Celebrate the return of the sun & the first signs of spring with this homemade Rosemary & Pine Lemon Spritzer Mocktail! It’s bright, refreshing, & offers a unique twist on a sparkling drink for any gathering or sunny afternoon.
This is one of the first recipes I made when first learning to forage (which was not long ago) as all species in the family Pinaceae (Pinus Genus) are edible & easy to identify. If you don’t have time to go foraging for pine needles, simply omit from this recipe & add a bit more rosemary. The taste of the pine is extra special though, & getting into nature offers enormous health benefits, including mood boosting properties, so I highly recommend doing so!
Serving Size: 2
Ingredients:
- 5 sprigs of fresh rosemary, plus more for garnish
- ¼ - ½ cup of chopped pine needles (ethically foraged, ½ cup is preferred)
- ½ cup of organic sugar
- ½ cup of filtered water
- 1- 2 fresh lemons, plus more for garnish or personal taste
- 1 liter of soda water
- Ice cubes
-
Add Gin or Vodka at your own discretion, if you’d prefer an alcoholic version
Instructions:
Step 1: Ethical Foraging
- Before we begin, let's ensure our foraging practices align with ethical standards. Seek out areas abundant with pine and/or rosemary, ensuring you have permission to harvest. Take only what you need, leaving the environment undisturbed for future growth and biodiversity. The general rule of thumb is take no more than 10% of plant/fungi material available, only in areas where the species is not threatened, breaking the harvest up across several plants. For this particular recipe I harvested the pine after a storm and was able to gather enough needles from fallen branches. I purchased the rosemary from a farmer’s market, as my rosemary bush is currently bare.
Step 2: Creating the Simple Syrup
- In a small saucepan, combine ½ cup of pine needles (thoroughly washed) and 5 sprigs of rosemary with ½ cup of filtered water.
- Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally, allowing the flavors to infuse for about 5 minutes.
- After simmering, turn off heat and add
½ cup of organic sugar to the saucepan, stirring until fully dissolved. - Let the mixture cool to room temperature, allowing the pine and rosemary essence to meld with the syrup.
Step 3: Infusing
- After 30 minutes of infusing, remove the rosemary sprigs from the syrup.
- Allow the pine needles to infuse for 2-24 hours. The longer you allow the pine to infuse, the stronger the flavor. I recommend allowing the pine needles to infuse for at least 12 hours in a covered container, placing it in the fridge after 4 hours or so.
- Once infused, strain the syrup into a clean jar or bottle.
Step 4: Extracting Lemon Juice
- While the simple syrup infuses, juice the lemons to yield approximately ½ cup of fresh lemon juice. Ensure to strain out any seeds. I prefer this spritzer to be more tart than sweet, so I typically like to have lemon wedges on hand to adjust flavor.
Step 5: Assembling the Spritzer
- Add 1-2 Table Spoons of the flavored syrup to ¼ cup of lemon juice. Stir.
- Add ice and fill the glass with soda water. Stir again.
Sip slowly and enjoy!
