🌿 EARTH MONTH SPECIAL | Only 30 seats. Don't wait.
April is Earth Month, and tonight we are exploring how the earth gives us flavor—through botanicals, herbs, and flowers that have been used in spirits for centuries. But we are also talking sustainability: how the spirits industry is rethinking waste, water use, and farming practices. This is about respecting what the earth provides. Gin is a botanical masterpiece built on juniper, coriander, and angelica root. Elderflowers are hand-picked in the Alps during a narrow harvest window each spring, teaching us that sustainability means honoring the seasons and using what is available when it is available. And herbs like basil can be grown in a windowsill, turned into a world-class cocktail, and composted afterward with zero waste. Tonight is about letting the garden into the glass and understanding that flavor and sustainability are not opposing forces. They are the same conversation.
WHAT YOU'LL TASTE
Cocktail 1: The Herbaceous Gin & Tonic
🥃 Alcoholic: Hendrick's Gin (Cucumber, Rose), Fever-Tree Tonic, Fresh Cucumber
🌿 Non-Alcoholic: Seedlip Garden 108, Fever-Tree Elderflower Tonic, Fresh Cucumber
Cocktail 2: St. Germain Elderflower Spritz
🥃 Alcoholic: St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, Prosecco, Soda, Lemon
🌿 Non-Alcoholic: Elderflower Cordial, Lyre's Classico, Soda, Lemon
Cocktail 3: Basil Smash
🥃 Alcoholic: Gin, Fresh Basil, Lemon, Simple Syrup
🌿 Non-Alcoholic: Seedlip Garden 108, Fresh Basil, Lemon, Agave
THE CULTURAL STORIES
The Herbaceous Gin & Tonic: Gin is a botanical masterpiece—juniper, coriander, angelica root. Hendrick's adds cucumber and rose, which sounds unusual until you taste it and realize this is what happens when you let the garden into the glass. The cucumber is cooling, the rose is floral without being perfumy, and the tonic lets it all breathe. This is not just a drink. This is terroir in a glass, the way wine talks about the soil and the climate. Gin talks about the botanicals, and Hendrick's talks about them loudly.
St. Germain Elderflower Spritz: Elderflowers are hand-picked in the Alps each spring—only a few weeks of harvest. St. Germain built an entire brand around respecting that window, around the idea that sustainability means honoring the seasons and using what is available when it is available. When you sip this spritz, you are tasting spring in the French Alps, and you are tasting a company that decided to build their whole production model around not forcing nature to bend to their schedule. That is what sustainable spirits look like.
Basil Smash: Created by Jörg Meyer in Hamburg. Simple ingredients, zero waste. The basil you muddle here? That is flavor you can grow in a windowsill. That is accessible sustainability. You do not need exotic ingredients shipped from across the world to make a world-class cocktail. You need fresh herbs, good technique, and respect for what you are working with. This drink proves that sustainability and incredible flavor are not opposing forces. They are the same thing when you approach it right.
EVENT DETAILS
📍 Location: [StartingBlock Office, Madison, WI or "Location TBA - Pop-Up Event"]
🕕 Time: 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM (75 minutes)
🎟️ Cost: FREE (limited to 30 guests)
📋 Registration: Required via Luma
Each cocktail is presented with both alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions side-by-side. Professional photography will document the evening. Light bites may be provided. This is an intimate, educational experience for adults 21+ (or 18+ for NA-only attendees).
Reserve your seat. The garden only blooms once.