Fresh Ingredients

Raspberries

Raspberries are soft red berries that come away hollow from the plant, sharper than strawberries and in British season from June to September. In drinks they are mostly a garnish, three on a pick or dropped into the glass, and sometimes pressed for colour. Chilled, dry and unwashed, they hold for two or three days.

Quick Facts

Legal categoryFood

Flavour Strengthmedium

SeasonBritish: June to September (British Dietetic Association). Frozen: all year, for pressing and syrup.

Our keeping timeTwo or three days refrigerated; months frozen.

Storage

Our rule: refrigerate dry and unwashed in a single layer, and use within two or three days. Freeze spares for syrup.

Allergens

None of the 14 listed allergens.

The ingredient

About Raspberries

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

RaspberryTartBright

Tasting Notes

Sharp-sweet berry with clear acidity and a floral edge; sharper than a strawberry, softer than a blackcurrant.

A hollow berry that crushes under light pressure

A raspberry is a cluster of tiny drupelets, each with its own seed, grown around a core. At picking the core stays on the cane, which leaves the hollow you see inside every berry. With nothing in the middle to hold the shape, raspberries bruise easily and need only a gentle press to give up their juice.

On the rim it tells the drinker what is inside

Most of our raspberry recipes use the fruit to show the flavour. The Clover Club rests three on a pick over the rim of the coupe, the garnish the IBA gives it, and a sip through the foam brings their smell back. The Grateful Dead and Purple Rain drop three into the highball, pointing at the raspberry liqueur in the glass, and the Raspberry Lynchburg sets a few beside its lemon wheel.

Pressed, one or two do the work

Where the berries go into the drink, the measure stays small. The Elderflower & Raspberry muddles one in the copa for colour and drops two in whole. The Raspberry & Orange Blossom Spritz presses two against the glass so their sharpness holds back the floral soda.

The forms of raspberry our recipes use (Chambord’s strength from its maker’s UK site; keeping times are ours)

Fresh raspberries

What it is: Whole fruit
Sugar: Fruit sugar only
Alcohol: None
Keeps: Two or three days, chilled
Job in the drink: Garnish, or pressed for colour

Raspberry syrup

What it is: Fruit and sugar 1:1, no heat
Sugar: About half its weight
Alcohol: None
Keeps: One week, chilled
Job in the drink: Sweetener

Raspberry preserve

What it is: Fruit cooked with sugar and set
Sugar: High
Alcohol: None
Keeps: Weeks once opened, chilled
Job in the drink: Sweetener and fruit together

Chambord

What it is: Black raspberry liqueur
Sugar: Sweetened
Alcohol: 16.5%, by its maker’s UK site
Keeps: Months once opened
Job in the drink: Flavour and colour

	What it is	Sugar	Alcohol	Keeps	Job in the drink
Fresh raspberries	Whole fruit	Fruit sugar only	None	Two or three days, chilled	Garnish, or pressed for colour
Raspberry syrup	Fruit and sugar 1:1, no heat	About half its weight	None	One week, chilled	Sweetener
Raspberry preserve	Fruit cooked with sugar and set	High	None	Weeks once opened, chilled	Sweetener and fruit together
Chambord	Black raspberry liqueur	Sweetened	16.5%, by its maker’s UK site	Months once opened	Flavour and colour

Buy them for the day you need them

British raspberries are in season from June to September on the British Dietetic Association's calendar. Picked fruit gets no riper, so buy them bright, firm and dry, and check the base of the punnet for juice or mould. Spread them out on a plate in the fridge, still unwashed, and finish them inside three days.

Using it

Using Raspberries

Usage

Mostly a garnish: three on a pick over our Clover Club, three in a Grateful Dead or a Purple Rain. Our Elderflower & Raspberry muddles one and floats two, and the Raspberry & Orange Blossom Spritz presses two against the glass and keeps the rest whole.

Pro Tip

Press a raspberry against the side of the glass rather than grinding it in the base. Two strokes split the skin and release colour and juice, and the seeds stay whole, so the drink does not need straining.

Top Tips

Choose firm, dry berries with no juice staining the punnet; soft ones break up in the glass.
Store them dry and unwashed, spread out in one layer, and rinse each batch only as you need it.
Thread garnish berries on a pick just before serving, so they sit on the rim rather than sinking.
Keep frozen raspberries for syrup and pressing; they collapse as they thaw and will not hold on a pick.

Possible Substitutions

Raspberry Syrup: For the sweet side of the fruit when shaken; 15ml, double strained
Blackberries: Darker and firmer on a pick, where the drink has no raspberry liqueur to name

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

How many raspberries go on a cocktail garnish?

Three is our usual number. The Clover Club takes three, threaded on a pick that rests over the coupe; the Grateful Dead and Purple Rain drop three beside a citrus wheel in the highball. A handful works in a wine-glass spritz, where most of them sit whole in the ice.

How long do fresh raspberries keep in the fridge?

Two or three days. Keep them dry, unwashed and spread in a single layer, and pick out any soft or mouldy berry as soon as you see it, since mould spreads quickly between fruit that touch. They do not ripen after picking, so storing them longer gains nothing.

Should I wash raspberries before putting them in a drink?

Yes, just before use and not before storing. Rinse them gently in a sieve under cold water and lay them on kitchen paper to dry. Water caught between the drupelets is what turns a stored punnet soft, and a wet berry slides off a pick.

Can I use frozen raspberries in cocktails?

For pressing, blending or making syrup, yes; freezing splits the cells, so thawed fruit gives up its juice and colour easily. For a garnish, no. A thawed raspberry slumps and leaks within minutes, and a frozen one floats on a drink like a small, pink ice cube.

What is the difference between a raspberry and a blackberry?

Where the core goes. Picking a raspberry leaves its core on the plant, so the berry is hollow, softer and quicker to crush. A blackberry brings its core with it and stays solid. Raspberries are also red and usually sharper; blackberries are near black and deeper.

When are British raspberries in season?

From June to September for home-grown fruit. That covers the summer drinks that use them as a garnish. Outside those months, frozen berries do for syrup and pressing, but a fresh garnish has to come from imported fruit.

Which cocktails use fresh raspberries?

Six of ours. The Clover Club, Grateful Dead, Purple Rain and Raspberry Lynchburg use them as a garnish. The Elderflower & Raspberry muddles one berry and floats two, and the Raspberry & Orange Blossom Spritz presses two against the glass to release their acid.

Sources.

Correct as of 18 October 2026.

Chambord (Brown-Forman), “Chambord Liqueur (UK)” (“Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur, 16.5% Alc. by Vol.”).

Make something

Made with Raspberries

Featured In These Cocktails

Clover Club Grateful Dead Purple Rain Elderflower & Raspberry Raspberry Lynchburg Raspberry & Orange Blossom Spritz

Often Used With

Updated 18 October 2026

Back to Ingredients Guide