Raspberry Rose Tonic Mocktail

This raspberry rose tonic is a pretty, floral mocktail that’s refreshing, lightly bitter, and surprisingly easy to make. Muddled fresh raspberries, raspberry syrup, lemon juice, and just a touch of rose water, all topped up with tonic water and finished with dried rose petals.

This is a built mocktail, which means everything goes straight into the glass, no shaker required. You start by muddling a few fresh raspberries to release their juice, then layer in raspberry syrup for sweetness, lemon juice and a tiny amount of rose water for that delicate floral note. Then tonic water brings a slight bitterness that balances the sweetness of the raspberry syrup and stops the drink from tasting flat or overly sweet

Key ingredients and why

• Fresh raspberries: Muddling fresh raspberries gives you real, vibrant berry flavour that no syrup alone can replicate. They also add a gorgeous natural colour.
• Raspberry syrup: This adds sweetness and rounds out the raspberry flavour. If you don’t have raspberry syrup on hand, you can use a simple syrup and lean more heavily on the muddled raspberries, but the raspberry syrup really does make a difference here. See how to make homemade raspberry cocktail syrup.
• Fresh lemon juice: This is essential. The acidity brightens everything up and stops the drink from tasting one-dimensional. Always use fresh here, not bottled.
• Rose water: Just 1/4 teaspoon is all you need. It gives the drink a soft, floral quality that works beautifully with the raspberry.
• Tonic water: The bitterness of tonic water is what really makes this drink. It adds complexity and keeps things from being too sweet. I usually use 70ml if I want it a little stronger, or go up to 90ml if I want it lighter and more refreshing.

Method

1. Add 5 raspberries to a short glass.

Tips

• Don’t skip the fresh raspberries. The muddled raspberries make a real difference to the depth of flavour. Raspberry syrup on its own is sweet, but muddled berries add a freshness that really lifts the drink.
• Measure your rose water carefully. This is one ingredient where eyeballing it can go wrong fast. Stick to 1/4 teaspoon.
• Adjust the tonic to taste. Anywhere from 70ml to 90ml works, depending on how strong or how long you want the drink. Start with less and top up from there.
• To make it a cocktail, add 45ml (1.5 oz) of gin before the tonic water. A London Dry or a floral gin both work really well.
• Dried rose petals for garnish are optional but they look beautiful. You can find them at specialty food stores or online.

More floral and berry cocktails

If you love a floral or fruity drink, here are a few more recipes you might enjoy:

• A raspberry gin sour is another great way to use raspberry syrup, shaken with gin, lemon juice, and egg white for a silky foam on top.
• This raspberry mimosa is a great option if you want something celebratory with a raspberry twist.
• For another floral option, the lavender gin sour has a lovely balance of sweet and sour with a beautiful purple colour.
• If you want to lean further into the rose flavour, my rose simple syrup is a great thing to have in the fridge for floral drinks.

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