A Garden Party in a Cup 

I believe the best cocktails come out of summer. I'm sure the outdoor drinking weather helps with this, but truly it is the access to fresh fruit and herbs that makes it hard to come in from watering the garden without a cocktail special in mind.

I am very fortunate to have the abundance that surrounds me. In Blue Lake, I keep a bartender's garden. Edible flowers, herbs, Sungold tomatoes (tomato Margaritas FTW), berries and future pickles are grown here. In Briceland, my partner and I have an organic farm, Big Hill Farmstead. The farm is the original site of Mountain Rose Herbs, a now large company based out of Oregon that sells apothecary items in bulk. There is a whole lot of wild magic up there, with hills of mint and lemon balm. A Mojito haven! I use the term Mojito loosely. While I love a traditional rum Mojito any day, I have found a world of other flavors through muddling additional herbs into play.

Last year we grew what felt like every variety of basil. Lemon Basil stole the show and my heart, a wonderfully floral yet bright leafy green. Lemonade Thyme came in a close second. I would steep the two with lemon balm for a trifecta lemonade, the perfect base for adding gin and sparkling water — a real porch pounder.

This is my loose recipe for what I refer to as the Planter Box. This cocktail is almost never the same as the day before and you can riff on it all you like. It tastes best while laying on the deck in a bikini or less.

The Planter Box

I use Mezcal for this, and I especially like the woman-owned brand Yola. For the herbs, mint, lemon balm, basil, thyme and cilantro all work — any variety is possible. The citrus juice is flexible, too. Throw a kumquat in there if you are lucky enough to have them. I use agave to sweeten but sugar cubes work great for extracting more oil from the herbs with their grit.

2 ounces spirit of choice

½ cup fresh herbs

2 ounces citrus juice, split, such as 1 ounce lemon and 1 ounce lime

1 tablespoon agave or sugar, or 3-4 sugar cubes

Berries, optional

Soda water

In a pint glass, throw in herbs and sweetener. Berries if that's your jam, or even a thin slice or two of peppers for an extra kick; serrano or jalapeños work great. Muddle — carefully mashing with a muddler or wooden spoon — for longer than you think you should. More muddling equals more oil extraction. Add your spirit of choice and fill with ice. Cover and shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake your Mojito. Strain into your vessel of choice, fill with ice, top with soda and an edible flower. Thoroughly enjoy.

Amy Ogle (she/her) is a local food enthusiast who splits her time between Blue Lake and Shelter Cove, where she runs Mario's Marina Bar.