7 Elderberry Drinks (Cocktails & Mocktails)

Elderberries are one of the most fun wild ingredients to use in drink recipes. Their deep purple color makes everything look gorgeous and their tart flavor is the perfect balance for sweet, citrusy, or herby mixers. Once you’ve made a batch of elderberry simple syrup, the possibilities are endless. This beautiful syrup is the perfect base for cozy fall cocktails, elegant mocktails, and everyday sparkling drinks that feel magical.

My favorite? A Rosemary Elderberry Vodka Lemonade, shaken with lemon juice and fresh rosemary for a bright, herbal twist that highlights everything I love about this special wild berry. 

Below, I’ll give you 7 ideas for elderberry drinks that you can make at home. We’ll cover both mocktails and cocktails so everyone can join in on the fun. Let’s make some elderberry drinks!

Why you’ll love these elderberry drinks

• Naturally stunning color. Deep ruby purple looks striking in any glass.
• Perfectly balanced flavors. Tart, fruity, and earthy elderberry complements both light and dark spirits.
• Easy to make. A quick elderberry simple syrup (recipe below!) is all you need for an instant upgrade to any cocktail or mocktail. After that, all of these drink recipes can be made in less than 5 minutes, with 5 ingredients or less.
• Seasonal & versatile. Use the elderberry syrup to dress up all kinds of drinks, from spritzers to old-fashioned favorites.

How to make elderberry simple syrup

This syrup isn’t the slow-simmered, honey-sweetened version used for wellness, but rather a quick, flavorful syrup meant for drinks and desserts. If you’ve already made a batch of elderberry syrup, you can go ahead and move on to the drink-making part!

Make this simple syrup using any quantity of berries that you have on hand, using a 1:1:1 ratio. Using the quantities given below, you’ll get about 2 cups of elderberry simple syrup.

You’ll need:

1 ½ cups fresh or frozen & thawed elderberries (or ¾ cup dried*)
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ cups water

To make it:

1. Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Add elderberries.
2. Simmer gently for about 5 minutes. The syrup should be slightly thickened and the sugar should be dissolved.
3. Remove from heat, cover with a lid, and let steep for 30 minutes.
4. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, pressing on berries gently with a wooden spoon or spatula to extract as much syrup as possible. Discard berries and let the syrup cool. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

*If using dried elderberries, add them in step 1 and simmer the syrup for an extra 5 minutes.

A quick note on prepping elderberries

Always remove the berries from their stems before cooking. Stems and unripe berries can be mildly toxic. If using fresh elderberries, give them a rinse before using and allow them to drip dry, or gently pat them dry with a clean towel.

You can find more tips for foraging and using wild elderberries here.

Elderberry cocktails & mocktails

Here’s a few ideas for making delicious cocktails with your elderberry syrup, along with notes on how to turn some of them into mocktails. I like my drinks on the less sweet side, so I typically start with ½ ounce of elderberry syrup per serving. However, you can always adjust to taste.

Each recipe makes one serving.

1. Rosemary elderberry vodka lemonade

2 oz vodka
½ – 1 oz elderberry syrup
1 oz fresh lemon juice
Small sprig of rosemary

Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker or Mason jar with ice until cold. Strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with rosemary and lemon. I’ve included a few more details on this cocktail in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

👉 Make it a mocktail: Skip the vodka. Pour shaken ingredients into an ice-filled glass and top with sparkling water.

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2. Elderberry bourbon sidecar

2 oz bourbon
½ – 1 oz elderberry syrup
¾ oz lemon juice
Dash of orange liqueur

Pour bourbon, elderberry syrup, lemon juice, and orange liquor into a cocktail shaker or Mason jar filled halfway with ice. Shake well until fully chilled, 15-20 seconds. Strain into a chilled coupe glass and serve with a twist of lemon or orange.

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3. Elderberry Moscow mule

2 oz vodka
1 oz elderberry syrup
½ oz lime juice
3 oz ginger beer
3 oz plain sparkling water

Pour all ingredients over ice in a copper mug. Stir well and garnish with a lime wheel.

Note: I like to top this version of a Moscow mule with sparkling water to cut the sweetness, since the elderberry syrup brings extra sweetness on top of the ginger beer. If you like sweet drinks, you could simply stick with the ginger beer.

👉 Make it a mocktail: Skip the vodka or use non alcoholic spirits.

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4. Elderberry lemon drop

2 oz vodka
¾ oz Triple Sec
¾ oz elderberry syrup
1 oz lemon juice

Rim the edge of a coupe glass with sugar or lemon sugar. Shake vodka, Triple Sec, syrup, and lemon juice together in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Strain into the prepared coupe glass with a lemon twist.

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5. Elderberry whiskey sour

2 oz whiskey
1 oz lemon juice
½ oz elderberry syrup
1 egg white
3-4 drops Angostura bitters (optional)
Luxardo/maraschino cherry (optional, for garnish)

Pour bourbon, lemon juice, elderberry syrup, and egg white into a cocktail shaker and shake well for 10-15 seconds. Add ice and shake again for 15-20 seconds, until fully chilled. Strain into a rocks glass over a large cube, or into a coupe glass. Garnish with a few dashes of bitters and a Luxardo cherry, if desired. 

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6. Elderberry gin & tonic

2 oz gin
½ – 1 oz elderberry syrup
Tonic water to top

Stir together over ice in a highball glass and garnish with fresh herbs or a lemon wheel.

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7. Sparkling elderberry lemonade

2 oz vodka or gin
½ – 1 oz elderberry syrup
1 oz lemon juice
Sparkling water

Combine all ingredients in a tall glass filled with ice. Serve with lemon wedges.

👉Make it a mocktail: Simply skip the booze!

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This is just a handful of ideas for elderberry drinks, but it should be a good jumping off point to get your creativity flowing. There’s so much you can do with a homemade elderberry simple syrup.

Top tips for success

• Taste the syrup as it steeps. Let it infuse longer if you want more flavor.
• Strain the syrup well to remove any tiny seeds, stems, or pulp.
• Store syrup in a clean jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.
• For longer storage, freeze in ice cube trays for easy portioning. Yum!
• Use only ripe elderberries — underripe ones have low levels of toxicity and will taste bitter.

Variations & substitutions

Using frozen elderberries: I like to thaw frozen berries before simmering, to make sure they don’t add extra water to the syrup. Let them drain in a colander until thawed before adding them to the simple syrup.

Using dried elderberries: Use half the amount (½ cup per 1 cup water) and extend the simmer time to 10 minutes.

Swapping sweeteners: Substitute the white sugar for honey, brown sugar, or demerara for a different flavor profile.

Herbal infusions: Add a sprig of rosemary, thyme, a slice of fresh ginger or a whole cinnamon stick to the syrup as it steeps for extra dimension.