Toxic Garden

Food, Styling & Photo: Oliver Schwarzwald

Simply good!

About three years ago, I started actively looking for non-alcoholic aperitifs. I was tired of only ever being served alcohol. But the narrow range on offer made me give in again and again. Given the choice between a rhubarb juice and an exquisite crémant, what was I to do? Somewhat reluctantly, I tried the "Toxic Garden" in a hip restaurant in Hmaburg. What exactly was in it didn't interest me at first, it was a non-alcoholic drink and I particularly liked the name. That's another clue for the restaurant trade: non-alcoholic drinks also sell by name. So let's stop with the mocktails, please.

"Toxic Garden" sounded intriguing. And indeed, the basic recipe is amazingly simple: mint, cucumber, elderberry syrup and tonic. Plus - and this is where it gets interesting - Angostura or even better, for more flavor and less alcohol, Celery Bitters. I've talked about bitters before. With Angostura, with its 48% alcohol, caution is advised. Celery Bitters, on the other hand, with only 1.3% alcohol content, hardly changes the alcohol content with just two dashes, but remains distinctive in taste.

The result is a simple and 100% convincing non-alcoholic drink. I add a little ginger here for the spiciness and reduce the lemonade from the "original" recipe.

The sharpness of the ginger, the freshness of the cucumber and mint, the bitterness of the tonic and the subtle notes of the celery bitters complement each other perfectly.

I hope it convinces you as much as it does me!

Cheers!

The drink:

8 fresh mint leaves

3 thin slices of cucumber

2 thin slices of ginger

2 dashes of celery bitters

1 cl elderflower syrup

15 cl tonic water

5 cl lemonade

Ice cubes

Muddle the cucumber, mint and ginger in a tumbler. Add the elderflower syrup and celery bitters. Add ice and top up with tonic and a little lemonade.