Cheers to veggies! Savory veggie cocktails celebrate the flavors of fall

Mom said to eat your veggies. Savory veggie cocktails are the perfect way to enjoy the flavors of fall one sip at a time.

Fall flavors aren’t limited to lattes, veggie cocktails are an innovative and tasty way to enjoy some of the fall harvest. As the dinner table is filled with root vegetables and hearty flavors, the cocktail glass can adapt those flavors, too. Plus, you can tell mom that you had your vegetables (just don’t mention the cocktail part).

Savory cocktails are coming more and more common. For example, mixologist often use herbs like thyme and rosemary to add aromatics to a cocktail. Those flavors often add depth and complexity to classic cocktails.

With the popularity of vegetable based juices, it is an expected evolution to incorporate those flavors in cocktails. As people move away from the sweet, sugary drinks in the other parts of their routines, cocktails are adapting that same perspective. It makes sense that veggies can be swapped in for traditionally fruity flavors.

Recently, Bombay Sapphire partnered with several mixologists and bartenders on some updated takes on classic cocktails. These veggie cocktails use carrots, beets and even turmeric to balance the flavors in cocktails.

Tomato Martini, photo provided by Bombay Sapphire

For example, a classic gin martini can get a veggie upgrade with the use of a tomato consommé. Here’s how to make one.

"Tomato MartiniIngredients• 1.5 oz Bombay Sapphire gin• .25 oz Martini Bianco• 1 oz tomato consommé• .25 oz lemon juiceMethod: Place all ingredients in a beaker with ice, stir. Strain into martini glass. Garnish with pickled cherry tomato."

This example is just one of several types of veggie cocktails. The idea in creating these cocktails is to find the delicate balance between the vegetable flavor and the spirit. Gin, like in the tomato martini recipe, provides a lovely herbaceous note to the tomato.

Martini style drinks are a great way to experiment with vegetable juices in a cocktail. Start with a vegetable juice that you like and build the cocktail from there. Carrot juice is often a good choice. Layer that vegetable juice with some bitter and sweet notes to balance the cocktail. Even if you don’t get the cocktail right on the first try, it isn’t all lost. You just might have to have another serving of vegetables.

Have you tried veggie cocktails? What’s your favorite cocktail that includes some extra veggies or vegetable flavors?