This quick and easy Lavender Lemonade is the perfect way to enjoy your lemonade in STYLE! Add a little bourbon, gin, or vodka– and you’ve got yourself a light summer cocktail!
Each spring, I go a little crazy with my tiny, but ever-expanding container garden.
What started out years ago as two herbs soon grew to four. Then, I added a few more, and then a few more, and before I knew it– my entire mini-deck is covered in plants.
And each year, I’ve tried to grow lavender. Unsuccessfully.
Happily, this pretty, fragrant, fabulous plant is also available at the store. Dried. Ready to use in the kitchen. No gardening skills needed!
This lavender lemonade is cold, flavor-packed, refreshing, and perfect for spring and summer.
Where Can I Buy Dried Lavender?
Look for culinary-grade dried lavender petals with the dried herbs at the grocery store.
Alternately, grow your own lavender, dry it, and use that. (And then email me, and tell me what I’m doing wrong with my lavender plants!)
How to Make Lavender Lemonade
To make Lavender Lemonade, start with an herb-infused simple syrup. Simply simmer the lavender with a little sugar and water, strain the lavender out, and set the syrup aside to cool.
While it’s cooling, juice your lemons, add water, and then add the syrup.
Making Hard Lemonade
If you’re wondering, because I definitely was when I made it– Yes! This is delicious as hard lemonade.
It blends well with bourbon, gin or vodka! (I tried all three. For science.)
Serve this lemonade in glasses with ice, and top it all off with some fresh mint leaves.
Want more SUMMER DRINKS? Try these:
Want more LAVENDER recipe ideas? Try these:
- Strawberry Lemonade with Lavender
- Bourbon Sour with Lavender
- Granita Recipe with Lavender, Berries, + Whipped Ricotta
Lavender Lemonade
Makes about 6 8oz servings
Ingredients
Lavender Simple Syrup:
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 TB dried lavender petals, culinary grade
Lemonade:
- 6-8 lemons (approx. 1 cup fresh lemon juice), plus 1 more for garnish (sliced and deseeded)
- 4 cups water
- optional: handful fresh mint leaves
Optional Hard Lemonade Add-Ins:
- 9-12 oz bourbon, gin, or vodka, depending on desired alcohol content (optionally- add 1 1/2 - 2 oz alcohol per 8oz of lemonade)
Instructions
- Make simple syrup by adding sugar, lavender and 1 cup water to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer about 5 minutes. Pour syrup through a mesh sieve into a measuring cup (or other spouted container), and allow it to cool.
- Meanwhile, juice lemons until you have about 1 cup of juice. Pour juice into pitcher, and add 4 cups of cold water.
- Add half the cooled syrup, and taste the lemonade. Add the remaining syrup if desired.Tip: Store any leftover syrup in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a year.
- Serve in a pitcher, or in glasses filled with ice. Garnish glasses with fresh mint.
- If serving hard, add liquor to pitcher, or add to individual glasses as serving.
Funny thing about herb gardens how you keep adding and adding. So fun, though. Awesome to use things from your own garden…makes it extra special. Hubby just picked up a lavender herb recently and can’t wait to try. Love the use of lavender in a classic Summer drink. This lemonade looks delicious!
Thanks Dawn! Let’s keep growing our gardens and drinking lemonade 😀
I love making infused simple syrups and I think that’s the way to go for lemonade! I want a tall glass of that!
We just have to sacrifice for science sometimes. I might need to do the same! After MONTHS of looking through stores and the internet I have finally found dried lavender (not everyone ships to Norway, and when they do, the customs are stopping it – but one went through and I am EXCITED) So, lavender was bought primarily for lavender lemonade, and I can’t wait to try it. Yum!
Yay!!! Let me know when you try it!! (And yes- sacrifice for science and try bourbon, vodka, and gin to see which you like best hehe)
We have lavender in our garden and I recently mistook it for rosemary and added it to some beans – doh! Clearly this would be a much better use for it 🙂 And I have a fresh bottle of gin just waiting for this! Thanks for sharing this gorgeous recipe!
This sounds so, so lovely! I’ve yet to experiment with lavender in cooking – this looks like the perfect place to start, so refreshing!