Admittedly, I’ve been having a moment with this whole flowers in cocktails trend (ok, more like a year!). There are a surprising amount of flowers out there that are edible- who knew! One I return to often is lavender. Not only is it totally accessible, but you can get food grade dried buds online & in most grocery stores and it has a beautiful flavor. I, Ashley, found some Spanish lavender at the market recently, and I couldn’t wait to use it again to mix-up this lavender grapefruit gin buck cocktail!

A Buck is a style of cocktail using liquor mixed with citrus and ginger beer (not to be confused with ginger ale). The most famous (or infamous if you ask any bartender) is the Moscow Mule. Buck, Mule get it? Ha! It is what popularized vodka in the US years ago. There are so many other great Bucks out there, however. My favorite for warm weather? A Gin Buck. The juniper and botanicals in gin that pair beautifully with the ginger beer. Match made in cocktail heaven (although bourbon is a lovely Buck pairing too!) This lavender grapefruit version just might be my current favorite flavor combo.

Lavender Simple Syrup

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Ingredients

• 8 ounces Sugar
• 8 ounces Water
• 3 tablespoons Dried lavender buds

Instructions

• Add sugar and water to a pot on high. Once the sugar has disolved, add the lavender buds.
• When the mixture boils, take of the heat and let cool to room temperature. Once cooled, strain through a fine mesh strainer into a jar. Store up to 4 weeks in the fridge.

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If you like floral, sweet, tart, fizzy, refreshing cocktails AND drinking out of a fancy copper mug, this is your new summer go-to drink! Cheers to those longer days and warmer nights, and be sure to check out the hashtag #cocktailsandflowers to see the rest of my floral libations!