Make Your Own Wild Herbal Cordials

There are so many ways to work with all the beautiful, fun and edible/medicinal flowers in bloom right now here on Lopez. This is the time of year my daily salads are topped with violets, wild honeysuckles, chive flowers, wild roses, columbines and more. But what about a special treat for special occasions? That’s when I turn to herbal cordials.

A cordial can be alcoholic or nonalcoholic (depending on who you talk to), and I always like to make mine nonalcoholic for more flexibility-people can always add a dash of vodka if that’s how they roll.

On the other hand, if the cordial is alcoholic from the get go, it will have a much longer shelf life. So that is worth considering. But I like to make a fresh batch right before a special event, and then I don’t have to worry about how long it’s going to last because I only need enough for the event.

We have so many wild roses here on Lopez Island, and while they are in fact native, they are so plentiful that they are often treated like a nuisance that needs to be kept in check by frequently cutting them back. That makes it an ideal plant for wildcrafters-we don’t have to worry about taking too much!

I first got to know the flavor of rose from Lebanese cuisine, which has always had a place in my hometown of Portland, Oregon. Rosewater was often added to things like lemonade, and has a very distinct flavor that I have always found delicious.

Now with rose cordials, you will also see it paired with lemon. A touch of lemon juice acts as a preservative, balances out the flavor profile, and really makes that pink color pop. The rose flavor can get a bit cloying on its own, and the citrus taste also gives it a refreshing little kick.

Personally, I only use honey to sweeten my cordials. Again, if you’re just thinking about the shelf life, sugar acts as a better preservative, but I just can’t bring myself to use white sugar for anything, and I absolutely love the taste of honey and all it has to offer as medicine.

So how do you make a cordial? There are so many ways! I like to keep it simple. Basically, you make a really strong infusion that you steep for a number of hours, and then you combine that with equal parts honey. Basically you are making an herbal syrup. With some recipes (like with rose as I already mentioned), you also add a touch of lemon juice.

When you are ready to drink it, you mix it with some sparkling water to taste, which is also nice since there is a lot of variance in how sweet people will want their drink to be. And you can add a little sprig of whatever flower you are working with to make it pretty.

It’s also fun to put some of the flowers in your ice cubes to add to the visual appeal. Putting it into fancy little bottles can also make for a great party favor and can enhance the feeling of it being something truly special and unique (see pics). Kids go totally nuts for this stuff! But it can be just as much fun for those of us who are still kids at heart…:)

If you make your cordial using the instructions below, the shelf life will depend on a number of factors. An airtight lid can extend it quite a bit (unfortunately the pretty cork top bottles you see in my picture here are not airtight), keeping it away from heat and light (a colored bottle also helps with light degradation), and not re-opening the bottle multiple times. That’s an advantage of using the smaller bottles because you are more likely to use it all at once and not keep exposing the mixture to oxygen.

So basically, you are looking at anywhere from 3 weeks to a year or more depending on how you care for it!

Here’s how I like to make mine:

Rose Cordial

Ingredients

1-2 cups fresh rose petals (or ¼ -½ cup dried)

1 cup water

1 cup honey

1.5 tsp lemon juice

Sparkling water

Directions:

Bring water to a boil, then pour over the rose petals and honey, cover, and let steep for at least 4 hours (up to 24 hours!) to get the best pink color and extract more of the aromatic compounds. Add the lemon juice. Then strain and chill before serving. Add vodka if desired.