Serving Suggestions

Carpe Diem beverages taste best well-chilled. But they go beyond a substitute for a soda or an iced tea, are more than just another refreshment.

Apéritif Or Refreshment

• Cocktails: Carpe Diem drinks can be mixed with gin, vodka, rum or sparkling wine to create cocktails; with juice to make a non-alcoholic punch; or with juice and the spirit of your choice to make an alcoholic one. We liked mixing them with gin; the juniper berry and other botanicals used to make gin marry well with the botanicals in Carpe Diem Botanic Water.
• Spritzers: People who prefer a more subtle flavor can mix the botanic waters with club soda.
• Healthy Party Drinks: You can’t do better than a kombucha or Ginkgo punch. We mixed in a little Tart Is Smart cherry juice for a big antioxidant hit, plus another splash of club soda.

Breakfast?

Carpe Diem suggests that all three botanic waters are “particularly well suited for breakfast.” We have seen people drink Coca Cola for breakfast, and know that in different countries, breakfast food traditions differ widely.* The botanic waters are not a significant source of nutrition (except for sugar), but if you’re looking for something with a potential benefit, try the ginkgo or kombucha teas.

*For example, a Japanese breakfast sounds like what Americans might have for lunch or dinner: a humble meal consists of steamed rice and miso soup; a more grand spread adds a variety of dishes, including grilled fish, tamago-yaki (rolled omelet), pickles, dried seaweed, natto (fermented soybean) and tsukemono (salad of vinegared vegetables).

Lunch & Dinner Depending on your palate and if you normally enjoy a sugared beverage (including iced tea and coffee) with your food, all of the Carpe Diem drinks will go with lunch or dinner. Salads, including dinner salads Sandwiches and burgers Vegetarian dishes Carpe Diem Harmonizing Botanic Water is the most wine-like. While it has no alcohol, the tart red hibiscus fruit can stand in for a rosé, with everything from omelets to cheese to pasta to seafood cocktails. Try it with Mediterranean cuisine. Carpe Diem Relaxing Botanic Water has an herbal quality that blends with many foods. Think of it as a grassy Sancerre with sweetness, and pair it with the same kinds of foods as Harmonizing.

Ginkgo and Kombucha are teas enhanced with time-honored remedies, but they also have lots of sugar. Photo by Dhanraj Emanuel | THE NIBBLE.

• Carpe Diem Vitalizing Botanic Water has a ginger flavor that goes well with many preparations of fish, pork and poultry, as well as with many Asian dishes (including sushi) and Indian dishes. Pretend it’s a riesling on the sweet side.

Desserts

• Vitalizing Botanic Water is terrific with fruit dishes—baked apples, compotes, crumbles, fruit salad.
• Harmonizing Botanic Water is better with pies in general, and sweeter desserts.

Carpe Diem Botanic Water is a multitasker worth seeking out.

— Karen Hochman

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