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Best Empress Gin Cocktail Recipes

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Last Updated on January 18, 2023 by Sabrina Currie

Empress gin is a stunning, vivid indigo blue that occurs naturally from butterfly pea blossoms and makes the most brilliant cocktails. I've compiled the very best Empress gin cocktail recipes from the most knowledgeable mixologists around. Try them out and I won't be surprised if one of them becomes your own house signature cocktail!

A collage of purple, pink and blue gin cocktails with text overlay. Text has website, "sabrinacurrie.com" and is titled, 'The best Empress gin cocktails."
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Butterfly Pea Flowers And Gin

These edible flowers lend an earthy and balancing flavor to this special gin along with their unique color. Other botanicals used in Empress gin are juniper and the Fairmont Empress blend tea.

Empress gin itself is a bone dry modern gin. Along with the traditional flavor profile of gin, it includes hints of rose petal, tea and citrus notes. You can use it to create dry or sweet recipes. You'll find new and classic cocktails here. Sweet, sour, fruity or herbal, each great cocktail recipe looks and tastes amazing.

The combination of Empress gin with the addition of citrus juice and other ingredients often creates a color change. It can range from light pink to deep pink to bright lavender and beautiful blue hues.

Empress 1908 gin makes spectacular drinks and it's easy to gather inspiration for any kind of brunch, lunch, dinner or party. If you're a gin lover, grab your cocktail shaker or mixing glass and pick your favorite!

PS. If you're a cocktail lover like I am, check out my amazing Homemade Margaritas and Gin Mojito's.

How To Layer Your Gin Cocktail

This exquisite gin makes a stunning layered cocktail with it's natural indigo hue. Layering looks fancy but is fairly simple with a little practice. A few of these drink recipes use this technique and here are some tips on how you can do it yourself.

  1. Heaviest to lightest. The base of the drink should be the heaviest liquid, followed by the next heaviest and finishing with the lightest. You can google the specific gravity of each ingredient if you are not sure. Sugary liquids tend to be heavier than straight spirits.
  2. Chill your ingredients. Using cold ingredients will help keep your colors separate.
  3. Do a pour over. To pour your second (and subsequent) ingredients into the glass, hold a bar spoon just above the last ingredient and pour onto the spoon so it trickles in gently. This helps prevent the colors from mixing.
An infographic with pictures of layered cocktails and titled, "How to layer your cocktails".

Tips For The Best Cocktails

Here are my top tips for making the best drinks around.

  • A cold cocktail is a good cocktail so start with cold ingredients. You can keep your gin in the freezer and any fruit juices or simple syrup in the fridge.
  • Don't water down your drink. Larger ice cubes stay cold longer with less melt. Once you mix or shake your cocktail, strain or pour it over fresh cold cubes.
  • Make it pretty. We eat and drink with our eyes first so get out those garnishes. Fresh wedges of lemon or lime, grapefruit peel or orange zest (a vegetable peeler works well), sprigs of mint or lavender, fresh blackberries or other berries. For these cocktails, butterfly pea flowers would fit right in while being dramatic and unusual.

And that is it! So now, let's check out these beautiful and colorful shaken, stirred and layered Empress gin cocktails.

