Lavender Lemonade with Honey-Lavender Syrup

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A tall, floral pitcher lemonade that tastes like a garden and not like soap. The trick is a short, timed off-heat steep of culinary lavender in a warm honey-sugar syrup — long enough to pull out the sweet violet-and-citrus notes, short enough to leave the bitter, potpourri edge behind. Stirred into hard-squeezed fresh lemon juice and cold water, it turns the palest silvery pink and drinks impossibly clean.

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup mild honey (clover or orange blossom)
• 2 tsp dried culinary lavender buds
• 2 strips lemon zest, peeled wide with a vegetable peeler
• 1 pinch fine sea salt

• 1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice (from 8–10 lemons)
• 5 cups cold water

• ice cubes
• 1 lemon, sliced into thin wheels
• 8 small sprigs fresh lavender or mint, for garnish (optional)
• 1 tbsp dried butterfly pea flowers, for a natural lavender tint (optional)

Instructions

1. Make the syrup base: combine 1 cup water, the sugar, honey, lemon zest strips, and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring, and cook just until the sugar fully dissolves and the liquid is clear, about 2 minutes. Do not let it reduce or color.
2. Steep the lavender: pull the pan off the heat, wait 1 minute so the syrup drops below a boil, then stir in the 2 teaspoons lavender buds. Cover and set a timer for 8 minutes. Start tasting at 6 minutes with a cold spoon — you want a clear floral perfume with a honeyed finish; stop the moment it turns drying or soapy on the back of your tongue.
3. Strain the syrup through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof measuring cup, pressing gently on the buds. Discard the buds and zest. You should have about 1 1/4 cups. Cool 15 minutes on the counter, then refrigerate until cool to the touch, about 20 minutes (or set the cup in an ice bath for 5 minutes).
4. Juice the lemons: roll each lemon firmly on the counter first, halve, and squeeze to get 1 1/2 cups juice. Strain out seeds and heavy pulp, but leave a little pulp for body.
5. Build the pitcher: in a 2-quart pitcher, stir together the cooled lavender syrup and the lemon juice until fully combined, then add the 5 cups cold water. Stir 15 seconds.
6. Taste and adjust: it should be brisk and just sweet enough to hold the lavender. Add water 1/4 cup at a time if it's too intense, or a tablespoon of honey dissolved in a splash of hot water if your lemons ran sharp.
7. Chill at least 1 hour, up to 3 days — the lavender rounds out and mellows as it sits.
8. For the optional tint, steep the butterfly pea flowers in 1/2 cup hot water for 5 minutes, strain, and cool; stir in 1 tablespoon at a time until the lemonade turns pale lavender-pink (the acid in the lemon shifts the blue to violet).
9. Serve: fill tall glasses with ice, add a lemon wheel to each, pour over the lemonade, and finish with a tiny lavender or mint sprig. Stir the pitcher again before every refill.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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