Lavender Liqueur Recipe - Liqueur de Lavande Recette
Lavender is a gorgeously aromatic herb with stunning violet flowers and an intoxicatingly captivating fragrance. It's easy and so rewarding to capture this delightful floral aroma into a sweet homemade lavender liqueur (liqueur de lavande in France) that you can enjoy all year. This luxurious, naturally vegan drink has been made in Provence for generations, and it's so fulfilling to make and enjoy your own homemade version. You can use lavender blossoms from your garden, dried culinary-grade blossoms that you can buy, or a combination of the two. It's a really special fragrant and botanical drink that's easy to make. It’s perfect as an apéritif, digestif (after-dinner drink), or in cocktails.
Ingredients
- 1 large (5 g) vanilla bean
- 1 large lemon, yielding about 5 g or 2½ - 3 teaspoons of zest
- 750 mL (3 cups) vodka, 80 proof, 40% ABV
- 24-36 g fresh lavender flowers, about 1½ cups, loosely packed
- or 8-12 g dried lavender flowers, about ½ - ¾ cup, loosely packed
- or a blend dried and fresh lavender flowers, keeping 3 parts fresh to 1 part dried by weight and volume
- 200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar
Instructions
- Prepare the vanilla bean: Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Set aside both the beans and pod.
- Zest the lemon: Using a fine zester or peeler, grate the zest shallowly to avoid using the bitter white pith beneath it.
- Add lavender and sugar: Add the lavender flowers (dried, fresh, or a blend, per the quantities in the notes below) and the sugar to the jar. Stir until the sugar begins to dissolve.
- Infuse the blend: Seal the jar and store it in a cool, dark place. Shake gently every day for 1 week to dissolve sugar and distribute flavors.
- Strain and bottle the liqueur: Strain the liqueur through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth to remove the solids. Use a funnel to transfer the filtered liqueur into a clean 1-liter bottle.
- Enjoy! Store in an airtight container at room temperature in a cool, dark place, or refrigerator, or freezer.
Notes
For this recipe, you can use either fresh lavender flowers, dried, or a combination of the two. Here's a guide:
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Fresh lavender flowers only: Use 24 - 36 g (about 1½ - 2 cups, loosely- packed). Note: Fresh flowers are milder, requiring more volume to achieve the same strength as with dried flowers.
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Dried lavender flowers only: Use 8 - 12 g (about ½ - ¾ cup loosely-packed). Note: Dried flowers have a concentrated flavor. Start with the lower end of this range if you find floral flavors to be a bit strong for you.
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Ratio for blends of dried and fresh lavender flowers: Use about 3 parts fresh to 1 part dried flowers by weight or volume. Fresh lavender is about 3 times bulkier than dried.
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