Empress 1908 Gin: Highlighting the color of Indigo Sky

With Empress 1908 Gin, colorful cocktails are a sight to see.

How can you make a cocktail as beautiful as a Hawaiian sunset and as dreamy as rolling ocean waves? If you love to make fancy cocktails, Empress 1908 Gin is the answer to your cocktail prayers. This gorgeous gin is the color of an indigo sky and it has a surprise waiting for you. When you add it to citrus or tonic, it turns the prettiest pale pink.

This lovely gin tastes as delicious as it looks. Distilled in Victoria, British Columbia. Their website explains the story behind this legendary gin:

"The city’s legend is anchored by the famed Fairmont Empress Hotel. Opened in 1908 to adorn its Inner Harbor. So great was the Empress’ fame, that its house tea, an exotic proprietary blend, quickly became a symbol of the heritage and tradition of Victoria."

Empress 1908 is infused with eight botanicals including Fairmont Empress Tea Blend, vibrant indigo butterfly tea blossom, , juniper, grapefruit peel, coriander seed, rose petal, ginger root and cinnamon bark.  With its indigo color, one might expect it to have a hint of violet flavor, but it does not have a floral character. It has the lively juniper notes that we gin lovers love, followed by hints of grapefruit, tea, coriander and cinnamon bark. An added bonus, it is gluten-free.

Serve your Empress 1908 gin in your favorite traditional cocktails such as gin and tonic and you’ll have a lovely indigo cocktail. Mix it with raspberry lemonade and you’ll get a rainbow of indigo and pink colors dancing in your glass.

Empress and Tonic

recipe: Empress 1908 website

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces Empress 1908
• 3 – 5 ounces Tonic Water
• Grapefruit slice

Method:

• Build on ice in a rocks glass. Stir well. Garnish with a grapefruit slice.

Empress 75

recipe: Empress 1908 website

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 ounce Empress 1908
• 1/4 ounce fresh  lemon juice
• 1/2 ounce simple syrup
• Sparkling wine
• Lemon twist

Method:

• Shake gin, lemon juice and simple syrup with ice. Pour into a champagne flute and top with sparkling wine. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Empress Raspberry Lemonade

recipe: Becky Ellis, bubblybee.net

• Fill a cocktail glass with ice and pour over Empress 1908 gin to fill half the glass (more or less to your taste).
• Fill the glass with chilled Hubert’s Raspberry Lemonade.
• Garnish with a lemon slice.

Windsor Garden

recipe: Empress 1908 website

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces Empress 1908 gin
  1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
  1/2 ounce simple syrup
  Basil, thyme, rosemary and mint leaves

Method:

• Lightly muddle herbs and shake ingredients over ice. Strain into a stemless wine glass with ice. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary.

What will you mix with Empress 1908 Gin to make a gorgeous cocktail?