Gorgeous and delicious! Perfect for summer, lavender lemonade gin floats take the floral sweet lavender syrup, tart lemon, and botanical Empress gin poured over creamy lemon sorbet. A drink and a snack in one glass!
This recipe is sponsored by Empress 1908 Gin. As someone who is seriously picky about their gin, this beauty really hits the mark of well-balanced botanicals that's great for cocktail making!
Seriously, who doesn't love a cocktail that comes with a snack? And these lemonade floats definitely step up to the sweet treat challenge by replacing ice cubes with scoops of dairy-free yet oh-so-creamy lemon sorbet.
Can we just hit on why these gin floats need to go on your summer drink list immediately?
- super refreshing
- perfect for those ridiculously hot days when your drinks get warm in 0.001 seconds
- not too sweet
- super smooth, botanical, and gorgeous Empress gin
- just the right amount of tartness
These swirling purple drinks are super smooth and easy to sip, even if you don't typically reach for gin when crafting cocktails.
For me, the combination of gin and lemon in the summertime is always a win - like these gin spritz that are easy and light with a pop of fresh thyme, and now these lemon floats bring the same level of energy but with a hint of frozen dessert to cool you down.
Why is empress gin purple?
Distilled in small-batch copper pots, Empress gin uses eight botanicals - juniper, rose, coriander seed, grapefruit peel, ginger root, cinnamon bark and butterfly pea flower! That's what gives this gin it's eye catching color.
Besides the stunning indigo color, the butterfly pea blossom adds earthy notes, too.
How to make Lavender Lemonade Gin Floats with Empress Gin
Great news! This isn't any more difficult than making a fresh herb simple syrup for a regular cocktail. You'll be done and cooling off in just minutes.
Combine the sugar, water, and lavender in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer over medium-high heat. Once it simmers, turn off the heat and let it steep for 5 minutes before straining out the lavender.
Do you have to use fresh lavender?
You can use either fresh lavender or dried culinary lavender (affiliate link!) For fresh, I'd use about 2 or 3 sprigs. For dried culinary lavender, it's 1 tablespoon.
Once the simple syrup is made it's time to squeeze some lemons! Or just buy pure lemon juice at the store. It's delicious either way, so choose your own lemon adventure.
You'll need to cut the lemon juice with water. This recipe will give you enough lemon for about 4 to 6 drinks depending on your glassware. I used a 12 ounce collins glass for 4 drinks so I had some delicious lemon leftover. No complaints there.
Building the drink...
Fill a glass with 2 to 3 scoops of lemon sorbet. Pour the lavender lemonade over it, about ¾ of the way up the glass, and top with 1 ½ ounces of Empress Gin.
Serve immediately with a straw or spoon. The drinker of the cocktail will need to swirl in the liquor to balance out the ingredients but you don't want to ruin that presentation!
That's all it takes! Now go cool off with your exquisite weekend cocktail!
Lavender Lemonade Gin Floats
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon dried culinary lavender
- 2 cups cold water
- 9 ounces Empress 1908 Gin
- 2 pints lemon sorbet
Instructions
- Make the syrup. In a saucepan, combine 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, and 1 tablespoon dried culinary lavender. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Once the liquid simmers, remove from the heat and let steep for 5 minutes. Strain and set aside to cool.
- Make the lavender lemonade. In a pitcher, combine the lemon juice, lavender syrup, and 2 cups cold water.
- Assemble the gin floats. In a collins glass, add 2 to 3 scoops of lemon sorbet. Fill the glass ¾ of the way with lavender lemonade and top with 1 ½ ounces Empress 1908 Gin. Garnish with fresh lavender sprig or lemon twist. Serve immediately with a straw and/or spoon!
Notes
- For a lighter, less tart lemonade add one extra cup (3 total) of cold water when making the lavender lemonade.
Leave a Reply