Archive for the ‘Mixology Monday’ tag
Lavender Lemonade
What to serve a cocktail virgin? Not just someone who’s never had a drink before, but someone who’s dabbled in drinking and wants to trade up from Milwaukee’s Best to mixed cocktails. Where to start?
I say, let them drink lemonade. Everyone past the age of five has had a glass of the stuff, and lemonade is a resilient mixer. It’s an easy base for batched cocktails and it holds a lot of liquor. So go ahead, subtly layer flavors, or dump in a ton of booze.*
(*See everclear punch, and my first two years of college…)
Lemonade is also incredibly accessible. Its natural balance of sweet and citrus reduces the need for multiple, flashy ingredients — more good news for beginners.
Dovetailing with the newbie theme, this post is my first for Mixology Monday. I felt the need to present a sufficiently road tested cocktail. So last night I played bartender for my book club ladies, a group of women whose feedback on literature, poor life choices, and cocktails is always appreciated. They are a tough group, and there’s not a cocktail virgin among them, but who doesn’t remember their first time? After much sipping and discussing, I’m pleased to say this rag-tag group of readers gave the lavender lemonade a unanimous thumbs up. The virgin version even worked for our mom-to-be in the group, who declared her mocktail “good for the soul.”
Which, I feel, takes lemonade to a whole new level.
Here’s the recipe:
Lavender Lemonade:
1 ½ oz Vodka (preferably citrus flavored)
½ oz Lavender-ginger simple syrup
Mint
Blueberries
Fresh squeezed, or organic lemonade
Prepare in the glass portion of a Boston Shaker so you can see the cocktail as you build it.
Place 3 or 4 medium mint leaves, and 4 to 6 blueberries in the shaker. Cover with ½ oz of the simple syrup. Muddle ingredients. Add ice. Add 1 ½ oz vodka. Add 4 oz lemonade. Shake ingredients. Pour contents of shaker into a tall glass. Garnish with mint leaves and a straw.
Lavender-Ginger Simple Syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
½ inch slice of ginger cut into thin pieces
1 tsp food quality lavender
Place sugar and water into small pot. Once the sugar has dissolved all lavender and ginger. Slowly reduce over low heat for 10 minutes. Should produce about 1 ½ cups of liquid. Store in fridge for up to a month.
