Botanical Gardens
Category
MocktailAuthor:
Morgan EckrothPrep Time
5 minutes
Build Time
3 minutes
In the spring of 2025, I put together a line of tea-based drinks with Dona and this is my favorite of that bunch. It’s floral, sparkling, and truly feels like it’s made to be sipped while wandering a botanical garden. Hence the name. A little on the nose, I know.
What You'll Need
Equipment
- Tea kettle or saucepan
- Tea steeper
- Small fine mesh strainer
- Storage bottle
- Cocktail muddler
- Cocktail shaker
- Cocktail skewer
Flirt Syrup
- 10g Flirt tea (from Dona)
- 250g hot water just off a boil
- 250g sugar
Botanical Gardens
- 3 mandarin orange slices
- 3/4oz Flirt tea syrup
- 1/2oz fresh lemon juice
- 1.5oz NA Dhos gin
- 2oz soda water
- Mandarin slice for garnish
Build
Flirt Syrup
- Combine the tea and hot water and allow it to steep for five minutes.
- Strain out the tea leaves.
- Add the sugar to the tea concentrate and stir until it begins to dissolve, approximately 30 seconds.
- Leave the syrup to cool, during this time the rest of the sugar will dissolve.
- Once cool, bottle and store in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Botanical Gardens
- Muddle the mandarin slices and syrup in a shaker until the slices have broken apart and released their juice.
- Add the lemon juice and NA gin.
- Shake with ice until the tins have frosted and then double strain into a glass full of ice.
- Top with the soda water and a speared mandarin slice.