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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