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Cocktail History
The Lavender Sour is a gin cocktail that was created by bartender JB Bernstein of Vernick Food & Drink in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as an ode to summer. It was first included in a 2015 issue of Saveur, an online food, wine, and travel magazine, and it pairs an aromatic lavender syrup with the botanicals of gin, sourness of lemon, herbaceousness of Green Chartreuse, and richness of egg white to create a delightfully airy cocktail for the warm weather seasons.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Gin: This is the base spirit. We used Highclere Castle London Dry Gin because it is a classic juniper-forward gin with notes of pine and citrus that complement floral flavors well. For a low-proof version of this drink, try Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic Dry London Spirit in place of the gin.
Lemon Juice: This adds sour citrus flavors for balance. We prefer to use fresh citrus juice because it’s less bitter than the bottled stuff and tastes better.
Green Chartreuse: This is a liqueur that adds its unique sweet, spicy, and smooth flavor and distinctly herbal finish with notes of mint, sage, gentian, apple, and vanilla. Unfortunately, there’s no true non-alcoholic alternative to Green Chartreuse, so you can’t make this a mocktail without altering the taste.
Lavender Syrup: This is a flavored liquid that adds lavender aroma and flavor. We used Floral Elixir Company’s Lavender Elixir for its fragrant floral aroma and taste and its blueberry undertones instead of making our own at home.
Egg White: This helps to soften the more intense flavors. It also adds body and a rich, silky smooth texture to the drink.
Dried Lavender Buds: This is the garnish. The original recipe called for grinding granulated sugar, dried lavender, and sea salt together to create a lavender dust, but we opted to just use dried lavender since that was easier.
Tasting Notes
The Lavender Sour features the scent of fresh lavender and begins with a very vibrant floral flavor that combines lavender, lemon tartness, and expressive botanicals in the mouth, and the aftertaste then leaves a slightly bitter lemon note of floral flavor and other herbs on the back of the tongue.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: It’s rare, but we both equally enjoyed this recipe! We would describe it as the equivalent of taking a walk through a lavender field on a warm summer day in drink form.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Alex’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“While I enjoy the idea of floral flavors in cocktails, I’m not normally sold on them being the main feature. This drink was definitely delicious though, with fresh lavender flavors taking center stage amongst the gin’s botanicals and lemon’s sourness, giving a slightly bitter yet mostly sweet feeling as if you’re a field of flowers. While it’s almost overwhelmingly lavender-forward, in my opinion, the cocktail is certainly tasty and will tickle the fancy of those with a floral spring fever.”—
Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“I honestly never would have thought to include lavender in a cocktail, but it is delightful! At first sniff, it feels a bit like you’re about to drink a frothy dissolved bath bomb, but the floral notes are light, airy, and not at all overwhelming when paired with the gin’s botanicals. I would call sipping this the next best thing to standing in a lavender field like the ones we have in Door County here in Wisconsin.”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from a 2015 issue of Saveur magazine.
AuthorSaveur MagazinePrep Time5 minsAdd gin, lemon juice, Green Chartreuse, lavender syrup, egg white, and ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Remove ice from shaker.
Dry shake for 5-10 more seconds to emulsify egg.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with dried lavender buds.
Ingredients
Directions
Add gin, lemon juice, Green Chartreuse, lavender syrup, egg white, and ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Remove ice from shaker.
Dry shake for 5-10 more seconds to emulsify egg.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with dried lavender buds.
Make It a Mocktail: Use Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic Dry London Spirit in place of the gin to try a low-proof version of this drink.
Tools & Glassware We Recommend
About This Glassware
The glassware used in the photo of the Lavender Sour are martini glasses created by Greenline Goods. The set was gifted to us and is part of their new handblown glassware collection featuring this set, whiskey tasting glasses, wine coupes, champagne flutes, and balloon wine glasses. The martini glasses in particular are our favorites from the collection because they are a unique shape and they are the perfect size for a stirred or shaken cocktail at about seven ounces in capacity.
Buy these martini glasses for 15% off from the Greenline Goods website by using our affiliate promo code SIPS15, or find them in our Amazon shop here.
More Floral Cocktails
If you like this floral cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:
Marigold: A gin cocktail made with Cocchi Americano, Fernet-Branca, lavender bitters, and an orange twist
Final Say: A gin cocktail made with maraschino liqueur, crème de violette, lime juice, and a lime twist
The Parasol: A sparkling wine cocktail made with lemon juice, Lillet Blanc, elderflower liqueur, honey syrup, and a lemon twist
Mountaintop Meadow: A vodka cocktail made with elderflower liqueur, simple syrup, lavender bitters, dry sparkling wine, a pineapple wedge, and mint
