It finally feels like summer! I am so excited to get some Vitamin D and fully commit to sundress season. Now, what will be the drink of summer? I’d like to make a case for this Steep On It cocktail that combines chilled chamomile lavender tea with Georgian Bay Whisky, honey lavender syrup, and lemon, topped off with a splash of soda water.
This post is sponsored by Georgian Bay Spirit Co.
This cocktail kicks off my new Fresh From the Garden series that I’ll be featuring on the blog and serving up on my Virtual Happy Hour series on Instagram Stories – tune into my Story tonight at 5 pm ET to watch me make this beauty. I’ve created an exciting array of cocktails that celebrate nature’s bounty with unexpected applications for vegetables, herbs, and flowers and compiled them into a free eBook which you can access through my online store. It’s free but you are welcome to add a tip at checkout, should you be so inclined!
This Steep On It cocktail is the ultimate solution to hot summer days spent lounging on the patio, balcony, dock, grassy knoll, roof of your car – use what you have. It’s an accessible entry point for anyone who approaches whisky-based cocktails with a certain degree of trepidation.
Georgian Bay Whisky is the newest craft spirit from Ontario distiller Georgian Bay Spirit Co. The company that brought us award-winning vodka and gin, along with our favourite ready-to-drink cocktails in a can, has now entered the world of small batch, barrel-aged whisky.
The spirit pours chestnut brown with inviting aromas and flavours of caramel, new barrel char, and rye spice. It’s medium-bodied with a long-lasting finish. In this Steep On It cocktail, Georgian Bay Whisky lends structure to this easy-drinking sipper and balances the floral lavender and chamomile notes.
I wanted to use this exciting new entrant to the whisky market in a long cocktail because I feel that’s better suited to the season. When it’s 30 degrees outside and I’m sweating from places I didn’t know I had, I’m looking for a thirst quencher, not a stiff and stirred cocktail.
Chamomile and whisky are a flavour pairing made in heaven – try infusing your whisky with chamomile tea (trust me, it works). Lavender is abundant in Ontario – there are a number of lavender farms in the province if you’re looking to take a day-trip for some serious Instagram worthy backdrops. Aside from its beauty, using it in cooking and cocktailing enhances the richness of fruit and compliments spicy dishes.
Be sure to seek out culinary lavender for this application – dried lavender flower buds. All lavender types are edible but some varieties have a pungent or resinous flavour – which is why it’s best to source that which is specifically intended for culinary uses.
I hope you’ll look for a bottle of Georgian Bay Whisky at your local LCBO and join me tonight on my Instagram story to make this tasty little cocktail together!
Steep On It | Chamomile Whisky Cocktail
This refreshing cocktail pairs Georgian Bay Whisky with chilled chamomile lavender tea, honey lavender syrup, lemon, and tops it off with soda water for the perfect summertime thirst-quencher.
- 2 oz Georgian Bay Whisky
- 2 oz chilled chamomile with lavender tea
- ½ oz lavender honey syrup recipe in appendix
- ¼ oz lemon juice
- soda water
- Garnish: lemon twist
- Garnish: fresh/dried lavender sprigs
- 1 cup honey
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp dried culinary lavender
-
Add all ingredients, except soda water, to a cocktail shaker and shake over ice until well-chilled.
-
Strain into an ice-filled highball glass. Top with soda water.
-
Garnish with fresh/dried lavender sprigs & lemon twist. Serve with a straw.
-
Combine honey, water, and dried lavender in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let sit at room temperature 1 hour.
-
Strain off lavender and store syrup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three weeks.
