Lavender Lemon Drop
- Level: Easy
- Yield: 1 drink
- Total: 30 min (includes cooling time)
- Active: 15 min
Ingredients
Demerara Sugar Syrup:
1 cup demerara sugar
Lavender Lemon Drop:
1 ounce gin, such as Plymouth
1 ounce limoncello, store-bought or homemade, recipe follows
1/2 ounce lemon juice
1 ounce Moscato d'Asti
1 sprig fresh lavender
Lemon wedge, for garnish
GZ's Cello:
12 large, thick-skinned lemons, preferably Sorrento lemons, washed
1 liter inexpensive vodka, such as Smirnoff or Tito's
1 cup sugar
Directions
- For the demerara sugar syrup: Combine the demerara sugar and 1 cup water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and let cool completely.
- For the lavender lemon drop: Add the gin, limoncello, lemon juice and 1/2 ounce of the demerara sugar syrup to a cocktail shaker, add large ice and shake vigorously. Add the Moscato d'Asti, tumble-roll once to mix throughout and double-strain into a martini glass with a small sprig of lavender. Garnish with a lemon wedge and serve (do not muddle the lavender).
- Keep the remaining demerara sugar syrup covered in the refrigerator up to 1 month.
GZ's Cello:
- Remove the peels from the lemons carefully, making sure not to include any of the pith. Place the peels in a large container and add the vodka (reserve the vodka bottle for later). Infuse until the alcohol strips the oils and color out of the peels, 12 to 24 hours.
- Meanwhile, make the simple syrup. Combine the sugar and 1 cup water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and let cool completely.
- Fill the vodka bottle with about 27 ounces of the infused vodka and 7 ounces of the simple syrup and place in the freezer. Serve ice cold in chilled small copita or shot glasses.