Lavender Simple Syrup

Make a beautiful, sweet lavender syrup to use in cocktails, tea, lemonade and more. Real lavender flowers are the key to a fragrant result, but you have some options if fresh ones aren’t available. This floral syrup is refined and luxurious with a delicate aroma.

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About this Lavender Syrup

During the spring months, I can’t get enough flowers. From daffodils in the yard to giant farmers market bouquets, there’s something about waiting all winter for these blooms.

Flowers have culinary and mixology uses too, like this Elderflower French 75, the Rose Champagne Cocktail or the Elderflower Rose Gimlet.

Lavender is one such flower that gets lots of love on drink and dessert menus. You can even make lavender sugar that can be baked into or sprinkled onto desserts, like these lavender sugar donut muffins.

And, of course, there’s lavender syrup! It’s a floral, infused version of simple syrup that can be mixed into beverages like cocktails, coffee, tea and lemonade. You often see it used in drinks at a coffee shop, but it’s very easy to make yourself. And it is so lovely this time of year!

More floral recipes: Hugo Spritz • Elderflower Gin Cocktail • Irish Maid • French Blonde

What is simple syrup?

The basic simple syrup recipe combines sugar and water to make a sweet substance that can be mixed into drinks. It works wonders in a cold drink especially, in which plain sugar doesn’t easily dissolve.

It is used in lots of cocktail recipes, from the old-fashioned to the margarita.

You can also use it in tea and coffee drinks, like lattes and cappuccinos, because it doesn’t take as much stirring to blend into the drink.

Also, cake decorators sometimes use this sugar syrup to flavor and moisten cakes before decorating.

Homemade syrups can be infused with herbs, spices and fruits to add flavors to drinks. Try cinnamon simple syrup or pumpkin spice syrup in the fall or mint simple syrup and elderberry syrup in the spring and summertime.

Lavender in drinks

It might seem strange to eat and drink flowers, but you’ve probably done it before, thanks to chamomile tea or earl grey shortbread.

When edible lavender flowers are infused into warm simple syrup, they impart their essential oils and floral notes into the mixture. Lavender has calming properties that make it a lovely addition in tea drinks especially.

When added to drinks like this lavender lemonade, the soft taste and aroma of lavender hit your tastebuds and nose at the same time, providing a delightful culinary experience.

Store-bought lavender syrup is available online and in specialty shops, but it’s often made with corn syrup and purple coloring, so making it yourself is preferable.

Ingredients

When making this easy lavender syrup, you only need three simple ingredients. Make sure they are high quality to make the most flavorful syrup. You’ll need:

• sugar: Use organic cane sugar or granulated white sugar for the light color. Brown sugar can be used instead, but it will give the syrup a darker, caramel-like color.
• water: Tap water will be just fine. I prefer to use bottled water or filtered water.
• lavender flowers: You can use fresh flowers or dried flowers. You can also substitute lavender oil or extract. (More on this in a minute!)

Substitutions & variations

Make this lavender syrup your own in a few different ways:

Honey lavender syrup: You can also use maple syrup or honey — just follow my instructions for honey simple syrup and then come back to this recipe when you remove from heat for the infusion with fresh lavender. (A honey lavender syrup sounds divine, doesn’t it?)

Rich syrup: I use a 1:1 sugar to water ratio for most of my syrups, but you can use a 2:1 or 1.5:1 ratio if you prefer a thicker syrup, known as rich simple syrup.

Lavender lemon syrup: Citrus and lavender are delicious together. Try adding a few lemon or lime wedges to your syrup while the flowers infuse for a subtle citrus bite. You can also add lemon juice if you prefer.

Rosemary lavender syrup: Add a couple of rosemary sprigs to the flowers for a robust herbal flavor that matches the lavender’s sweetness.

Sugar-free lavender syrup: Use coconut sugar, honey or another sugar-free substitute for a refined sugar-free alternative. Learn more about these in my sugar-free syrup recipe.

Best lavender flowers

I recommend using dried lavender buds or fresh flowers for the freshest syrup with the best fragrance. Dried lavender flowers can be found online or in specialty grocery stores. (Make sure they are labeled food-safe.)

Fresh lavender blossoms will be lovely as well! As long as no pesticides have been used, fresh flowers are safe to use. You can sometimes find fresh ones in the springtime at specialty grocery shops or from local farmers at the farmers market. (Lavender plants are wonderful for bees, so I always try to have one in my herb garden.)

You can also use lavender extract or lavender essential oil if you don’t have access to the flowers. These are a great way to get natural lavender flavor without having to use the flowers.

Essential oils are very strong, so you will only need to add a few drops (around 5-6, depending on how strong you like your syrup). Keep in mind they will leave behind their oily residue on the syrup. Lavender extract is the better choice of the two, as it is typically made with water or alcohol, and will blend more easily into your syrup.

How to make Lavender Simple Syrup

Lavender simple syrup is an easy recipe that can be made in just a few simple steps:

1. Measure equal parts sugar and water.
2. Add them to a saucepan over medium heat.
3. Stir them together until combined.
4. Remove from heat. Add your lavender flowers while it’s hot. (If using extract or oil, wait until it has cooled completely to stir it in.)
5. Let the flowers steep for 15 to 30 minutes, or until the syrup has the floral flavor you love.
6. Let it cool down fully to room temperature, then pour it into a fine-mesh strainer into a mason jar (or another airtight container) and store it in the fridge or use it in cocktails, iced tea, lemonade and coffee immediately!

Uses for lavender syrup

There are so many ways to use lavender syrup, from cold drinks to hot ones. It imparts its lovely floral flavor and pairs well with tea, citrus and many different spirits.

• Coffee drinks: A lavender latte — hot or iced — would be luscious and luxurious.
• Tea drinks: Mix it into iced tea for a refreshing springtime drink. The London Fog is a tea latte that uses Earl Grey and has hints of vanilla and lavender
• Mocktails: Stir it into your favorite lemonade recipe for a floral twist, à la lavender lemonade. Or combine the syrup with club soda or sparkling water to make a lavender Italian soda.
• Cocktails: Top it with gin and bubbly to make a lavender champagne cocktail — perfect for springtime celebrations! Make a lavender old-fashioned that highlights the sweet, caramel notes of bourbon with the soft lavender flavor.
• Hot chocolate: You can even stir lavender syrup into hot cocoa for a sweet, floral treat.

Another decadent treat would be a floral ice cream sundae with a layer of sweet lavender cookies underneath scoops of vanilla ice cream or lemon sorbet — and this syrup on top!

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