In the same way as a badly-mixed drink cannot be saved by the most beautiful garnishes, a perfect cocktail will loose appeal if served with a poorly prepared garnish. That’s the reason why seasoned bartenders are paying special care to the way they ornate their glasses and are constantly looking for new ideas to please their customers’ eyes and palate. Hence the rise in popularity of some interesting new garnishes.

Olives
Although one of oldest cocktail garnishes, olives are back in fashion thanks to new stuffing and seasoning. Nowadays, olives are stuffed with lemon and jalapeños, garlic, cheese or ginger and red chili pepper and bathed in Vermouth, vodka or even sake. These flavored olives make great garnishes for a Bloody Mary or a Martini.

Ginger
This Asian rhizome is perfect for spicing up any drink you wish, be it exotic or not. You can float fresh slices of ginger or let a fresh ginger strip dip on your cocktail for a stronger taste or simply place a piece of candied ginger on the edge of the drink.

Flowers
Flowers are not a new garnish per say, some bars already used them in signature cocktails as far back as 2004, but they have become popular only recently. Chamomile, rose, orange blossom, violet and sakura (Japanese cherry blossom) are great choices to subtly flavor your drinks while gardenia, orchid and hibiscus always make a striking impression.

Be extremely careful though when garnishing a drink with flowers. First, you must only choose edible flowers. You want to impress your customers (or friends), not poison them. Non-edible flowers include azalea, daffodil, rhododendron and lily of the valley, to name a few. Then, always remember that people who suffer from asthma, hay fever or any type of allergy should not be given flowers, but let’s hope their smart enough not to remove it before taking in any pollen.

Exotic fruits
Pineapple used to be the main choice for exotic drinks but today’s bartenders are garnishing their cocktails with any exotic fruit they can get their hands on. Kiwi, carambole (star fruit), kumquat, mango and lychee seem the most popular ones but unusual fruits like acerola and dalandan, a green-skinned sour orange originated from the Philippines, are making a breakthrough.
 
Just remember 3 important rules (1) don’t overdue the garnish; they asked for a cocktail not an appetizer (2) simply can be enough; think a sprig of mint on a mint julep (3) sharp knives make garnishing easy work.