5 from 5 reviews

Bloomsbury Garden Cocktail is brought to you from the Anchor & Den Bar during our trip to Grand Cayman. This effervescently delightful drink is one of their signature creations which we had again and again during our five day stay. Made with rosemary infused gin, elderflower liqueur, lemon juice, simple syrup, fig marmalade, and tonic water, this wonderful drink will be your new go-to cocktail.

Hello my friends. We are delighted to share with you today a wonderful cocktail that we discovered during our recent trip to Grand Cayman. We stayed at the Marriott Beach Resort, and spent many an hour at the Anchor & Den Bar in the hotel lobby. The two main bartenders, Danny and Bojan, were excellent, friendly, helpful, and delighted to answer all our cocktail questions. The Bloomsbury Garden Cocktail is one of their signature creations that pushed up our bar tab each night.

Three Prep Steps for a Perfect Bloomsbury Garden Cocktail

The Bloomsbury Garden is pretty simple to make, but you need to do some prep work a few days before. The main ingredients are rosemary infused gin, elderflower liqueur, lemon juice, simple syrup, fig marmalade, and elderflower tonic water.

Step 1: Infuse the gin with rosemary

So in order to get rosemary infused gin, you need to get some gin and infuse it with rosemary. A simple task. Take a few sprigs of rosemary and insert them into a bottle of gin. You should leave them in for at least 3-4 days, and if they start to turn brown take them out. I recommend pouring about half of your regular bottle of gin into a separate clean clear bottle and putting about 4-5 sprigs in.

Tray of Rosemary Gin, Drillaud Elderflower Liqueur, Navarino Icons Fig Marmalade and Fever-tree Elderflower Tonic

Step 2: Acquire a high quality fig jam

The other secret for this wonderful cocktail is the fig preserve or jam. We highly recommend using a high quality jam or marmalade (not a jelly), like Navarino Icons Fig Marmalade. It should ideally be mostly figs, with very little pectin or other jelling agent. Ideally, it should have only fresh figs, pure cane sugar, and fresh lemon juice, with no pectin or other artificial flavorings or preservatives.

Step 3: Make large ice cubes

If you want to get fancy, on the same day you are putting rosemary in the gin, get out your silicone large ice cube mold and make some ice especially for this wonderful cocktail. This isn’t necessary, but having one large ice cube in the glass looks oh-so-much-more-special than a bunch of smaller cubes.

Closeup photo of Bloomsbury Garden Cocktail with large ice cube, and rosemary and fig salami garnish

Making a Bloomsbury Garden Cocktail

When ready to make the drinks, the first step is to mix that fig jam and lemon juice together. If you are having a party, you can make a large batch of fig-lemon mixture as part of your prep work ahead of time. However, assuming you are making just two cocktails, in a large glass, small pitcher or shaker without any ice, mix 2 teaspoons of the fig marmalade together with 1 oz of fresh lemon juice (about 1 large lemon). Mix until any chunks of marmalade have completely dissolved. You could probably put these two ingredients together in the glass with the ice and alcohol, but I find it’s better to dissolve the jam in the lemon juice first to make sure it’s completely incorporated.

Mixing Fig Marmalade and lemon juice in a glass pitcher

Next add one or two regular ice cubes in the shaker with the fig marmalade lemon juice mix, and pour in the rosemary infused gin, elderflower liqueur, and simple syrup. Then stir together well. Add in the elderflower tonic and give it a few stirs. Pour into large bloom red wine glasses, also known as balloon wine glasses, and place your garnish. We garnished with a sprig of rosemary and a slice of Vegan Fig Salami, but you can also use a slice of fig or even a lemon slice.

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Pouring shot of rosemary gin making a Bloomsbury Garden Cocktail

Leaving No Jars Left Behind

We here at Spoonabilities believe in leaving no jars left behind. Don’t let anything in your fridge be forgotten. So unless you are making a big batch of these Bloomsbury Garden Cocktails, you will have some Fig Marmalade left over. Besides using it as a jam for toast and all your other jam and preserve uses, why not try our Fig Vodka Martini recipe if you are itching for another cocktail. For the sweet-tooth in the family you can make either Easy Rugelach, or Walnut Macaroon Thumbprint Cookies. Figs are Carlos’s favorite fruit so we have plenty of other recipes to choose from in our recipe section.

Glass of Rosemary Gin, Elderflower & Fig Tonic on a small wood tray with figs

I hope you enjoyed making this Bloomsbury Garden Cocktail with me today. I guarantee you will love it, even if you think you don't like figs. Give it a try. Let me know in the comments below if you are willing to make this cocktail. If you need any help or encouragement, we are here for you. Until next time...

Wishing you Tasty Happenings,

Geoffrey (Carlos’ official cocktail maker and drinker)

Rosemary Gin, Elderflower & Fig Tonic | Bloomsbury Garden Cocktail

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 5 reviews

Author: Geoffrey @ Spoonabilities
Total Time: 5 minutes
Yield: 2 1x

Print Recipe

Description

Bloomsbury Garden Cocktail is a refreshing effervescently delightful alcoholic drink you can make and impress your friends. Made with rosemary infused gin, elderflower liqueur, fig marmalade, and tonic water, this wonderful libation will be your new go-to cocktail.

Ingredients

Units Scale

3 oz Rosemary infused gin
1 oz Elderflower liqueur
½ oz simple syrup
2 teaspoons Navarino Icons Fig Marmalade or a high quality fig preserves
1 oz lemon juice
6 oz Elderflower Tonic

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Instructions

In a large glass or shaker with no ice, squeeze in 1 oz juice from a fresh lemon, and spoon in 2 teaspoons of fig marmalade. Stir until the marmalade is fully dissolved.
Add 1-2 regular ice cubes and pour in the rosemary infused gin, elderflower liqueur, and simple syrup. Stir well. Add in the elderflower tonic and give it a few stirs.
Strain into large balloon / red wine glasses with a large ice cube.
Garnish with sprig of rosemary and a slice of vegan fig salami, or a slice of fresh fig, or a lemon slice.