Lavender Tom Collins

Maybe you remember how I said I love lavender. Maybe you remember the above photo from my Lavender Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins. In that post I mentioned how there are countless things you can flavor with this special flower. And this here is one of my favorite obsessions, lavender cocktails. They are rare, and when I see one on any menu, I must order it. The lavender cocktails I have enjoyed are mostly made with Gin. I believe this is because Gin has a very floral flavor already, so they pair very nicely together. Let's imbibe.

I had this baby bottle of Bombay Sapphire hanging around and I couldn't decide what to make with it. I had my little tin of Lavender out while making some yummy thing and I thought, why not infuse the gin with the pretty purple buds?

I let it sit overnight to steep.

Then I strained the lavender buds out of the gin, which turned a tea-like color and smelled absolutely amazing. And tasted even better.

I love love love sparkling water. I also love love love lemons....so naturally my first thought was to make a Tom Collins. This is a very classic old cocktail that usually has gin, lemon juice and club soda.
I just gave it a Spring makeover.

Lavender Tom Collins
1 tsp. dried lavender buds
2 oz. gin
1 tsp. honey or white sugar
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 bottle or can of club soda
ice

Place the lavender buds in the gin and let steep overnight. Do not let the buds stay in the gin longer than overnight as they might turn the alcohol bitter. You can save the strained gin for as long as you'd like.

In a cocktail shaker, combine ice, infused gin, honey and lemon juice. Shake well and strain into a tall glass over more ice. Top off with about 3-4 oz. of club soda to your taste.

Garnish with a lemon wedge or slice and more lavender buds.

This makes just one fantastically refreshing drink, but can easily be doubled, tripled or quadrupled.


Enjoy!