Drink up the sun.
Summer is the season for a bounty of lavender flowers and that makes it the perfect time to try your hand at making homemade lavender tincture. A few drops of this delightful mixture transforms any drink into a crafted cocktail.
Bring your lavender dreams to life.
Gather a bundle of culinary-grade lavender and cut the excess stems off the flowers. Fill a large canning mason jar about 2/3 full of fresh lavender flowers. Top off the flowers with high proof alcohol. I used 80 proof Vodka for the high alcohol content, neutral flavor, and low price.
Be sure to use enough liquid to cover the flowers. Close the jar with a lid and place it in a cool, dark place. Every day you’ll need to shake the jar for about a minute. After two weeks, open the jar and check the fragrance.
Once you have a nice strong lavender fragrance you can strain out the flower debris and decant the tincture into storage jars. I’ve used coffee filters, cheesecloth, or muslin fabric for straining out the flowers.
I like to store it in dropper bottles so it’s easy to drop a bit of flavor into a cocktail. Dark tinted glass bottles are recommended to help preserve tinctures.
If you’re interested in visiting a lavender field to gather your own fresh blooms, you can check out Wayward Winds Lavender Farm in Newberg, OR. Their fields are scheduled to open July 1st with free admission.
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Call Cheri Harney, at 503-319-4858.
