Blueberry Lavender Fizz
Juicy muddled blueberries, a floral lavender-maple syrup and fresh lemon topped with sparkling soda water make a vibrant, alcohol-free and vegan French-style spritz that is sweet, tart and softly perfumed.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 3 min
- Wait
- 25 min
- Total
- 38 min
- Makes
- 2 drinks (about 10 fl oz / 300 ml each), plus about 3 tbsp leftover syrup
Steps
Before you start
- Use culinary-grade dried lavender (sold for cooking or tea). Craft-store or potpourri lavender may be treated and is not food safe.
- Make the lavender syrup first. It needs about 25 minutes to steep and chill, so the rest of the drink comes together quickly afterwards.
- Chill the soda water and the glasses if you can, so the fizz lasts longer.
- Measure the lavender exactly. Even a little extra turns the syrup soapy.
Heat the syrup
- In a small saucepan, combine the maple syrup (¼ cup / 80 g) and water (¼ cup / 60 ml).
- Set over medium heat and stir until the maple syrup dissolves and small bubbles appear around the edge, about 2 minutes.
- Do not let it boil hard.
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Ready when: The liquid is uniform in color with tiny bubbles at the edge and no streaks of syrup.
Tip: Boiling hard reduces the water and makes the syrup too thick and sweet.
Steep the lavender
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the dried lavender (1 tsp).
- Cover and let steep for 15 minutes so the flowers perfume the syrup without turning bitter.
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Ready when: The syrup smells clearly floral and has turned a faint amber with tiny purple flecks.
Tip: Steeping longer than 20 minutes can make the syrup taste soapy.
Strain and chill
- Pour the syrup through a fine-mesh strainer into a small bowl or jar, pressing lightly on the buds, then discard them.
- Chill in the refrigerator or freezer for 10 minutes until cool to the touch, so it does not melt the ice.
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Ready when: The syrup feels cool, not warm, when you dip a clean finger in.
Prepare the garnish
- Cut 2 thin lemon wheels (⅛ inch / 3 mm thick) from the lemon.
- Squeeze the lemon juice (4 tbsp / 60 ml) from the remaining lemon and a half, and strain out the seeds.
- Set aside 8 blueberries for garnish.
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Ready when: You have 4 tbsp (60 ml) juice, 2 lemon wheels and 8 reserved berries.
Tip: Roll the lemons firmly on the counter before cutting to get more juice.
Muddle the berries
- Put the remaining blueberries (about 1 cup minus the 8 reserved, roughly 90 g) into a cocktail shaker or jar.
- Press and twist with a muddler 8 to 10 times until most berries have burst and the mixture looks like a chunky purple juice.
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Ready when: Nearly every berry is burst and the bottom of the shaker is deep purple and juicy.
Tip: Press gently rather than pounding so the skins release juice without splashing.
Shake the base
- Add the cooled lavender syrup (3 tbsp / 45 ml; save any extra) and the lemon juice to the muddled berries.
- Add 1 cup (140 g) of ice, seal tightly and shake hard for 15 seconds until the outside of the shaker is very cold.
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Ready when: The shaker feels frosty and the mixture is a bright, cold purple.
Tip: Taste a drop. If too tart add 1 tsp more syrup, if too sweet add 1 tsp lemon juice.
Strain into glasses
- Fill two 12-oz (350 ml) glasses with the remaining ice (about 1 cup / 140 g).
- Double strain the shaken mixture through the fine-mesh strainer, dividing evenly, about ⅓ cup (80 ml) in each glass.
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Ready when: Each glass has an even, deep purple layer about one-third full with no skins or seeds.
Tip: Press the solids lightly in the strainer to extract the last of the juice.
Top and garnish
- Slowly pour ½ cup (120 ml) cold soda water into each glass, tilting the glass a little to keep the bubbles.
- Give one gentle stir with a long spoon.
- Garnish each with a lemon wheel and 4 whole blueberries, and serve right away.
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Ready when: The drink is lightly foamy on top and fizzing, with a color that fades from violet to pale lilac.
Tip: Stir only once, since extra stirring flattens the soda water.
Good to know
Tips
- Double strain to keep skins and seeds out for a smooth, silky drink.
- To make a pitcher for 6, triple everything and top each glass with soda water individually rather than adding it to the pitcher.
- For a deeper color and flavor, let the muddled berries sit with the syrup and lemon for 5 minutes before shaking.
- Taste the syrup before measuring: it should smell floral but not perfumey. If it is strong, use 2 tbsp of syrup and add more to taste.
Make ahead
Make the lavender maple syrup up to 2 weeks ahead and keep it refrigerated. You can also muddle, shake and strain the base up to 4 hours ahead, refrigerate it, then pour over ice and top with soda water just before serving.
Storage & reheating
Serve immediately; the fizz is best fresh and will go flat within 15 minutes. Leftover lavender syrup keeps in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or frozen in an ice cube tray for up to 3 months. Unfinished drinks are not recommended for storage, but the unsoda'd base keeps in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours (shake well and top with fresh soda water).
Substitutions
- pure maple syrup → agave syrup. Use the same amount for a milder, more neutral sweetness. Honey is not vegan.
- fresh blueberries → frozen blueberries, thawed. Thaw them fully and include any juice; they muddle even more easily.
- soda water → sparkling mineral water or lemon-lime sparkling water. Choose an unsweetened one so the drink does not become too sweet.
- dried culinary lavender buds → 2 sprigs fresh culinary lavender. Steep the same time. Fresh lavender is a bit milder, so use 2 full sprigs with buds.