Louis’ Lavender Gin and Tonic
Author: Nicole
Ingredients
Syrup:
  • ½ cup (lightly packed) fresh lavender flowers (see Notes)
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup water
Cocktail:
  • 2 ounces dry gin
  • 1 ounce lavender syrup
  • 4 ounces high-quality tonic water
  • Garnish with a lemon wheel, a few juniper berries and a lavender flower
Instructions
To make syrup:
  1. Roughly chop lavender flowers. Rinse in a colander.
  2. In a saucepan set over medium-high heat add water and sugar. Stir until sugar completely dissolves and mixture comes to a simmer. Remove pan from heat. Add chopped lavender, cover and let steep for 15 minutes. (It can become bitter if steeped too long.) Pour syrup through a sieve into a clean jar and refrigerate. Syrup keeps two months or longer in the refrigerator. Makes 1-1/2 cups.
To make cocktail:
  1. In a highball glass filled with ice, add gin, lavender syrup and tonic water and stir.
  2. Garnish with a lemon wheel and lavender flower.
Notes
* Use just the purple lavender flowers (not the green stems). The end result will smell of lavender and have a light purple hue.
* If you are using dried lavender flowers, be sure that they are of a culinary quality. The rule of thumb is 1 tablespoon fresh to 1 teaspoon dried (this applies generally when replacing fresh herbs with dried herbs). ½ cup fresh lavender is 8 tablespoons, so if you're using dried lavender, use 8 teaspoons (or 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons).
* Syrup makes 12 cocktails.
Recipe by Riegl Palate at https://www.rieglpalate.com/louis-lavender-gin-and-tonic/