World Cocktail Day – Elderflower Martini Recipe

Last Updated on May 10, 2022

Elderflower Gin Martini with Jaisalmer Indian Craft Gin

I am a huge cocktail fan, so it only seemed fitting to celebrate World Cocktail Day which falls on May 13 with one of my favourite gin-based cocktail recipes, a crisp and refreshing Elderflower Martini.

World Cocktail Day is a global celebration of cocktails, which marks the publication date of the first definition of a cocktail which was defined by the New York tabloid The Balance and Columbian Repository as “a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water and bitters” on May 13 in 1806.

Cocktails were first inspired by British punches, which contained spirits, fruit juices, and spices and were served in big bowls, however, my Elderflower Martini wasn’t going to be served in a giant bowl but in an elegant martini glass, but to do it justice I needed a great bottle of gin.

So, an excellent choice was Jaisalmer Indian Craft Gin, a handcrafted triple-distilled neutral grain spirit, re-distilled in a traditional copper pot. As its names suggest it is from Jaisalmer a former medieval trading centre and a princely state in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, an area known as the “Golden City,” situated in the heart of the Thar Desert.

This delicious juniper berry flavoured gin with rich complex spices and peppery notes harks back to the imperial age of Maharajas and Maharanis. It has used India’s ancient knowledge of herbs, distilling with eleven different handpicked botanicals sourced from all four corners of India.  It comes in a splendid stout black bottle with touches of luxurious muted gold.

With summer on its way, I fancied making a classic cocktail with a refreshing twist, so I added elderflower and citrus to a traditional gin martini recipe to make this delicious bittersweet martini.  The citrus helps to balance the delicate notes of elderflower with the spicing in the gin, making a light and unusual martini that is ultra-refreshing.

Please see my recipe below, I hope you enjoy it as much as did. Happy World Cocktail day!

Looking for more cocktail inspiration – we have plenty of suggestions on London-Unattached.  You might like to try our other suggestions for Jaisalmer Indian Gin Cocktails or how about a classic and rather beautiful Aviation cocktail.  Or for a couple of elderflower cocktail options, how about this Elderflower Tom Collins or an Elderflower Gimlet.  If you want an even more alcoholic version, then you could also opt to use St Germain Elderflower Liqueur in place of the cordial.