Saturday Sipping: Lavender Martini

Lavender has so many benefits from stress relief to an antibacterial for the skin and I am one of the herb's biggest fans. That is why this week's sipper is one of the many cocktails I've created using that little purple herb and that drink is the Lavender Martini.

There are many ways to add lavender to cocktails. One option is to infuse vodka with the herb and even pair it with other herbs like I often do for a lavender-rosemary vodka and the other option is to make a lavender simple syrup. I use the latter when mixing with other spirits besides vodka and the Lavender Martini is a prime example.

For this Martini I've simply added the infused simple syrup to a classic gin and vermouth mix. The sugar of the syrup adds a slight sweetness to the cocktail and the lavender adds an aromatic, almost therapeutic, quality to the botanicals already in the cocktail. It is a pick-me-up type of drink that is ideal for an afternoon on the back porch in the warm summer sun.

When using lavender you'll want to pick a stem before the buds have bloomed, right when they are at a full purple and remove the buds from the stem. I do prefer to use fresh lavender but dried is okay, you will just loose some of the essence.

Lavender Martini recipe...