This recipe comes from Karen Cuda, our guest bartender for the “Taco Night” category of this blog. Karen lives in Denver, Colorado (where I was born and raised), and she bartends at several places there. She was kind enough to brush off her recipe book during quarantine and give me permission to share her concoctions with my readers. Thank you Karen!

Ingredients

• 2 oz. 100% agave tequila (silver, reposado, or Anejo will work – the longer it’s aged the ‘richer’ it will taste)
• 2 oz. fresh lemon juice
• 1-1.5 oz. lavender simple syrup
• *.5 oz St Germain Elderflower liqueur (optional – if added add .5 oz. more lemon juice as well to offset additional sweetness)

Instructions

Put ingredients in a shaker over ice, shake vigorously, strain, garnish with lavender sprig and lemon twist. can be served up or on the rocks.

Note: This recipe will also work well with vodka or gin.  If gin is used I highly recommend using St Germain as well, they complement each other nicely. 

Bartender’s Pro-Tip

The recipes should start as a balanced cocktail that you can tweak to your sweetness liking. So again – to adjust sweetness to taste – add more simple syrup (or St Germain if you want it boozier) if it’s too tart, or add more lemon juice if it’s too sweet.