The Independent Cocktail (photo courtesy of Chopin Vodka)

There are many reasons for the rising interest in backyard and community gardening. The desire for fresher, tastier and healthier food, rising food prices, reducing carbon emissions, and food safety concerns are all motivating folks to take up tilling the soil.

“Community gardens are full for the first time in years, seed sales are up and memberships in home gardening groups are gaining,” according to an article in the Press-Enterprise. Anecdotal evidence suggests that more restaurants are growing their own ingredients. Some, like New York’s Blue Hill, operate their very own farms.

But bartenders too? The answer is yes, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, where Camper English reports, “Lately, more (Bay Area) bartenders are doing the gardening work themselves, for the same reason that backyard gardeners seem to have appeared everywhere.”

The article in the Chroncile describes gardening for cocktail ingredients as a growing phenomena. Here is just one of the writer’s examples of the trend:

Within the city, patios and rooftops are being used to grow garnishes. The Fifth Floor restaurant offers three homegrown "Herb Garden Cocktails" - a Sagerac with fresh sage leaves, a rosemary cocktail and a version of the Lonsdale with basil leaves. Assistant General Manager Scott Stewart says the restaurant initially planted herbs to make use of extra garden space in its garden. But it has since become a point of pride.

If you’d like to read the article in the Press-Enterprise cited above go to: Community gardens growing in popularity amid rising food prices, health scares

If you’d like to read the article in the San Francisco Chronicle cited above go to: More bars growing own cocktail ingredients

For the recipe for the cocktail pictured above go to: The Independent by Chopin Vodka

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