Last Updated on August 6, 2021 by Heather Wibbels
Let’s talk peaches for peach week on the blog with this Peach Lavender Old Fashioned. Quick to make and it tastes just like summer. Toss a few grilled or bruleed peaches in for garnish and you’ll wish you’d made a pitcher instead of one. I’m always amazed at any peach and whiskey cocktail I have – especially when they forgo the peach schnapps and head for fresh peaches.
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When I get a huge box of Peach Truck peaches my first inclination is to look at dessert flavors, and peaches blend well with floral aromas and flavors. With two growing lavender bushes in the front yard, it’s always a great combination to try.
Given the 50 pounds of peaches I just bought, I knew peach simple syrup was on the menu, but this time, instead of making a cooked peach simple syrup, I wanted to revel in the taste of fresh peaches.
If you’ve had a peach cobbler as a dessert and at another time fresh peaches and ice cream, you know the difference between fresh and cooked peaches. Fresh peaches are tart and tangy, almost sour beneath that heady fresh peach scent. Cooked peaches are sweeter, softer, more caramel and vanilla in their taste – and that’s without adding anything to them.
I knew they would be perfect to add to this peach cocktail – and that I was definitely going to focus on a peach old fashioned. Because an Old Fashioned is simple to construct – just a little whiskey, some sweet element and some bitters, and you’ve got a classic Old Fashioned on your hands. For this application, it was the perfect addition of flavors to bourbon to bring out hidden flavors. If you’d like to geek out, head here to learn how to make a perfect old fashioned.
How to Make Peach Simple Syrup
To make a fresh peach simple, you cut up fresh peaches, put them in a container (I used a ziplock bag) and add the same weight of sugar. I didn’t want to add any herbs to this first batch because I wanted to keep it truly all about peaches with the syrup. I put it in the fridge overnight to let sugar draw the peach juice from the fruit.
Tips for an Amazing Peach Simple Syrup
Be sure to strain your peach simple to get rid of the small pieces of peaches that could make your cocktail cloudy. One down side of peach simple is that it doesn’t look amazing in cocktails when you use whiskey. Because of the color, it just looks like a slightly darker old fashioned. But that’s OK, because this tastes amazing.
If you’re not going to use all of this for cocktails, trying using it in fresh lemonade or as a base for a marinade with some bourbon for grilling when the weather’s nice.
It’s always delectable on ice cream, and on waffles, pancakes, and even in iced tea. So make up a batch and go crazy with it. But first, you must make this really simple, mind-blowing whiskey cocktail.
How to Make this Lavender Peach Old Fashioned
Just like any other typical Old Fashioned, this cocktail is stirred with ice in a mixing glass. In your mixing glass add your bitters, peach simple and bourbon. Add ice and stir for 20-30 seconds. Serve over one large cube. For a garnish, I made a peach rose from a peel, but it works just as well with a peach slice and a sprig of lavender.
For more peach cocktails take a peek at my It Ain’t All Peaches and Sunshine Highball or my Peach Rosemary Whiskey Sour.
Recommended Bar Tools
You don’t need every slick, beautiful bar tool out there, but there are several I’ll recommend. (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. However, that does not affect the cost of the items below.) My favorite pieces usually come from the Cocktail Kingdom section of Amazon:
You may already have these bar essentials, but just in case:
Peach Lavender Old Fashioned – My Peach of Mind
Ingredients
- 1.75 oz bourbon
- 1/2 oz peach simple syrup**
- 1/4 oz peach liqueur
- 12 drops lavender bitters
- Garnish: peach slices fresh lavender sprigs
Instructions
- Combine bourbon, peach simple syrup, and bitters in a mixing glass and add ice. Stir until well-chilled. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with peaches and a lavender sprig.
Notes
- 2 cups peeled, chopped peaches
- 2 cups sugar