Rhubarb Gin Cocktail with Strawberries

If you're looking for the perfect summer gin cocktail, try this lovely Strawberry Rhubarb Gin Cocktail! It's a beautiful pastel cocktail, made with fresh strawberries and chopped rhubarb, and a simple homemade strawberry rhubarb syrup.

The cocktail is absolutely delicious, with tart rhubarb and lemon juice, sweet strawberries, a rhubarb-strawberry simple syrup, and fizzy club soda. It's super refreshing, with the perfect tart sweetness and a gorgeous pink color. A great way to enjoy spring and summer produce!

If you're looking for more delicious summer cocktails, be sure to check out these lavender gin cocktail, this creamy blended cherry limeade with gin, or this strawberry basil cocktail!

❤️Why We Love This Recipe

• Beautiful seasonal ingredients. If you love summer fruit, you have to try this drink. It's a lovely way to use the best produce of the season!
• No special equipment needed. If you have a fine mesh strainer, a small pot, and a cocktail shaker, you can make this drink!
• Packed with flavor. This drink has a distinctly tart flavor, followed by a sweetness, and refreshing brightness. It's wonderfully balanced, and beautiful too!

🍓Ingredients

Here are the ingredients we used for this cocktail. Please note, that we made the strawberry rhubarb simple syrup ahead of time. We will include instructions on how to make your own in the body of the post.

• Fresh rhubarb & strawberries. Muddled in the bottom of a cocktail shaker before adding in the other ingredients. This really adds tons of flavor.
• Strawberry rhubarb simple syrup. We'll share instructions below!
• Gin. We love using Empress Gin, since not only is it gorgeous, but it's also delicious. You can buy Empress online or in stores, or use your favorite gin. Check out some more of our gin recipes that feature Empress!
• Club soda or soda water. For a little fizz, either works.

Visit the recipe card for the full quantities and nutritional information.

✨Substitutions & Variations

Here are a couple of suggestions for modifying this cocktail!

• Keto-friendly/sugar free. You can always swap the sugar used in our recipe for allulose sweetener to make it sugar free and keto friendly! To do this, use 1 & ⅓ cups of allulose sweetener in place of every 1 cup of sugar, as allulose is slightly less sweet than sugar.
• Ginger flavor. Love ginger? Add some ginger beer or ginger ale in place of club soda for a lovely sweetness and flavor! Please note, ginger beer will give the drink a very strong ginger flavor, while ginger ale will provide more of a hint.
• Add Angosturra bitters. For a little more depth of flavor, add a dash of Angosturra bitters.
• Use tonic water. Will add a touch of sweetness, as well as a strong bitterness.
• Lime juice. Use fresh lime juice in place of lemon juice! This would be a very easy and delicious swap.

Make the Strawberry Rhubarb Simple Syrup

We will start by making a small batch of simple syrup. You can easily double the batch for a larger amount. This recipe is based on our strawberry simple syrup recipe!

Ingredients:

• 150 grams fresh rhubarb, chopped
• 60 grams fresh strawberries, chopped
• ½ cup filtered water (4 ounces)
• ½ cup white sugar (100 grams)
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (optional, to preserve freshness)

Instructions:

1. Start by adding strawberries, rhubarb, and water to a small pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
2. Simmer the mixture for 15-20 minutes, until rhubarb and strawberries have softened considerably.
3. Strain through a fine strainer. Resist the urge to press on the fruit to extract more juice, because this will make your syrup cloudy.
4. Add the strawberry rhubarb juice back to the pot, and simmer over low heat. Stir in the sugar until completely dissolved.
5. Once dissolved, stir lemon juice into the mixture if desired to help preserve the freshness. Allow to cool completely before adding it to your cocktail.

Mix up the cocktail

To make this drink, add fresh rhubarb and strawberries to the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Muddle well. (Image 1)

Add ice to the cocktail shaker, followed by strawberry rhubarb syrup (Image 2), Empress gin (Image 3), and lemon juice. (Image 4)

Shake well to chill, then pour into an ice-filled glass. (Image 5)

Top with club soda, (Image 6) then garnish with strawberry and a thin shaving of rhubarb. (Image 7)

Serve and enjoy!

✨Tips & Tricks

• Use fresh ingredients. Ripe strawberries, fresh lemon juice, and fresh rhubarb will ensure the best flavor.
• Use fresh ice. Ice that has been sitting in the back of the freezer for ages may have soaked up the scent of some things around it. We recommend using fresh ice for the best-tasting drink!
• Cool the simple syrup. Make the strawberry rhubarb simple syrup in advance to allow it time to cool, or else it will melt the ice!
• Adjust to taste. Before serving, taste the cocktail and adjust the sweetness or tartness if needed. You can add a bit more simple syrup or lemon juice based on your preferences.

🥣Storage

You can prepare the simple syrup up to 2 weeks in advance and keep it in the fridge in an airtight container. You can also freeze the simple syrup for up to 6 months. To thaw, simply set it out at room temperature for about 1 hour, or thaw it overnight in the fridge.

For the cocktail, this is best mixed up fresh and served immediately. However, it can be stored in the fridge for a couple of hours after preparing.