THE DRUNKEN BOTANIST by Amy Stewart | Book Review

Cheers! Let’s toast the plants!

While The Drunken Botanist is over ten years old, it’s still at the top of the go-to reads for anyone who loves to celebrate fun cocktails. With the increasing popularity of harvesting patio gardens to create tasty cocktails, this book is perfectly timed for another rebirth.

“It’s about the garden and the cocktail, but it’s also about the occasion.”

Donna Letier

Understanding the true potential of the fresh flavors that come from your garden is easy with Amy Stewart. Fans and followers of patio gardening (among them millennials who crave the connection a “homegrown” cocktail can provide) will find this book to be exactly what they need.

To any reader, Amy Stewart is here to concoct, share, and inspire interesting flavor while teaching what she loves and knows as a botanist — and smiling the whole way. Her creative demeanor allows the book to be both extremely informative and always entertaining.

Experienced patio gardener and at-home mixologist (and CEO of Gardenuity) Donna Letier says, “I always find something new and alluring about The Drunken Botanist and the world she creates and shares with others. She brings non-gardeners, wannabe gardeners, and experienced gardeners together.”

The Drunken Botanist emphasizes a link between gardening and making connections with loved ones, that’s very important to Donna. She continues, “It’s about the garden and the cocktail, but it’s also about the occasion.”

This book has established itself time and time again as a “turn to” guide for getting creative in the mixology world. Stewart meticulously crafts each recipe so the most inexperienced of gardeners can make them. The only required skillset is a happy taste tester!

The Drunken Botanist Recipes are Great!

“Her recipes are foolproof,” Letier says. “I know that the simple recipes are bound to be amazing and effortless — something to share with friends. If the recipe is a little more complicated, I know it’s going to be worth the effort — and something to celebrate.”

The recipes present classic ways to put the herbs we all love to good use in flavorful cocktails. Included in the book are many original recipes and several unique variations on classics (like the divine Lavender Martini).

The great thing is that no matter if you have a large beautiful backyard or an urban balcony you can grow herbs.

Throughout The Drunken Botanist, Stewart beautifully intertwines recipes with gardening guidance and plant history. Her Growing Notes are easy to follow and full of important advice for gardeners at any level.

While you read, you’ll appreciate her as a garden resource and mixologist extraordinaire — someone you’ll turn to time and time again.

It is safe to say the entire Gardenuity team has a bit of an Amy Stewart obsession (you should see the number of dog-eared pages in our book). We certainly wish we could be on her cocktail party guests lists.

You can buy The Drunken Botanist HERE.

Start your mixologist journey by getting your cocktail herb garden growing!