My favourite method of infusing the flavours of herbs into a cocktail is to do just that: take a handful of your select herb, shove it into a bottle of booze of choice, let it sit overnight and strain the next day. While mint may be what commonly comes to mind in the cocktail realm, unexpected herbs usually reserved for savoury dishes-like rosemary, thyme, tarragon and basil-often offer a layer of sophistication and intrigue to an otherwise tiresome tipple.

As an attempt to focus this undertaking, and recognizing that this is in fact a food column, I went with a much-loved culinary theme: fruit and herbs. But the greatest benefit of all, perhaps? The smile that spreads across your face after those first couple sips, and that joyful celebratory feeling that overtakes your body as a glass is raised with loved ones.Д«ecause I love creating cocktails so much, I have a vast anthology of options and choosing just a few to share here was an admittedly tormenting task. Bitters ease digestive discomfort, as does the vinegary tang of shrubs-two elements often incorporated in many cocktails, including a couple of the ones featured here. Alcoholic beverages have a long history of вЂњcuring what ails you,вЂќ and while some attributions are simply superstition or merely wishful thinking, many brews offer opportunities for more than just a blissful buzz.Дigestifs traditionally help prime the belly for an abundant meal, while apГ©ritifs may similarly settle the stomach following an overindulgent feast, and raw ferments have long been recognized as offering a boost to oneвЂ™s microbiome. Granted, itвЂ™s something I havenвЂ™t been able to do for a while thanks to pandemic life (not to mention being a new mom), but I have historically liked to have a cocktail ready for arriving guests to sip and distract while I put the final touches on the meal.ДЄnother less obvious advantage of coming up with my own concoctions is that I can experiment with certain hidden benefits of boozy libations.

I am by no means a true mixologist, but as a recipe developer I do understand the art of finding balanced and pleasing flavour combinations. Perhaps itвЂ™s because the task is a tad novel since IвЂ™m a food writer and nutritionist, or maybe itвЂ™s because I bartended for about 10 years to help support my schooling and early stages of my career-either way, muddling, shaking, stirring and pouring holds a special place in my heart. I have a confession to make: I enjoy coming up with cocktail concoctions slightly more than I do food recipes. вЂ“ Story by Ellie Shortt Photography by Lia Crowe

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