How about a versatile fruity and floral sour today – the Apricot Lavender Sour? This works fantastically with rye, but also with a floral gin. So even if you’re not a whiskey lover like me you’ll have a bottle on hand you to try this out.
Because my poor lavender plants didn’t make it through the winter last year, but I just put a couple of bushes in the front. Every time I pass by them I pull my fingers across the tops of the flowers and smell them. Lucky for me I had some lavender simple syrup on hand from previous quarantine series (Lavender Orange Highball, anyone?). Today I was wondering how they might pair with apricot. I have an answer for you: fabulously.
In keeping with my Summer Citrus Sippers theme, I’m using lemon juice as the sour element, but I brighten up the cocktail with the summery fragrance of lavender and tie it together with Abricot du Roussillon apricot brandy from Giffard. Heavenly. Yesterday’s Summer Citrus Sipper was a Spiced Pineapple Sipper.
Back to the cocktail. I love the Giffard liqueurs and this Apricot du Roussillon is no exception. Sweet, fruity apricot drives the flavors, but it’s got some floral notes in the background, just like the aroma of a ripe apricot. Pairing that with rye to tone down some of the peppery notes worked very well. I used a lower rye rye whiskey for this one because I didn’t want the heat to overwhelm the cocktail. With a 51% rye mashbill Woodford was the way to go on the first try.
To that I added some lemon juice, lavender simple syrup, and some lavender bitters. I topped off the cocktail in the shaker with a little aquafaba (or use egg white if you like) to put that lovely top of foam on it and to tame the lemon in the mouthfeel.
This is a simple cocktail to batch, just leave out the aquafaba/egg white and drink it as a regular sour. I’ll add the batched cocktail down below.
(For those of you curious about the other recipes in the Quarantine Series, I’ll put them here before you skim past to get to the recipe. We had Quarantine Highball week (Highball Whiskey Spritz and a That’s No Moon Lavender Orange Highball, It Ain’t All Sunhine and Peaches, Petals to the Metal Hibiscus Highball and a Root Beer Highball. ) Quarantine Donut cocktails (Maple Caramel Long John, Pecan Sticky Bun cocktail and Blueberry Cake Donut, Boston Cream Cocktail and Apple Fritter Cocktail). Quarantine Juleps, (Breakfast Julep, the Pineapple Sage Rum Julep, Elvis Julep (peanut butter-banana), Root Beer Float Julep, and the Persian Julep (rose-apricot) ). Quarantine Old Fashioneds (Breakfast Wakey Wakey, Smoke and Spice, Home School, Taco Truck, and Campari/Bitter Lessons ). Quarantine Manhattans (Balanced Perfection (Perfect Manhattan), Coffee Manhattan, Chocolate Ginger Manhattan, French Quarter Manhattan, and the Caramel Orange Manhattan.) Quarantine Whiskey Sours (Blackberry Sunset, Whiskey Tiki, Blue Mood Orange, Ya Basic, and Peach Rosemary). Quarantine Smashes (Whiskey Smash, Blackberry Sage Smash, Pineapple Tiki Smash, Strawberry Basil Smash and the Coffee Cherry Smash.)
Lavender Lush – Apricot Lavender Sour
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz rye whiskey
- ¾ oz Apricot brandy
- ½ oz lavender simple syrup
- 1 oz lemon juice
- 1 oz aquafaba or one egg white (optional)
- 8 drops lavender bitters
- Garnish: fresh apricot slices and/or lavender sprig
Instructions
- Combine whiskey, apricot brandy, lavender simple, lemon juice, bitters and aquafaba (if using) in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake vigorously – at least 30 seconds, and 60 if you can stand it. Double strain the cocktail into a chilled couple glass and garnish with a sprig of lavender or a bit of apricot.
Notes
Batched Lavender Lush – Apricot Lavender Sour
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups rye whiskey
- ¾ cups Apricot brandy
- ½ cup lavender simple syrup
- 1 cup lemon juice
- ½ to 1 tsp lavender bitters
- ½ cup water
- Garnish: fresh apricot slices and/or lavender sprig
Instructions
- Combine ingredients in a bottle and shake until well combined (or use the blender). Chill in the fridge for several hours. Serve neat in a chilled glass or on the rocks with a sprig of lavender as garnish. Note that since you’re using fresh citrus juice, you’ll need to consume this within a day of making it. Fresh lemon juice can become bitter if left in a cocktail too long, so drink up!