A bright salmon pink drink in a coupe glass with a slice of blood orange floating in it and a mint sprig in the back. A bottle of purple Empress gin in standing to the back right of the glass.
Blood Orange Gin Fizz
Orange, Aperol and soda water pair up to make this gin fizz sparkle! Using purple gin from British Columbia's Empress creates this pretty and bold drink.
Make the Empress Blood Orange Gin Fizz
A bright salmon pink drink in a coupe glass with a slice of blood orange floating in it and a mint sprig in the back. A bottle of purple Empress gin in standing to the back right of the glass.
Tall clear glass with a layered cocktail. The bottom is yellow, the middle is pink and the top is blue. It is garnished with a wedge of lemon and some flowers and the drink is sitting on a jute placemat.
Royal Hawaiian Cocktail
The Royal Hawaiian will take you right to the beach. Pineapple juice, citrus, and Empress 1908 gin star in this delicious and beautiful not-too-sweet cocktail.
Make A Royal Hawaiian Cocktail
Tall clear glass with a layered cocktail. The bottom is yellow, the middle is pink and the top is blue. It is garnished with a wedge of lemon and some flowers and the drink is sitting on a jute placemat.
Beautiful purple fading to pink drink in a glass with ice cubes and a mint garnish. The background is plain white.
Empress Gin Aperol Cocktail-Fade To Pink
This layered cocktail, featuring Empress gin and Aperol liqueur, is a beautiful pale pink and violet. An adult lavender lemonade cocktail, it's made with fresh lemon juice and a sprig of mint for garnish. Easy, super refreshing and perfect for any occasion.
Make The Empress Gin Aperol Cocktail
Beautiful purple fading to pink drink in a glass with ice cubes and a mint garnish. The background is plain white.
A vibrant purple pink sour cocktail with a frothy white top and dried butterfly pea flowers on top.
The Empress Q1908 (Gin Sour)
The classic sour recipe using Empress gin gets frothy and smooth tasting from egg whites and just the right amount of lemon. Give it a go and kick back with this unapologetically pink cocktail!
Make The Empress Q1908
A vibrant purple pink sour cocktail with a frothy white top and dried butterfly pea flowers on top.
A dark background highlights lavender colored drinks in coupe glasses with a bottle of Empress purple gin and purple flowers all around.
Empress Gin Sour
Gin sour ingredients pair up with vibrant Empress 1908 gin and for a bold and inviting cocktail. Lavender simple syrup, egg whites and lemon juice finish this perfect gin cocktail.
Make An Empress Gin Sour
A coupe glass with a pale purple colored frothy gin sour in it. There are pink and purple flowers all around and a dark background.
Bottle of purple gin beside a bright pink drink garnished with a pick of blackberries and mint. There is a lime half on the table beside along with more blackberries.
Blackberry Lavender London Mule
The blackberry lavender London mule is a riff on a Moscow Mule, a popular cocktail made with vodka, ginger beer, and lime juice. A London Mule is a fun variation with blackberries and lavender that uses blue Empress gin instead of vodka!
Make A London Mule
Bottle of purple gin beside a bright pink drink garnished with a pick of blackberries and mint. There is a lime half on the table beside along with more blackberries.
A purple colored blueberry gin mojito in a tall glass garnished with mint leaves.
Blueberry Gin Mojito
This simple cocktail is made by muddling blueberries with mint. Blueberry adds a naturally sweet twist for this refreshing gin mojito and has a gorgeous purple color thanks to the Empress gin and blueberries.
Make A Mojito
A purple colored blueberry gin mojito in a tall glass garnished with mint leaves.
A glass tiki style goblet holds a drink that is purple on top fading to yellow, then orange and last red on the bottom. It is garnished with a mushed lime made to look like the sun.
End Of The Rainbow
Easier than it looks, this stunner of a drink combines Empress gin with pineapple and orange juice, grenadine and gin for a tropical party. Wow your guests with your bartending skills by layering these colorful ingredients as you build the cocktail.
Take Me To The End Of The Rainbow
A glass tiki style goblet holds a drink that is purple on top fading to yellow, then orange and last red on the bottom. It is garnished with a mushed lime made to look like the sun.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is butterfly pea flour?

Also sold as butterfly pea powder, it is dried and ground flowers from the butterfly pea plant. These have naturally occurring vibrant indigo dyes. The color is fun to work with because it stays vibrant even after cooking. Try it in tea, a loaf of bread, a batch of pasta dough or a cake! Adding acidic or base ingredients can change it's color as you've seen above in these cocktail recipes.

Where can I buy butterfly pea blossoms and flour?

Butterfly pea flour and blossoms can easily be found online and often at health food shops and better grocers like Whole Foods market.

Why does Empress gin change colors?

The butterfly pea flowers that lend their deep indigo hue to Empress gin are sensitive to PH levels. This means that adding an acid (lemon juice, tonic or other) will make it change. The more acidic the more it will change. It can be any shade of blue, purple, magenta and pink.

Where Is Empress Gin Made

Empress gin is made in British Columbia where I live! The Victoria distillers make it in small batch copper-pot stills using the Fairmont Empress' signature blend of black tea on top of traditional botanicals for a beautiful gin. It might even be my favorite gin. Have you tried it? What do you think? Send me a note below to let me know your thoughts and if you've tried making one of these fun and simple gin cocktails!

If you have any questions or comments, you can find me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook. I try to answer any recipe related questions quickly as I know you might be in the middle of making it.

Also check out my FREE PRINTABLE meal planner to make menu planning and grocery shopping a breeze and my shopping guide. And if you like this recipe, I would love it if you give it a star rating in the recipe card.

Cheers and happy cooking, Friends! Sabrina

Cheers, Friends!

Sabrina

Diagonal collage of purple and pink cocktails with a white circle in the middle with text. Text says, "Best Empress Gin Cocktails + how to layer drinks and why it's blue."

More Drinks

About Sabrina Currie

Classically French trained cook, photographer and food stylist living on beautiful Vancouver Island, BC.

Comments

  1. BERNADETTE says

    Great post. I wish I could get my hands on some of that Empress Gin.

    Reply

    • Sabrina Currie says

      Thank you so much Bernadette. If you're comfortable replying, where do you live? I might be able to help you find where you can buy some Empress gin. Cheers, Sabrina

      Reply

      • BERNADETTE says

        Hi Sabrina, I live in Voorhees, New Jersey. thanks so much!

        Reply

  2. Deb says

    The drinks all look so beautiful and inviting!
    We eat and drink with our eyes first, such a true statement.

    Reply

    • Sabrina Currie says

      I totally agree! Cheers 🥂

      Reply

  3. Kyle Bordner says

    These cocktails are beautiful!

    Reply

    • Sabrina Currie says

      Thanks Kyle! Have you had a chance to try Empress gin? It is so fun to play with and makes such stunning drinks for parties.
      Cheers,
      Sabrina

      Reply

      • Kyle Bordner says

        Hi Sabrina - we haven’t! I was just thinking if including this in a couple weeks when we feature gin cocktails on our blog.

        Reply

        • Sabrina Currie says

          That would be great!

          Reply

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