The Lavender Collins is a gin cocktail built on the Tom Collins template — gin, lemon juice, and soda water — with one addition: a quick homemade lavender simple syrup that takes about 10 minutes to make. The whole drink comes together in under 15 minutes, and the syrup can be made days ahead. If you want a floral, lightly sweet sparkling cocktail without a lot of fuss, this is a solid choice.
Smart swaps
- Gin: A standard London dry gin works fine. A floral or botanical gin (Hendrick’s, for example) leans into the lavender more, but it’s not required.
- Culinary lavender: Make sure you’re using food-grade or culinary lavender buds, not ornamental or dried floral lavender, which may be treated with pesticides. If you can’t find it locally, it’s easy to order online.
- Store-bought lavender syrup: A decent shortcut if you want to skip the syrup step entirely. Monin makes one that’s widely available. Taste it first — some brands run very sweet, so you may want to use a little less than the recipe calls for.
- Lemon juice: Fresh only. Bottled lemon juice is noticeably flat here and throws off the balance.
The technique that matters
The syrup steep time is the one step worth paying attention to. Pull the lavender buds out after 10 minutes — if they sit much longer, the syrup turns bitter and soapy rather than floral. Once you strain it, let it cool completely before using it in the shaker. Adding warm syrup to a shaker full of ice just dilutes the drink faster than you want. Everything else in this recipe is forgiving, but those two points — 10-minute steep, fully cooled syrup — make a real difference in the final flavor.
Common problems and fixes
- Drink tastes soapy or medicinal: The lavender steeped too long or you used too much. Stick to 10 minutes and measure the syrup. Ornamental lavender can also cause this — check your source.
- Cocktail is too sweet: Reduce the syrup to 10 ml instead of 15 ml, or squeeze a little extra lemon juice to bring the tartness back up.
- Cocktail is too tart: Add an extra 5 ml of syrup. Lemon size and ripeness vary a lot, so the balance sometimes needs a small adjustment.
- Flat, weak fizz: Your soda water lost its carbonation. Use a freshly opened bottle or can and add it last, right before serving — don’t shake it in.
- Lavender flavor barely comes through: Your lavender buds may be old and have lost their potency. Fresh culinary lavender buds have a noticeably stronger scent; if yours smell faint in the bag, they’ll be faint in the drink too.
Make-ahead notes
The lavender simple syrup is the only component you can make ahead, and it keeps well. Store it in a sealed jar or bottle in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. The cocktail itself needs to be mixed and served immediately — shaking it ahead of time and refrigerating it kills the carbonation and dilutes the flavor. Skip the garnish — not worth the extra dish — unless you’re serving guests and presentation matters to you.
Lavender Collins
Ingredients
Cocktail Ingredients
- 60 ml Gin Floral gin preferred
- 30 ml Lemon juice Freshly squeezed
- 15 ml Lavender simple syrup Homemade or store-bought
- 60 ml Soda water Chilled
Garnishes
- 1 sprig Lavender For garnish
- 1 slice Lemon For garnish
Instructions
- First, prepare the lavender simple syrup. Combine equal parts water and sugar in a saucepan, adding a tablespoon of culinary lavender buds.
- Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar completely dissolves.
- Remove from heat and allow the syrup to steep for about 10 minutes. Strain and let cool.
- Note:
- This step can be done in advance and the syrup stored in the refrigerator. Fill a shaker with ice.
- Add the gin, fresh lemon juice, and lavender simple syrup. Shake vigorously until the mixture is well-chilled — about 15 seconds.
- Strain the mixture into a Collins glass filled with ice cubes. Top with soda water, gently stirring to combine.
- Garnish beautifully with a lavender sprig and a lemon slice balanced on the glass's rim.
Notes
Nutrition
Common questions
Can I make this without alcohol?
Yes — replace the gin with a non-alcoholic botanical spirit like Seedlip Garden or simply use an extra splash of soda water with a few drops of lemon bitters if you have them. The lavender syrup and lemon juice still carry the flavor well.
How much lavender syrup does one batch make, and can I scale it up?
A basic batch using equal parts water and sugar (say, half a cup each) with one tablespoon of lavender buds makes roughly 8 to 10 servings worth of syrup. It scales up easily — just keep the ratios the same and don’t increase the lavender beyond one tablespoon per cup of liquid or it gets overpowering.
What kind of glass do I need, and does it matter?
A Collins glass is tall and narrow, which helps keep the drink cold and preserves the carbonation longer. A highball glass works just as well. A short rocks glass will do in a pinch, though you’ll have less room for ice and soda.
Can I batch this for a party?
You can pre-mix the gin, lemon juice, and lavender syrup in a pitcher and refrigerate it for a few hours. Add the soda water only when you’re ready to pour, directly into each glass over ice — adding it to the pitcher ahead of time means it’ll go flat fast.
Where do I find culinary lavender buds?
Many grocery stores carry them in the spice or bulk foods section, especially in spring and summer. Health food stores and specialty spice shops are reliable year-round options, and they’re straightforward to order online. Look specifically for the label ‘culinary’ or ‘food-grade’ to make sure they’re safe to eat.
