This Blueberry Gin Sour is easy to make and full of flavor. Featuring a refreshing mix of blueberry jam, tea-infused simple syrup, gin, and lemon, this vibrant summer cocktail is a must-have when you want to impress your guests.
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The best blueberry gin sour cocktail
You’ll always find the classic mix of gin, lemon juice, and sugar in sour cocktail recipes. It’s simplistic, timeless, and leaves plenty of room for creativity. This Blueberry Gin Sour cocktail is just that - imaginative, playful, and most importantly, full of fruity summer flavors!
Elevating an average gin sour with a burst of blueberry, black-currant, and floral flavors is surprisingly easy. Other than the classic ingredients, you’ll need blueberry jam and a custom tea-infused syrup. Pick any tea you like! You can easily customize your cocktail to perfectly fit your taste buds.
The blueberry twist on this gin sour makes it the perfect drink for summer entertaining. You’ll surely love this Grapefruit and Lime Paloma or Passion Fruit Mojito if you fell for this sour blueberry cocktail as quickly as I did.
Ingredient notes
- Gin - My favorite distilled spirit! It’s fermented with a dynamic blend of juniper berries and aromatic herbs, helping it pair well with tart fruits and berries. Empress Gin gives this cocktail its gorgeous purple hue but any other gin you enjoy drinking will work instead.
- Tea simple syrup - Simple syrup is a non-negotiable ingredient in sours because the sweetness mellows out the tart lemon and floral gin. Instead of plain simple syrup, this cocktail calls for a tea-infused syrup made from water, sugar, and blueberry and black currant tea. If you don’t have this type of tea, use another fruity, berry-based tea instead.
- Blueberry jam - For another layer of juicy blueberry flavor!
- Lemon juice - Freshly squeezed lemon juice is key to the brightest and best flavor.
- Egg white - Egg white cocktails are some of my favorites (like this Pear, Quince, and Elderflower Sour) because they magically change the texture, giving the drink a satiny smooth mouthfeel and a frothy head. Aquafaba (the brine from a can of chickpeas) is a vegan-friendly alternative and produces similar results.
How to make a blueberry gin sour
Make the blueberry and black currant syrup infusion up to 2 weeks ahead of time. The rest of the cocktail comes together in seconds:
Step 1: Make the simple syrup. Bring equal parts water and sugar to a simmer and cook until the sugar dissolves and the liquid thickens. Add the loose tea leaves and let them steep for 30 seconds. Afterward, take the pot off of the heat.
Step 2: Cool, strain, and store. Let the tea leaves steep until the syrup has cooled to room temperature. Strain it into an airtight bottle and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to make blueberry cocktails.
Step 3: Dry shake. Add the gin, simple syrup, jam, lemon juice, and an egg white to a cocktail shaker. Seal the lid and dry shake (without ice) for 30 seconds.
Step 4: Shake with ice, then serve. Add a scoop of ice to the shaker and shake again for 30 more seconds. Strain your fruity and frothy blueberry lemon cocktail into a coupe glass. Cheers!
Tips and variations
- Instead of blueberry jam - Use strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, or black raspberry jam. Fruit jellies and marmalades work too! Try with this plum jam or this strawberry rhubarb freezer jam.
- For herbaceous notes - Muddle fresh herbs like basil, mint, or thyme in the bottom of your shaker before dry shaking with the rest of the ingredients.
- Always dry shake sour cocktails first! Shaking the liquid and egg whites without ice whips air into the egg, creating the perfect foam. Add ice afterward to chill the drink.
- Tea-based simple syrup - Make the syrup for this cocktail with any loose-leaf tea blend that has fruity and nutty aromas. Blueberry simple syrup, raspberry simple syrup, and blackberry lilac simple syrup are all good options. For more infusion ideas and everything you need to know about simple syrup, check out my guide here!
Recommended equipment
- Tea infuser - An infuser keeps the tea leaves contained in the syrup, meaning you can skip the strain afterward.
- Cocktail shaker - Sour drinks are always shaken, never stirred. I recommend using a Boston or Parisian shaker. If you don’t own a cocktail shaker, use an airtight container or jar instead.
- Bar strainer - Make sure it fits over your cocktail shaker.
- Glassware - Serve your sour cocktail in a coupe glass, martini glass, or old-fashioned glass.
Frequently asked questions
The sour cocktail family includes bourbon, whiskey, brandy, pisco, rum, and amaretto. These are all great substitutions for gin in this recipe.
You can omit the egg white or replace it with 1 to 2 tablespoons of aquafaba. Just keep in mind that the egg dramatically enhances the delicious foamy density. You’ll be missing out on the froth without it!
Sure! Hold the gin and use club soda, lemon-lime soda, or sparkling water.
More sour cocktail recipes
- Lemon Lavender Sour
- Blood Orange Pisco Sour
- Aperol Negroni Sour
- Clementine Blood Orange Gin Sour
- Pear Brandy Sour
As always, I love seeing your creations and hearing from you! If you try this blueberry sour cocktail, please leave a review or share your creation with me on social media! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest - for more delicious recipes sent straight to your inbox, sign up for my newsletter!
Blueberry & Black Currant Cocktail
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Spatula
- Air Tight Container
- Cocktail Shaker or Container with Lid
- Glass for serving
Ingredients
Blueberry & Black Currant Tea Simple Syrup
- 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Cup Water
- 3 tablespoon Blueberry & Black Currant Loose Leaf Tea, or tea of your choice
Blueberry & Black Currant Cocktail
- 1 oz Blueberry & Black Currant Tea Simple Syrup
- ½ teaspoon Blueberry Jam
- 2 oz Gin, (I used Empress Gin - thus the purple hue!)
- 1 oz Lemon Juice
- 1 Egg White
- Ice
Instructions
Blueberry & Black Currant Tea Simple Syrup
- Pour your measured water and sugar into a saucepan and heat on the stove at medium heat.1 Cup Granulated Sugar, 1 Cup Water
- Cook, stirring the mixture until your sugar has completely dissolved.
- Add tea leaves and continue heating for 30 seconds before removing from heat and allow syrup to infuse for half an hour as the simple syrup cools completely.3 tablespoon Blueberry & Black Currant Loose Leaf Tea
- Strain syrup into an airtight container and store in the fridge until you're ready to use.
Blueberry & Black Currant Cocktail
- In a shaker, combine all ingredients and shake without ice for 30 seconds.1 oz Blueberry & Black Currant Tea Simple Syrup, ½ teaspoon Blueberry Jam, 2 oz Gin, 1 oz Lemon Juice, 1 Egg White
- Then, add ice and shake for an additional 30 seconds.Ice
- Strain into a glass getting rid of the broken ice chips and serve!
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