Refreshing Lavender Blueberry Gin Cocktail

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A delicious drink that’s the perfect summer sipper, this Lavender Blueberry Gin Cocktail is ideal for serving at your next backyard party.

Glasses of blueberry lavender gin cocktails.

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Ingredients
How to Make a Lavender Blueberry Gin Cocktail
Recipe Tips
Try These Lavender Cocktails
Homemade Lavender Syrup
FAQs and Substitutions
More Delicious Recipes You’ll Love
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Lavender Blueberry Gin Cocktail

We’re stepping away from drinks like the blueberry lavender fizz - full of club soda or tonic water - in favor of a craft cocktail that’s a little more elegant and feels more like a classic cocktail than a soda drink.

I love making a delicious cocktail with a single bottle of liquor. With a touch of citrus from fresh lemon juice and thyme instead of mint leaves, the unique flavor of this cocktail makes it a delicious drink for gin lovers - especially during the summer months.

Ingredients

A lemon
Fresh blueberries
Fresh thyme
Gin
Lavender syrup
Lavender bitters

How to Make a Lavender Blueberry Gin Cocktail

Place blueberries, thyme and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker.

Blueberries dropping into a cocktail shaker.

Muddle to crush the berries.

Add gin, lavender simple syrup, and lavender bitters.

Lavender syrup being poured into a cocktail shaker.

Add ice.

Ice being poured into a cocktail shaker.

Shake until well chilled.

Double strain through a fine mesh strainer into a nick and nora glass (or other small glass).

Double straining a blueberry lavender gin cocktail.

Garnish with fresh blueberries, a thyme sprig or a lavender sprig, and/or a curl of lemon peel.

A hand placing blueberrybgarnish on a cocktial.

Enjoy!

Recipe Tips

Use fresh ingredients! There’s a big taste difference between fresh thyme and dried thyme. Same with squeezing a lemon vs pouring lemon juice from a bottle. Make the effort to get fresh ingredients for this drink.
Don’t have a Nick and Nora glass? A small martini glass or aperitif glass is a great alternative. (Or use one of the small, souvenir wine glasses you get from wine tastings.)

Try These Lavender Cocktails

Homemade Lavender Syrup

Lavender simple syrup is quick and easy to make at home. Get the recipe over on my lavender syrup page.

FAQs and Substitutions

What kind of gin should I use?

Honestly, almost any kind of gin works in this recipe - it just depends on your tastes. I use my favorite local gin in this drink, which is more juniper forward. A London dry gin like Beefeater Gin is also delicious. If you prefer more of a floral flavor in your gin, try using Empress 1908 Gin in this recipe. Empress has a natural blue violet hue from butterfly pea flowers which enhances the color of this Lavender Blueberry Gin cocktail.

What does it mean to “double strain”?

Double straining is when you pour your drink through both the strainer on the cocktail shaker and a fine mesh strainer held over the glass. (See the picture in the drink instructions.) This keeps any small pieces of blueberry or thyme out of your cocktail so you’ll have a smooth sip.

Can I use frozen blueberries?

Yes, but let them thaw completely before using them. The blueberry flavor in this cocktail comes from the juice in the berries, so you need them to be thawed and easily crushed when making this drink.

Can I use dried thyme?

Nope. Dried herbs work well in cooking because they have time to hang out with warm ingredients and have the flavors coaxed out of them. We’re not doing that here. Use fresh thyme, or leave it out. You can also substitute fresh basil, if you have some on hand.

What can I use instead of lavender bitters?

If you don’t have lavender bitters, just leave it out. Bitters add complexity to the flavor of this drink, but the cocktail is still delicious without them.