Book Review: Drink Your Garden

Sisters Belinda Kelly and Venise Cunningham, known as the Simple Goodness Sisters, are pioneers of the nation’s first cocktail garden, and they have launched several businesses that redefine home mixology with a sustainable, garden-to-glass approach. Together they launched a mobile cocktail company, opened a bar and soda fountain, and then in 2018, Simple Goodness Sisters syrups hit the market showcasing ingredients from their own ten acre cocktail farm in Buckley, Washington.

Their story begins with their farming heritage. Growing up in a large, closely knit family, Kelly and Cunningham’s grandparents had homesteads in the Kent Valley of Washington State. In the new book Drink Your Garden they discuss how the farming bug skipped a generation with their mother, but how both Kelly and Cunningham could feel it in their blood, the desire to grow things and create food and drink from their bounties. They do a fantastic job inviting you into the origins of their passions and how they both fled corporate careers to take a chance on the land and family traditions.

I’ve been following the sisters for some time on social media, being a former Washington State resident. So I jumped at the chance to review their new book, hoping that it would serve as a vehicle to share their down-to-earth approach and the atmosphere that they create in all of their endeavors. Spoiler alert, they do not disappoint; this book is everything I hoped for and more.

As a mixologist and author myself, I can be a tough critic for cocktail books. Understanding that occasional home bartenders have different needs from seasoned home mixologists, creating a book that will not only intrigue both but offer an experience that both will find interesting and useful is no simple task. I also always hope that new cocktail books are expressing either wholly unique cocktails or that there is a reason behind publishing classic cocktails for the hundredth time. Again, it’s a tall order and I appreciate those that provide a new perspective.

Kelly, the bartender and home cook, and Cunningham, the farmer sister, are both knowledgeable about their craft and extremely welcoming to those who wish to learn about gardening, farming, or using ingredients to craft delicious cocktails.

There is a paragraph about reclaiming a Happier Hour that resonated with me deeply: “We’re into what you might call homesteading light. We live an easy drive away from several grocery stores and don’t have to work our land for everything we need. Instead, we choose to invest our time and energy into learning the parts of that lost art of homemaking that we genuinely love and get a lot back from, both practically and in everyday joy.” And that exudes from the pages — the feeling of joy.

This book is not only a manual for seeing cocktails and their ingredients in a new light, but also a love letter to the art of gardening in an approachable and realistic way for those from any walk of life. The hardcover book is larger than expected in size, perfect to be left out on the kitchen counter or on the coffee table. The gorgeous cover photo mirrors what you will find inside, a way to enjoy your garden or garden fresh goodies in liquid form. The pages are nice and thick, perfect for fingers that are wet from juicing fruits to thumb through while searching for tips and things like an infusion guide, which is easy for novices to understand and follow. I loved the edible flower guide details around planting, cultivating, and harvesting.

You’ll find this book chock full of syrup recipes, shrub recipes, and recipes for tinctures and liqueurs. And many tea and juice recipes, alongside previously mentioned non-alcoholic options, cater to those avoiding alcohol. They even include guides on how to hang dry herbs and flowers and make flower waters, rimming sugars, and salts. Plus there’s an entire section on garnishes and fancy ice (a favorite) and one on quick refrigerator pickling. There are pages of non-alcoholic drink recipes that kids and adults will love, along with alcoholic cocktail recipes that range from simple to fancy, including batchable options for easy entertaining.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the photographs in this book. Photographer Rylea Foehl captured the sisters, their bounty, and creations in a stunning light, a light that brings me back to the feeling of summers in western Washington state.

The story of the Cunningham sisters deeply resonates with me, a city girl who has always yearned for a weekend estate to play farmer at. I did not grow up with farmers in my family but I grew up with a grandmother who grew an incredible kitchen garden even in a small plot in Queens, New York. And my great-grandfather persuaded her to give him a slice of yard to grow grapes for his basement hooch. My mother was a hobby gardener who tried to keep a consistent garden each time we moved homes, but she often planted too much and the garden turned into the wilds. As I grew up and rented studio apartments in cities, I was thrilled to see a sun-drenched fire escape, which quickly became my container garden. If you have the gardening bug, you will want to get on a plane and be in their garden as soon as possible. If you don’t have the bug already, get ready for a trip to your local gardening store.

I felt an unusual connection to these women as I read this book from cover to cover, making me wonder if I am a long-lost sister. This book’s authenticity stems from its casual storytelling and direct instructions. Move over Martha, the Simple Goodness Sisters are here.

A+ / $35 [BUY IT NOW FROM AMAZON]

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