Lavender is a quintessential spring flavor and with a little sugar and some fresh lemon juice, it also makes the perfect spring drink! Lavender Lemonade is a classic non-alcoholic option for spring and summer. Let's learn how to make it, and how to upgrade the classic to a fabulous cocktail with your choice of spirit.
What you'll need to make it
First things first, let's gather the ingredients. For a non-alcoholic Lavender Lemonade, you'll need the following:
- Lemons
- Lavender
- Sugar
- Water, still or sparkling
Lemons
Only fresh lemons will do here (no bottled or concentrated juices please). There is no comparison to fresh lemon juice and it makes all the difference with the flavor of the lemonade. You can use regular lemons or Meyer lemons, if you prefer. Meyer lemons are sweeter, so you may want to add more lemon juice or scale back the syrup.
You'll need about ½-1 lemon per serving, depending on their size. Pro tip: always buy a few more than you think you'll need!
Culinary grade dried lavender
Dried lavender is pretty easy to get these days. You can find it locally at farmstands, at health food stores, on Amazon, or from online herb purveyors like Mountain Rose Herbs. Or if you have a garden, grow your own!
Pro tip: If you have trouble finding lavender locally and don't want to wait for shipping, you can buy a lavender tea, such as Traditional Medicinals Lavender Chamomile and use the tea bags in place of the dried buds. The flavor will be more mild, but it is a quick fix if you're impatient like me.
You might like my 10 Best Lavender Cocktail Recipes
Sugar
White sugar is my standard choice when making lemonade, but you could use other types of sugar like cane sugar or turbinado. You can also use honey instead of sugar, if you prefer.
Cold water or sparkling water
To complete our lemonade, we'll need chilled still or sparkling water. I prefer bubbles personally, but either works. Pro tip: sparkling water is best used when the lemonade will be consumed immediately. If making a large batch, stick to still water.
What does lavender taste like?
Lavender is a flowering plant from the mint family, Lamiaceae, best known for its cute purple blossoms and distinctive, floral aroma. Lavender is native to the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and India, and it's been cultivated for centuries for its essential oil and for culinary applications.
Lavender's flavor is strong, clean, floral and herbaceous. It has a certain sweetness, a hint of mint, and sometimes citrusy or piney notes depending on the variety. Lavender's unique flavor is fresh and uplifting, making it ideal for a refreshing lemonade.
Don't over do it
Like violet or lilac, it's important to not use too much lavender in drink recipes. A little too much and it can be very overpowering and make your lemonade taste perfumey or soapy. This is why we're going to start by making an easy (and customizable) lavender simple syrup to make sure we have just the right amount of lavender flavor.
How to make Lavender Lemonade
After you've gathered your ingredients, the first step is to make a simple syrup with the lavender. This will let us easily sweeten our lemonade without waiting for sugar to dissolve. It also makes it easy to add the flavor of lavender to this drink as well as many others, like my spiked Lavender Coconut Lemonade.
Lavender simple syrup
It's not hard to make this syrup, but you can also purchase lavender simple syrup online or from a local farm, if there's one in your area.
In New Hampshire, we're fortunate to have the beautiful lavender fields at Pumpkin Blossom Farm in Warner. They make a lovely lavender syrup that I've used in several past lavender drink recipes.
Get my detailed Lavender Simple Syrup Recipe
Several brands make lavender syrups that are easy to find on Amazon as well. Just keep in mind that they may be sweeter than this recipe, so you may need to adjust accordingly. Also be aware of artificial flavors and colors. I prefer the clean and fresh flavor of real lavender for this lemonade.
Lavender simple syrup is an easy mix of equal parts sugar and hot water with a smaller measure of dried lavender, that's steeped or simmered, then cooled, and strained - that's it. You can scale the recipe specs below to make a smaller or larger batch of syrup.
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup boiling water
- ¼ cup dried lavender flowers
To make the syrup, add the sugar and lavender to a glass heatproof container, then pour in the hot water. Stir to help the sugar dissolve, then cover the container and let it sit for ten minutes. Stir the mixture once more, then strain out the lavender and store your syrup in a glass bottle or jar. Keep the syrup in the refrigerator and use within two weeks.
Why I don't cook my lavender syrup
Lavender is a delicate herb that's loaded with essential oils. It doesn't take a lot of heat to release those fragrant oils, so I find that simply steeping the flowers in hot syrup extracts plenty of flavor. Simmering the lavender on the stove top isn't necessary and unless it's covered, would allow a lot of the fragrant oils to burn off.
Making the lemonade
While you wait for your syrup to cool, juice your lemons. I cut mine in half and use an elbow-style citrus squeezer to extract the juices. If you want to be fancy, strain the lemon juice through a fine mesh strainer to remove any stray bits of pulp.
Lavender Lemonade for One (2 ways)
The first way to make the drink is to simply fill a highball glass with ice, then add the syrup and lemon juice. Top with cold still or sparkling water, then gently stir to combine. Garnish with a lemon wheel. This is the easiest way to make yourself a quick glass of refreshing lavender lemonade.
Shaken Lavender Lemonade
For the second method, add the syrup, lemon juice, and 2 ounces of water to a cocktail shaker and fill it about three quarters with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain the liquid into a highball glass filled with ice. Top with chilled still or sparkling water and garnish with a lemon wheel. This method requires slightly more effort but will give you a better flavor and texture. Shaking helps to fully incorporate the citrus and the aeration give the drink better overall texture and flavor.
Ingredients for one serving:
- 1 oz lavender simple syrup
- 1 oz fresh lemon juice
- 4-6+ oz cold still or sparkling water, to taste
- Lemon wheels, for garnish
Make it a cocktail:
Add 1.5-2 oz spirit of choice (such as gin, vodka, tequila, whiskey or rum) before adding water. If shaking, add the alcohol to the shaker.
Lavender Lemonade Pitcher (6 servings)
To make the lemonade for a group, combine your syrup, lemon juice and water in a large pitcher and fill it with ice. Stir to combine, then add lemon wheels, if desired.
If you prefer a frothier, shaken lemonade, use an immersion blender briefly to whip together the syrup, lemon juice and 6 oz of still water. Then add ice and top with the remaining still or sparkling water.
Ingredients for a pitcher:
- 6 oz (½ cup) lavender simple syrup
- 6 oz (½ cup) fresh lemon juice
- 24+ oz cold water or sparkling water, to taste
- Lemon wheels, for garnish
Make it a cocktail:
Add 12-16 oz of your preferred spirit (think gin, vodka, tequila, whiskey, or rum) before adding water. If using the immersion blender method, blend the syrup, lemon juice and alcohol, then fill the pitcher with ice and top with water.
More lavender recipes we love from around the web:
Easy Lavender Lemonade (for One or a Group)
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz spirit of choice (gin, vodka, tequila, whiskey, rum) optional
- 1 oz fresh lemon juice
- 1 oz lavender simple syrup
- 4-6 oz cold still or sparkling water
Instructions
Basic Lavender Lemonade
- Fill a highball glass with ice. Pour the alcohol (if using), syrup, and lemon juice over the ice and top with chilled still or sparkling water. Garnish with a lemon wheel.
Shaken Lavender Lemonade
- Add everything but the water to a cocktail shaker and fill it three quarters with ice. If not using alcohol, add one ounce of water to the shaker.
- Shake until chilled, then strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Garnish with a lemon wheel.
Lavender Lemonade for a Group (6 Servings)
- Add 6 oz lemon juice, 6 oz syrup, and 9-12 oz alcohol (if using) to a pitcher and fill it with ice. Stir to chill, then top with 24+ oz cold still or sparkling water. Garnish with lemon wheels.