Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » behind the bar: lavender lemonade

Tomorrow, Alissa and I fly to France for our honeymoon (and a buying trip for HORNE) so we thought it would be appropriate to feature a French-influenced drink that we served at our wedding! French Lavender Lemonade is a specialty cocktail created by the lovely people at the San Ysidro Ranch and is perfect for those few precious remaining summer days. We served this cocktail at our rehearsal dinner which was held in the main gardens at the wedding) played bocce ball and croquet, cocktails in hand, while soaking in the natural beauty of the Montecito countryside. We finished the evening with a Texas-style barbecue and a little music. It was the prefect way to get ready for the events of the following day.

Oh, one quick note – the Ranch is lucky enough to have an enormous field of French Lavender on their property (in addition to several other organic gardens) but for those of us not living in blissful paradise, dried food grade lavender will also do the trick.

If you aren’t drinking alone (not that we’re judging) we have also included the proportions for making a pitcher of the cocktail. We hope you enjoy!

CLICK HERE for the full drink recipe (and more beautiful photos) after the jump!

INGREDIENTS:

Glass:

1.5oz Vodka (Ciroc seems appropriate but we used a local Pennsylvania vodka)

1.5oz Lillet Blanc

1oz Lavender Syrup (recipe below)

1oz Lemon Juice

2oz Chilled Soda Water

French Lavender Flower for Garnish

Pitcher (makes 4 glasses):

3/4 Cups Vodka

3/4 Cups Lillet Blanc

1/2 Cup Lavender Syrup

1/2 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice

1/4 Cup Chilled Soda Water for each glass

French Lavender Flower for Garnish

Methodology:

Lavender Syrup:

Add equal parts sugar and water to a medium saucepan and bring to boil. Add fresh organic French lavender to taste (or 1/2 cup dried food grade lavender for every 4 cups water/4 cups sugar) and boil for one minute over medium/high heat. Remove from heat and let steep for an hour.

Drink:

Mix first four ingredients with spoon, pour over ice, add chilled soda water and garnish with lavender flower (or lemon wedges if you can’t find fresh organic lavender).

Have a wonderful end of your summer and we will see you next month!

Ryan & Alissa

P.S. If you have any “Must-Sees” in Paris or Provence, let us know!

alissa and ryan, behind the bar, recipes

hi! beautiful post and pictures! definitely gonna try this this weekend.

however i had a lot of trouble reading the first paragraph. there are parentheses missing, none of the links work, and the chronology is really confusing… tomorrow is your honeymoon, but you’re going for a buying trip for your wedding… which is somehow after? but then the rest of the paragraph is in past tense describing some event that is… ? so confused :-/

great and refreshing summer recipe! lavender is my favorite scent/flower/flavor in the world so I’m thrilled there is a recipe that includes it as a main ingredient. Can’t wait to try it out, Thanks!

I absolutely love this recipe and will have to try it! As for must-sees, in Provence if you can get to it, St. Paul De Vence, north of Nice. It’s a historic artistic village, absolutely breath taking. Many artists get their inspiration from here.

we have 2 lavender plants that have grown to the size of shrubs despite living in the Catskills where the winters should well do them in, so i’m thrilled to try this recipe out! also, we spent part of our honeymoon in Paris and i HIGHLY recommend renting bikes for at least a day and riding around the city. despite the famously crazy drivers, we found it to be a lovely bike-friendly city and cruising up and down the gorgeous wide avenues admiring the architecture is one of my favorite memories of our time there. have a wonderful time!

It looks like it’s supposed to read: “Tomorrow, Alissa and I fly to France for our honeymoon (and a buying trip for HORNE) so we thought it would be appropriate to feature a French-influenced drink that we served at our wedding! French Lavender Lemonade…”

Just forgot the ending quotes on the hyperlink.

Hey Jen–

Sorry about the confusion with the first paragraph. Something got messed up with the coding but I am sure Grace will be able to fix it up tomorrow. In the meantime, here is what it should have said:

Tomorrow, Alissa and I fly to France for our honeymoon (and a buying trip for HORNE) so we thought it would be appropriate to feature a French-influenced drink that we served at our wedding! French Lavender Lemonade is a specialty cocktail created by the lovely people at the San Ysidro Ranch and is perfect for those few precious remaining summer days. We served this cocktail at our rehearsal dinner which was held in the main gardens at the Ranch. All of our guests (most of whom traveled over 2000 miles from cold and/or rainy climates to attend our wedding) played bocce ball and croquet, cocktails in hand, while soaking in the natural beauty of the Montecito countryside. We finished the evening with a Texas-style barbecue and a little music. It was the prefect way to get ready for the events of the following day.

Now there’s a cocktail I can drink morning, noon and night….HOW can you go wrong with lavendar lemonade AND Lillet, an inspired combination, I must try it soon. Thanks for the beautiful pics too, I was slated to stay at San Ysidro Ranch many moons ago but alas didn’t make it….if you are lovers of candy/sweets check out ‘A La Mere de Famille’……c’est magnifique!!

Im off to Florence (or Firenze it Italian) on Thursday. Have been there a couple of times before and here are som valuable tips;

1. Go to Sienna!
2. GO to San Gimigano! (early in the morning).

These cities are well preserved from the 1400 century and VERY beautiful. And there are still, after many hundred years, people living in the houses.

Also; go to Cinque Terre by the cost, if you have time. It is very convenient to take the train from Florence.

Visit one or two of the vineyards, it’s a very nice experience…

Have a nice trip!

In Paris, you should definitely swing by the Musee Jacquemart-Andre! I lived in Paris for a year and didn’t discover the museum until a later visit…it has definitely become a favorite. http://www.musee-jacquemart-andre.com/fr/jacquemart/

also, i’m new to reading your blog…have you spent a lot of time in paris? do you know of la duree’s macaroons? i can’t go to paris without devouring a few (or many!)

I also was near Lacoste last summer and actually stayed in Rousillon – highly recommend it. It is one of the most stunning places I’ve ever been. While there I brought back a ton of food grade lavender from a market in Coustellet – your recipe will be the perfect use for it! Congratulations and have a fantastic trip.

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