprig in the glass so it rises above the rim like a tiny Christmas tree.
How to serve
- Glassware
- Tall highball glass
- Serve temperature
- Ice cold
- Garnish
- Standing rosemary sprig
The Christmas Tree Cocktail is the drink for people who would rather smell pine needles than gingerbread. It leans hard into the herbaceous side of winter, building on the juniper of a good gin with a slow-infused rosemary syrup and a bright dash of lime. The result is light, refreshing and quietly elegant, the kind of cocktail that holds its own next to a heavily decorated dining table.
Why the syrup is worth the wait
A homemade rosemary simple syrup transforms this cocktail. A brief steeping is enough to pull out the herb’s piney, slightly camphorous notes without any bitterness, and the resulting syrup keeps in the fridge for a fortnight. Use it in this drink, in tonics, or stirred into a cup of black tea on a cold morning.
Building the tree
The garnish is half the point of this cocktail. A tall, straight rosemary sprig standing above the rim of the glass gives the drink its name and its identity. Choose a sturdy stem from the centre of the bunch, trim the bottom cleanly and stand it in the ice so it points upwards like a miniature Christmas tree.
A warmer cousin
For guests who would prefer to wrap their hands around something warming after a snowy walk, a mug of Hot Apple Gin offers similar juniper and herb character in a cosier register, and the two drinks share so much DNA that they make a natural pair.
Frequently asked questions
Does the cocktail really taste like a Christmas tree?
Not literally, but the combination of juniper, rosemary and lime gives a fresh, pine-like aroma that is unmistakably evergreen. It is herbaceous and bright rather than sweet and festive in the usual sense.
Can I make the rosemary syrup in larger quantities?
Absolutely. Scale up the sugar, water and rosemary in equal proportions and store the strained syrup in a sealed bottle in the fridge for up to a fortnight. It is excellent in tonic, lemonade and tea as well.
What if my drink is not bright green?
The colour is naturally pale and herbaceous rather than vivid green. If you want a stronger green tone, add a single drop of food colouring or a small splash of green chartreuse, but the flavour is what makes this drink special.
Related recipes
Mistletoe Martini
A jewel-bright festive martini that pairs juniper-led gin with elderflower and cranberry for a crisp, celebratory winter sip.
Christmas Spritz
A festive spritz of prosecco, elderflower liqueur and cranberry topped with soda, finished with a rosemary sprig and fresh berries.
Holiday Mule
A festive twist on the Moscow Mule with vodka, fiery ginger beer, cranberry juice and lime, served ice cold in a frosted copper mug.
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