Lavender Tom Collins

It seems like life is handing us all a lot of lemons lately so what better way to give the universe a proverbial middle finger than to turn these lemons into a cocktail?

Often times, lavender can taste like someone shoved a bunch of flowers in your mouth so it needs that sharp citrus note of lemon to calm it down. I happen to have a bunch of lemons leftover from a previous recipe so I decided to make my own candied lemons and use the boiling liquid for my simple syrup in this recipe. 

Lavender Tom Collins

makes 1 cocktail

2 oz London Dry gin

2 oz of candied lemon juice*

club soda, to top

Garnish: candied lemon wheel & dried lavender sprig

1. Add the gin, lemon juice and simple syrup into a Collins glass.

2. Fill with ice if you wish, then top with club soda and stir. 

3. Garnish with a candied lemon slice and dried lavender (optional).

*If you did not make candied lemons, can sub 1 oz fresh lemon juice & 1/2 oz lavender simple syrup

Lavender Candied Lemon Slices

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup water

2 TBS fresh lemon juice

2-3 lemons sliced to 1/8-inch thickness

2 tsp dried lavender buds

Instructions:

1. In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, water and lemon juice, and lavender. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer (med-low) and add lemon slices in a single layer.

2. Simmer over medium-low (uncovered) for 15 minutes, gently flipping once or twice during the cooking process.

3. Transfer the lemon slices to a wire cooling rack or waxed paper and let cool.

Note: The lemons will naturally start to dry out as they cool, however, you can speed up the process by baking them in the oven at 200°F for 30 minutes.