Lavender Cocktails

I found an interesting cocktail recipe over at the blog “Teaching and Learning and a Wee Bit of Cooking.”  The recipe for Lavender cocktails calls for vodka, soda water, lemon, and lavender syrup.  The latter ingredient is a brilliant idea.  All you need to do is take equal parts of sugar and water, bring to simmer, let the sugar dissolve, and then add some fresh lavender that has been crushed in a mortar and pestle or your hands.  Her recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of lavender for 1 cup each of water and sugar.  What you end up with is an intensely floral and fragrant syrup. After making the syrup, I set about to making the drink.  I didn’t have any soda water on hand so I just made a drink of Ketel One vodka and the syrup on the rocks.  I used a ratio of 3 parts of vodka to one part of lavender syrup.  It was a sweet drink but it was wonderful.  It was like drinking in all the best parts of a flower.  The essence of the lavender shone through beautifully, the sweetness of the syrup softened the vodka, and the vodka was an unobtrusive and pleasant platform to take on the flavors.  I will have to try the version with the soda water and lemon-to try it out and to make a drink that is not quite as strong.  Do give this a try, you won’t be disappointed.