Cocktail: The Contender

We served up a killer signature cocktail at our wedding back in ’08- wow it’s going to be 5 years  this year. We had our mixologist (aka the caterer’s bartender) create a lavender & lemon twist martini. We named it “The Contender” after our favorite scene from On the Waterfront. Watch the scene here– acting at its finest before Brando got bored with it. My bridesmaids all carried lavender in their bouquets and I used lavender, rosemary, some wild herbs and citrus (for my home state of Florida) throughout the ceremony and reception.

Our Contender was a big hit and I recently saw a similar cocktail recipe on A Beautiful Mess via Rue here. This recipe is almost identical to ours minus the limoncello- we just used the shaved lemon zest and a twist to infuse the lemon flavor. The zesty sugar rim really makes the drink and the lavender simple syrup recipe is the same. It was a beautiful light lavender color and a perfect summertime cocktail.

A Beautiful Mess’ similar Lavender & Lemon Martini:

Lavender and Lemon Drop Martini via A Beautiful Mess, makes 2. 

4 oz. vodka*
2 oz. limoncello
2 oz. lavender simple syrup (recipe below)
1 oz. fresh lemon juice

To make a citrus sugar rim mash together 1/4 cup sugar and the zest from one lemon. Dip your martini glass on to a shallow plate filled with water and then into the citrus sugar. Shake off any excess sugar. In a martini shaker filled with ice add the ingredients. Shake well and stain into two prepared glasses. Garnish with a lemon slice.

To make your own lavender simple syrup combine 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar in a small pot. Stir to dissolve the sugar and bring the water to a simmer. Stir in 1/2 tablespoon dried lavender buds or fresh lavender. Allow that to steep and reduce for 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and strain out the lavender. If you want your simple syrup to be more purple in color add a little food dye.

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