English lavender honey is an easy way to elevate your home cocktail (or mocktail) game! The name “simple syrup” says it all. With just sugar and water, it really is simple and doesn’t make for a very exciting addition to cocktails.
Lavender honey on the other hand has a complex and delicate flavor that doesn’t add any complexity to your cocktail preparation. If you’re eyeing up any of the following recipes but don’t want the boozy addition, feel free to leave it out and add a dash of lemon juice for a little extra kick!
Appalachian Botanical Co’s honeys represent the best flavors and pollinators of Appalachia. This past summer, bees from a nearby West Virginian apiary were busy collecting pollen and making honey from the native wildflowers. We infused this honey with our locally grown lavender to create a honey that captures the best flavors from our summer blooms. You can even use it to make a lavender honey simple syrup that has the perfect consistency and flavor for cocktails and summer drinks. Your guests will be truly impressed!
English Lavender Honey Simple Syrup
Lavender-infused honey is wonderful on its own, or added to warm drinks or drizzled over pastries that are fresh from the oven. For cold drinks, however, it can take a bit longer for the honey to dissolve into your drink. This lavender honey simple syrup recipe just dilutes the honey to create a lighter consistency that blends beautifully into your favorite iced cocktails and mocktails.
Ingredients: 1 cup lavender honey, 1 cup water (a 1:1 ratio is best for the wet bar, but you can adjust the ratio to your liking)
Instructions: Mix honey and water together in a small pot on the stove over low heat. Stir the mixture until thoroughly combined. Allow the mixture to cool and add to an easy-to-pour bottle and store in the fridge.
Lavender Honey Cocktails
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Non-Alcoholic Lavender Lemonade: This lavender lemonade is perfect on its own or mixed into any of the below recipes. Make it ahead of time to sip throughout the day then add a splash of your favorite spirit after 5.
Ingredients: 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, 4 cups water, 3/4 cup lavender honey simple syrup (or to taste)
Instructions: Combine all the ingredients into a large pitcher with ice! Feel free to garnish with lemon slices or lavender sprigs before serving for a bit of flair.
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Lavender Bees Knees: Gin lovers, this recipe adds botanical twist to the traditional Tom Collins.
Ingredients: 1.5 oz gin, 1 oz lemon juice, 0.5 oz lavender honey simple syrup, splash of sparkling water
Instructions: Pour gin, lemon juice and lavender honey to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until cold, strain into a glass, and finish with a splash of sparkling water. Stir, sip, and enjoy!
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Lavender Lemonade Rosé: Need we say more? This cocktail is sweet, light, and refreshing – perfect to sip as you prepare dinner or gather friends together once it’s safe again, of course. You can use the above recipe for non-alcoholic lavender lemonade to create the base of this cocktail.
Ingredients: 8 oz chilled rosé wine (or sweet West Virginian zinfandel), 4 oz lavender lemonade, 1 oz sparkling water, ice
Instructions: Pour rosé into a glass over ice. Add the lemonade and sparkling water and give it a stir. That’s it!
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Blueberry Lavender Margarita: Taco Tuesdays just got a little bit better with a drink to match. This blueberry lavender margarita can be made with lavender lemonade or regular lemonade and lavender honey simple syrup with crushed blueberries. Now you can say you drink margaritas for the antioxidants!
Ingredients: 1.25 oz tequila, 0.5 oz triple sec, 1.5 oz fresh lime juice, 0.5 oz lemonade, 5-6 crushed blueberries, 0.5 oz lavender syrup*, lavender salt for the rim*
Instructions: *If you prefer a salted rim, use a mortar and pestle to grind ABCo’s Pink Himalayan-Lavender Sea Salt. Then, moisten the rim of the glass with a lime wedge and dip into the lavender salt mixture. Add the remaining ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled halfway with ice and shake until cold. Pour into your salted margarita glass and enjoy!
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Lavender Lemonade Mojitos: We’re getting the last harvest from our summer herbs with this cocktail! Just try and name herbs more refreshing than fresh mint and lavender – we dare you!
Ingredients: 1 cup lavender lemonade, 1 small bunch mint, 1 cup light rum, 2 cups water, 1/4 cup lavender honey simple syrup
Instructions: In a pitcher, muddle the mint leaves with lemonade until well combined. Then, pour in your water, rum, and lavender honey simple syrup. Stir and adjust to taste. Pour it over ice and you’re ready to serve!
MEET THE AUTHOR / ELIZA TALVOLA is a writer from Pittsburgh, PA who considers herself to be a conscious consumer and traveler, slow fashion advocate, and devoted foodie. She is a firm believer in creative reuse and putting people over profits, and is a long time lavender enthusiast. Her favorite product: Lavender Hand Sanitizer Spray