My daughter works at Nordstom’s and each year they host a nice dinner for staff for the holidays. After the most recent one last Christmas season, she came home with instructions, “You have to make this lemon lavender cocktail that I had at Beatrice and Woodsley!” It was like a lemon drop martini but with lavender infused vodka. I wasn’t inclined to make that effort until summer when I thought it just seemed most appropriate; mostly because I grow a bunch of lavender and wanted to use my own.

I thought at first of infusing vodka with the lavender but it was oh so much easier to just make a lavender sugar syrup for the lemonade and add a shot of vodka. So easy, so refreshing…really, really good (can you TELL I liked it!).

I’ve hesitated many years to cut from my one and only lavender bush, so in the past couple of years I planted several more and while they get to good size and I can harvest from them too…this baby has gotten so big I can cut away and hardly notice! I’ve used it for a bouquet on my kitchen table/office desk, use it for sachets, am right now making lavender shortbread and am also sending some bunches to friends. I love the flowers but part of the real beauty is the wonderful herbacious scent and I’m finding more and more ways to use it in a culinary style. If you haven’t seen my Lemon Ricotta Pizza with Caramelized Onions and Herbs…run, don’t walk there if you like this match; it is to die for!

I think the secret for good lemonade is to make sugar water to blend with the lemon juice, so it was a perfect fit for infusing the water with the lavender. You should use culinary lavender; either your own or from a vendor. It’s not suitable for lavender put into sachets for scenting a room; I just would not entrust that to a food or drink product. Sage Creations is a Colorado farm in Palisades that grows stone fruits and lavender for culinary uses if you can’t find any locally.