The following is an online extra from our May 2022 issue.
Photo by Stephanie Ganz
Bee Gold
By Beth Dixon, Salt & Acid
While some bemoan the perfumy aroma of lavender in culinary applications, bar consultant Beth Dixon of Salt & Acid says it’s an ingredient she adores. “It's relaxing, makes you smell nice, and it tastes wonderful,” she says. For her garden-to-glass cocktail classes at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden this June, Dixon harnesses floral flavors in three different cocktails. For Bee Gold, a drink inspired by New York cocktail bar Milk & Honey’s Gold Rush, she swaps honey for a honey-lavender syrup that is equally welcome in a nonalcoholic concoction.
2 ounces Four Roses bourbon
3/4 ounce honey-lavender syrup (recipe below)
3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
Fresh lavender sprig for garnish
Add all ingredients to a shaker tin, then add ice and shake for around 20 seconds. Strain into an Old Fashioned glass with ice and garnish with a sprig of fresh lavender. Enjoy!
To make the honey-lavender syrup:
1 cup honey
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon dried lavender buds
Add all ingredients to a small saucepan over medium heat and simmer until honey is dissolved in the water. Remove from heat and let the lavender buds steep for 20 minutes before straining. Store in a food-safe jar in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Learn to make this and other botanical cocktails with Beth Dixon at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden on June 16. Register here.