Have you had a proper gin sour? Man are they ever good! And since they are so good and since we have been talking about Mothers Day brunch this week, we think you should consider serving this Elderflower Peach and Lavender Gin Sour to your mom when you invite her over for brunch on Mothers Day. She will love it. It’s the perfect blend of sweet and sour with a slightly floral note. Plus, aren’t they so dang pretty?
We just had our first Gin Sour a couple weeks ago. We are totally hooked. A sour is a traditional cocktail that dates way back before prohibition. It has a base liquor, lemon or lime juice, a sweetener, and usually egg whites. In this cocktail we use Gin as the base with a little elderflower liqueur thrown in, lemon, peach and lavender shrub (which is a type of vinegary syrup – I will explain later) and egg whites for a silky finish and lovely froth on top.
A couple of weeks ago, Debbie and I were invited to Well Seasoned in Langley for a Cocktail Demo where mixologist Kelly Woods and John McLellan from Gillespies Fine Spirits in Squamish made cocktails and talked about the growing local spirits movement in Vancouver. Due to a shift in BC’s liquor laws, products distilled in BC from 100% BC agricultural raw materials can be sold direct without markup which now makes it profitable for craft distilleries to produce local spirits. This is good news for us as consumers! Not only will we have more options to choose from, but we can make choices that directly benefit our local community. It’s a win win situation…
I will also say that the products we tasted from Gillespies were incredibly good! They have two kinds of vodka, one that’s called Gastown Shine which we loved! It has an almost caramel flavor. The other was called V-twin that was a little too biting for us, but whiskey drinkers would probably like it. Their limoncello just won an award and it is delicious! They have a fun flavored vodka that is like nothing I have tried before infused with well known aphrodisiacs cacao, chilli and vanilla. Its wonderful. And finally their gin, which we were surprised that we liked. Its like no other gin I have tasted before.
Anyhoo… Kelly made us a Gin Sour and Debbie and I were quickly converted by its perfectly balanced sweet and sour flavor profile. Debbie and I immediately looked at each other and agreed that we were going to have to make some at home very soon! We also tried shrubs for the first time at the Cocktail class and we have become totally obsessed with the flavor dimension that it adds to our cocktails. In the last few weeks we have made shrubs from pineapple and hibiscus, peach and lavender, rhubarb and thyme, and raspberry and mint! I feel like this is only the beginning…
A shrub is basically a syrup with sugar and vinegar and then some sort of flavoring. They really deserve their own post, but that is the basic concept. The end result is a sweet and fruity syrup with a vinegar kick. You only use an ounce or two in a cocktail, but the flavor that you get is slightly sweet and sour and totally awesome!
Whether or not you serve this Gin Sour at your Mothers Day Brunch, we insist that you give it a try. The peach and lavender shrub is a sinch to make so don’t let that stop you. You can find lavender at most health food stores and we used frozen peaches. If you cant find elderflower liqueur or syrup anywhere, just try this without and I bet it will be just as good. Just add a touch more of the shrub, but give that a taste before you serve it to you mom, we haven’t tried that yet…
Elderflower, Peach and Lavender Gin Sour
Ingredients
FOR THE PEACH LAVENDER SHRUB
- 2 cups peaches (we used frozen)
- 2 tsp dried lavender flowers
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
- 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
FOR THE GIN SOUR
- 2 oz gin
- 2 oz elderflower liqueur
- 1 oz lemon juice (half a large lemon)
- 2 oz peach and lavender shrub
- 1 egg white or 1 tbsp egg white
Instructions
MAKE THE SHRUB
Add the peaches, lavender, sugar, and vinegar to a medium pot and heat on medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil and mash the peaches while you stir it. Once the mixture has come to a boil, turn off the heat and let it cool completely. Strain and store in an airtight container. A mason jar works great!
MAKE THE COCKTAIL
Add all the ingredients to a martini shaker and shake well. Pour into glasses and garnish with a sprig of lavender.
ANOTHER WAY TO MAKE A SHRUB
Add the peaches, lavender and sugar to a large mason jar or a bowl. Mash the peaches up a bit. Then let the mixture sit in the fridge for at least a few hours or up to a couple days. Strain the juice and add the vinegar to the juice. Shake or stir well and thats it.
Recipe Notes
If you have elderflower syrup instead of elderflower liqueur, you can just use 4 oz of gin and 1 oz of elderflower syrup
I love a good sour and more than that, this recipe has my absolute favourite flavours, elderflower and lavender! Cannot wait to give this a god.
http://www.myroastedgarlic.com
We are loving sours now too! Hope you love this one as much as we do. Thanks for stopping by 🙂