Lavender Lemon Gin Fizz

Since Esmé’s day time caregiver is off for several weeks and there is no one to fill in for her except for a few hours here and there, I am in full-on caregiver, preschool, I’m lucky if I get to shower today (let alone exercise or write) mode until the end of April.

[bangs head against the wall]

Yesterday was particularly weird for a number of reasons…but also it was my daddy’s 70th birthday. So, while I do enjoy a nice hard cider with dinner some nights–that was absolutely not going to cut it for me last night. I wanted to pretend like I was a real grown up person–and celebrate a bit. So, clearly, I needed a gorgeous, precious cocktail that made me feel like I was out at some delightful downtown restaurant, eating unnecessarily complex food at the bar in the perfect black dress…rather than eating on the floor of my living room in glorified pajama bottoms while helping to entertain a frustrated Esmé.

Obviously I needed something with a pretty foam to sit in the prettiest little coupe glasses ever (which were purchased in on of my current favorite antique stores in Hudson, NY).

I had some lavender honey syrup from a Lavender Cup Cocktail I made last week. And I was feeling gin-y (because, yum!). So the only logical conclusion seemed to be a gin fizz of a lavender honey variety, am I right?

I adapted a basic gin fizz recipe calling for:
2oz gin
1oz lemon juice
.75oz simple syrup
.5oz egg white
1oz club soda

The Recipe
Based on what I had on hand I mixed with:
2oz gin (Hendricks)
1oz Meyer lemon juice
.75 lavender honey syrup (I used this recipe)
.5oz egg white (this was less than half of the egg white from one large egg)
1oz seltzer water

A few notes before I continue
Meyer lemon was certainly not ideal for this as it is sweeter and less acidic than regular lemons. I was what I had, so I went for it. But I think that the lower acidity reduced the amount of foam and made it less stiff, sadly. Next time I will also slightly reduce the honey syrup and increase the egg white. Hopefully these changes will lead to a slightly tangier cocktail with a fuller foam.

The trick to making an egg white foam cocktail is to dry shake (i.e. no ice) all the non-bubbly ingredients first. The egg whites react with the sugar in the syrup and the acid in the lemon juice in order to form the foam…science: making lives better one cocktail at a time. The egg white should be room temperature for ideal foamy-ness. I mixed two cocktails, one right after the other, but the egg whites were sitting just that much longer, and I think it helped with a better foam on the second one. 

To mix the cocktail:
Shake the gin (Hendricks), lemon juice, lavender honey syrup, and egg whites for 15 seconds or so. Then pop the shaker open and add three ice cubes and shake again to chill. Pour the ounce of seltzer into the coupe and strain the contents of the shaker into the glass. Be patient, the foam will come out slowly after all the liquid. Garnish with a sprig of lavender…this one is dried from last years garden.