The onset of spring in OKC means patio season, Thunder roaring on the basketball court (and in the sky) and wind sweeping down the plains (e.g., Scissortail Park). It also means, as we bid adieu to scarves and mulled wine, it’s time for lighter, fresher cocktails. As April showers beget May flavors, it’s prime time for floral cocktails in OKC.
All year round, the city’s best cocktail bars feature floral ingredients both as infusions and garnishes, lending luster to drinks that typically skew fruitier and cleaner. But these verdant libations really bloom in the spring, when everything from marigold amaro to basil eau de vie adds some seasonal shine to OKC’s brightest beverages. Here’s where to find the best floral cocktails in OKC.
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Jimmy B’s Culinary + Krafted
From coconut shrimp maki to French dip au jus, all the menus at Jimmy B’s Culinary + Krafted are colorful and eclectic, including the cocktail selection. Customers can expect to find floral-forward drinks like the Butterfly Effect, a pretty-in-purple medley of gin, sparkling peach sake and lavender foam, while the Oklahoma Rose adds potable roses to a blend of Cocchi Americano, yuzu sake and an Italian aperitivo called Rosen Bitter, made with herbs and berries. Be sure to try the Eternal Sunshine, a juicy spritz-like drink made with lychee liqueur, honey, lemon, Prosecco, Topo Chico and dried hibiscus flowers.
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Palo Santo
Flush with plants and boasting an airy atmosphere that conjures a sense of SoCal, Palo Santo feels like the perfect place to sip some flowers. One of OKC’s most inventive cocktail spots, its deep drink list balances both perennial favorites—like the banana-infused Tokyo Old Fashioned made with Japanese whisky and smoked black tea Demerara—and seasonal novelties, like the Krampus cocktail made with pumpernickel rye. Year-round, floral flavors take many forms, including the Secret Handshake, made with mezcal, pamplemousse liqueur, lemon and marigold-scented Mari Gold amaro.
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Good For A Few
As the Plaza District’s dexterous Good For A Few racks up accolades, including being named one of the best bars in the country by USA Today, the quasi-speakeasy continues to dazzle with some of the most exciting drinks in town—many of which include floral infusions. Drinks rotate throughout the year, but examples include Octopus’s Garden, made with lemongrass-distilled mezcal, basil eau de vie, lemon, turmeric-lemongrass syrup and cucumber bitters. Very Sherry Cherry Cobbler, meanwhile, blends tart notes of cherry juice with Armagnac, sherry, tarragon syrup and Alpeggio Hay Liqueur, an Italian spirit wafting with notes of chamomile, green tea and, yes, hay.
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Stitch Cafe
Along with mimosas and lattes, Stitch Cafe slings some of the most creative brunch cocktails in OKC. And considering the fact that the West Village breakfast spot shares space with a plant shop, it’s not surprising that some of those cocktails include florals. Along with a Prickly Pear Mojito, one standout is the Elderflower Gimlet, a refreshing gin drink with a big punch of lime and notes of citrus and honey from elderflower.
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Flamingo TIKI
For those who prefer to look at their flowers instead of drink them, Flamingo TIKI adorns its tropical drinks with enough florals to fill a flower bed. Most drinks come with some sort of tropical flower garnish, from the boozy Cobra’s Fang, soaked in Demerara rum, herbsaint, falernum, passion fruit, lime, orange and angostura bitters, to the frozen Missionary’s Downfall, a beachy blend of light rum, peach liqueur, honey, fresh pineapple and mint. My favorite is the Baron Samedi, a martini-like mix of aged Martinique rum, lime, cinnamon syrup, falernum and, of course, a flower that looks like it was plucked off a lei.
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Good Times
Even late-night dives like Good Times offer a bouquet of flavor. Try the Elderflower Collins, made with gin, St-Germain elderflower liqueur, lemon and club soda, or the Verditarita, a spicy blend of tequila, Ancho Reyes Verde Chili Liqueur and—inspired by herbal Mexican chasers typically served with tequila—a pineapple-cilantro verdita.
