Elevate your every day and show your Pride with this beautiful purple gin cocktail! Empress Indigo Gin, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, and prosecco make this sparkling cocktail a party favorite. With only 5 ingredients, it’s elegant and bubbly, but so easy to make.

The world of colors and flowers brim with symbolism. Roses speak of passion, lilies purity, and sunflowers joy. But nestled amongst these vibrant blooms lies the unassuming violet, carrying a secret message of love between women.

The connection between violets and lesbian identity stretches back centuries, with roots in the ancient world. Sappho, the famous Greek poet from the isle of Lesbos (fun fact: from where the term “lesbian” originates), wrote extensively about love and desire and often featured women draped in violets. These poems, though only fragments today, sparked a long association between the flower, the color purple itself, and Sapphic love.

Fast forward to the 20th century, and the violet resurfaces as a symbol of lesbian identity. Édouard Bourdet’s play, “The Captive,” featured a character giving violets to another woman, causing quite the stir and sparking a subtle rebellion. Women began wearing violets to show support for the play and for lesbian love as a whole.

There’s so much more to the violet’s symbolism than just Sappho’s influence. The flower itself is beautiful with a sweet and subtle fragrance. Perhaps it resonated with lesbians who, for so long, had to express their love in hidden ways. Wearing purple and violets offered a coded language, a way to acknowledge on another in a world that often didn’t understand.

This Pride month, we wanted to honor the beauty, strength, history and empowerment of our lesbian identity with something to cheers with. And all that is what sparked this cocktail.

This drink is blooming with delicate, citrus flavors. It’s so crisp and clean that it’s easy to sip with just about anything you’re snacking on. Just don’t skip out on the Empress Gin, and if you can, choose St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur.

Empress Gin has a deep, all-natural indigo hue that stems from butterfly pea flower and the other botanicals it contains: juniper, rose, coriander seed, grapefruit peel, ginger root, and cinnamon bark. It has a mild flavor that feels very classic. When you add the prosecco and grapefruit juice to the Empress Gin, you’ll see it transform from vivid indigo to a delicate, soft violet pink. That’s the color you’re going for!

So, the next time you encounter a cluster of violets or make this drink, we hope you’ll remember the love, resilience, and a long history of women loving women that they represent.

You can see how we made the recipe here!

And of course, if you do make this cocktail, don’t forget to tag us on Instagram! Looking through the photos and videos of recipes you all have made is our favorite.

What we use:

• Cocktail shaker
• Coupe glasses
• Cocktail picks