If you thought ordering a bloody mary at brunch was the only way you could drink your vegetables in boozy beverage form, think again. Craft cocktails starring beets, carrots, tomatoes and more have officially made their way onto the happy hour menu.
Whether it’s to highlight seasonal produce or pack a healthy punch, local mixologists around town are experimenting with veggies for a number of reasons. But let’s face it. No matter the reasoning, the only way a vegetable belongs in a cocktail is if it’s delicious.
“The tomato has definitely been the most on-trend veggie for cocktails,” said Veronica Riffo, front-of-house manager and bartender at The Gin Joint in Charleston. “It’s sweet and packs great umami flavors that tend to pair well with gin, tequila, mezcal and vodka.”
Also popular? Carrots and bell peppers. “Both can be used in many ways, like syrups, shrubs and infusions,” Riffo said. “These veggies satisfy the sweet-and-savory element without being too vegetal.”
What’s more, bartenders are modeling many veggie-based creations after tried-and-true classics, whether a daiquiri, margarita or martini, to ensure a cocktail that hits the mark.
“When I first started crafting new cocktails, I did a riff on a margarita using ingredients that were in-house,” said Morgan Coyne, beverage director at Lost Isle on Johns Island and winner of this year’s Best Bartender in City Paper’s Best of Charleston awards. “I saw carrots, then a ginger syrup we make here so why not try carrots and ginger?”
And thus, Lost Isle’s signature carrot margarita was born, and it is now the restaurant’s best-selling cocktail.
Ready to sip for yourself? Here are a few of our favorite veggie-based cocktails featuring fresh house-made components and high-quality ingredients, plus the stories behind them.
The Dirty Green Tomato at The Grocery (downtown)
Charleston-based Hat Trick Botanical Gin, pickled green tomato brine
“Vegetable-based cocktails are growing in popularity now, but it’s something that’s always felt natural for us,” said Kevin Johnson, chef and owner of The Grocery. “It complements our vegetable-focused menu, helps reduce food waste and gives us another way to showcase the flavors of our region.”
Starring the brine from green tomatoes pickled in-house, the Dirty Green Tomato has been The Grocery’s signature dirty martini for nearly 14 years. “The cocktail hits all the right flavor notes with great balance — bright acidity, a touch of sweetness, savory notes from the onions and spices in the brine and a nice bit of salinity that pulls it all together,” Johnson said.
The Beet Margarita at Basic Kitchen (downtown)
Tequila, beet, orange, lime, agave
“We believe that if we can eat healthy, we should also have the option to drink healthy,” said Tiffany Gauch, general manager at Basic Kitchen. “We juice our ingredients in-house, so it was an easy transition to infuse the idea of health into our cocktails.”
Dubbed “the cocktail that started it all,” Basic Kitchen’s beet margarita was the restaurant’s first vegetable cocktail featured on the bar menu when it opened back in 2017. “It’s a mixture of earthy and bright, with the combination of beets and apples creating a perfect balance,” Gauch said. “It shows you can mix being good with a little bit of being fun!”
Down the Wabbit Hole at Lost Isle (Johns Island)
Tequila, campari, lime, carrot, ginger, agave, smoked pepita-Tajin rim
Each batch of Lost Isle’s signature veggie-based margarita gets its bright orange color from 16 pounds of freshly juiced carrots. Luna’s Blanco tequila, agave and lime give it a classic margarita vibe, while campari and orange juice add a twist. But the rim is Coyne’s favorite part.
“Along with Tajin, we took some pepitas, tossed them in smoked paprika, smoked them, blended them, and then added some dried lime leaf and some sugar,” Coyne said. “It’s a nice little citrusy, salty, tiny-bit-spicy blend that bounces off the cocktail really well.”
The Endless Summer at The Gin Joint (downtown)
Bell pepper gin, sherry, cappelletti, bergamot, salted tomato, pineapple, lime acid, black lemon bitters
The Endless Summer was inspired by the bounty of a summer garden. “I love using the ‘Vegetarian Flavor Bible’ when it comes to pairing ingredients for cocktails,” Riffo said. “Both the tomato and bell pepper paired with pineapple so the root of the idea was born.”
Fruity, savory and of course a bit vegetal, the cocktail is balanced with Cappelletti, an Italian red bitter aperitivo. It’s garnished with edible micro radish from North Charleston-based King Tide Farms and a flower to give it a final summer-in-a-glass touch.
In Fine Fettle at NICO (Mount Pleasant)
Gin, carrot, lemon, honey-tumeric, ginger Caitlin Condon, bar manager at NICO, debuted this new carrot-based cocktail only three weeks ago.
“I’ve seen a lot of trends being set on social media to be healthier, and I’ve gotten into the juicing trends myself this past year, so I wanted to incorporate a cocktail that made people feel like they were making a healthier choice when drinking alcohol,” Condon said.
The In Fine Fettle cocktail tastes like a zippy wellness shot with a shot of gin — in the best possible way. Both the carrots and ginger are pressed in house, then Condon simmers honey, cracked black pepper and fresh turmeric root to add some sweetness.
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