You cannot celebrate 25 years of Practical Magic without a garden gate-a-rita cocktail to pay proper tribute to Sally’s advice and the Owens women’s infamous midnight margaritas.

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Garden Gate-a-rita Cocktail

Servings: 1 cocktail

Equipment

Jigger
Cocktail shaker
Coupe, margarita or wide-brimmed cocktail glass

Ingredients

2 oz Empress 1908 Gin
½ oz Dry curaçao
½ oz lime juice ~1 whole lime
½ oz lavender simple syrup 1 part sugar, water & 10 buds of lavendar
1 sprig rosemary to garnish

Instructions

Chill cocktail glass in freezer
Fill cocktail shaker with ice
Add gin, syrup, dry curaçao & lime juice to cocktail shaker
Shake vigorously
Strain into cocktail glass
Enjoy!

Notes on the Cocktail

To pay proper tribute to Sally’s advice at the end, I had to include rosemary and lavender in this cocktail. In her words, “Plant Rosemary by your garden gate and lavender for luck.”. Hense, the garden gate-a-rita.

Undoubtedly, a margarita inspiration was the obvious direction to take this cocktail. However, I wanted to embrace the color-changing magic of Empress Gin. To that end, it turns out a margarita doesn’t have to be made with tequila! For that reason, I made sure to follow the formula of including lime and a sweetener. Nevertheless, I think the result is a very delightful treat.

To begin with, the sweetener comes into play with a lavender simple syrup, made with fresh buds from my own backyard lavender. Moreover, the lime really ties the gin and the syrup together well. Lastly, I “planted” a cut of rosemary in the glass as a garnish. And voila! Perfect tribute!