100 Years of The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden

October is an eventful month for the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, as it marks 100 years for the green space. To celebrate this milestone, the garden is offering an exciting promotion in collaboration with local bars during the entire month of October, serving a series of special cocktails. Every sip gives back! $1 per cocktail will be donated to the garden.

11 of Santa Barbara’s beloved bars and restaurants will feature limited edition themed botanical cocktails, crafted from native plants harvested directly from the garden.

Participating establishments include some of Santa Barbara’s beloved spots: Barbareño, Bistro Amasa, Convivo, El Encanto, Finch & Fork, Paloma, Little Dom’s, Monte’s, The Good Lion, The Lark, and Third Window Brewing.

Loquita is featuring a seasonally fit cocktail — the Redwood Tip Old Fashioned. The liquor base is Redwood Empire Rye, a San Francisco whiskey, and the special botanical element is fresh redwood tips infused into a tea-like cordial. The drink has a distinct woodsy flavor, complementary to the richness of the rye.

“The redwood infusion ties the cocktail directly back to the Botanic Garden and the unique natural environment we have here in Santa Barbara,” said Mark Vehslage, General Manager of Loquita. 

Garden to Glass is a great opportunity to highlight the connection between our local landscape and what we do in hospitality — using an ingredient that is so closely associated with the Central Coast and the Garden itself makes the cocktail feel like a true representation of our area, rather than simply adding a seasonal ingredient to a drink,” he said.

Each establishment will present its own take on California’s native landscape through their creative liberty. Though all cocktails featured will share the common purpose of benefiting the Botanic Garden with proceeds in order to support native plant conservation, research, environmental education, and community involvement.

Monte’s, the recently opened Montecito farm-to-table restaurant, is also participating in Garden to Glass. It aligns with their sustainability ethos and community support initiatives. They are serving up the Hazy Daze, a gin sour infused with lavender, sloeberry, and blackberry. The lavender is sourced directly from the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.

Garden to Glass invites guests to appreciate California’s biodiversity in an entirely new and unique way; through the palette. Guests can expect native berries, fragrant sages, aromatic leaves and blossoms, and more. 

Additional highlights include the Golden Hour (The Good Lion) — a bright and refreshing sour-style cocktail featuring Desert Lavender harvested from Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, peach, honey, and lemon, inspired by Santa Barbara’s lingering warmth and golden autumn evenings. 

Juniper’s Elderberry (Barbareño) — a bright botanical cocktail layered with pine, forest berry crystals, elderberry, and fresh lime. Also at Barbareño is Sunlit Hummingbird — a tropical, fruit-forward cocktail featuring purple sage harvested from Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, guava, blood orange, and passion fruit. 

Laurino Old Fashioned (Little Dom’s) — a California take on the traditional Italian laurino digestivo, featuring California Bay Laurel harvested from Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Redwood Empire California whiskey, and citrus bitters. 

Saison Automne 2026 (Third Window Brewing) — Third Window’s annual farmhouse saison brewed with FP Farm-grown malt and wheat, infused with a tea of white and black sage harvested from Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, and bottle conditioned with Cuyamaca Valley wildflower honey. 

Other celebrations are in order to honor the centennial. There is free admission to the Garden every Sunday in October. Each Sunday also begins a themed week celebrating Music & Art, Health & Wellness, Youth & Family, or Dogs. The free Sundays are an initiative fostering community engagement with one another and the natural environment. 

Anyone who becomes a new member during the month of October will receive $10 off their membership. 

The first week of October kicks off with the theme Music & Art at the Garden. The week explores the inspiration drawn from native landscapes and how creative expression can deepen connection to a place. Throughout the week, there will be music in the garden, a paint party, and a soundbath. 

The second week of October is focused on health and wellness, inviting guests to mindfully experience the garden as a place of renewal. Events that week include sunset yoga in the garden and bond with nature led by Bond Fitness. 

The third week of October is youth & family week at the Garden, where there will be something for people of all ages. There are two story times with authors at Godmother’s Books, trick-or-treating, and another storytime at the Santa Barbara Public Library. 

The final week will be themed to bring your dog to the garden, inviting canine friends to experience the environment. There will be a pooch parade, and bandanas and treats for the dogs.

With so many exciting events on the calendar, there are many ways to get involved and support this milestone for the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.

For more information, including a complete list of participating establishments, featured cocktails, and Centennial events, visit SBBotanicGarden.org.