Lavender Kir Royale is a spin on a classic French aperitif cocktail made with champagne and lavender syrup in place of Crème de cassis. If you enjoy cocktails with a subtle botanical aroma, this recipe will be for you then.
Hello folks! How are you doing? I hope not surviving another heat wave (as we are!) But well, it’s nearly mid of July, so I guess I should not complain about hot weather too much – and instead should share with you another refreshing cocktail!
Kir v. Kir Royale
What is the difference between these two drinks? Kir is a classic French cocktail made with Crème de cassis (blackcurrant liquor) and white wine. The Kir Royal includes the same blackcurrant liqueur and champagne instead of white wine.
Typically these cocktails are served as an apéritif. But they would be great as a dessert drink thanks to their sweetness, in my opinion.
Lavender Kir Royale
As you can guess from the name, this variation also includes lavender. I found this recipe in one of my favourite cookbooks “The Art of Cooking with Lavender” by Nancy Bagget (totally recommend it – it is not my first recipe from the book on the blog…and this should tell you a lot!) Anyway, technically some may not consider this to be a classic variation, as Crème de cassis gets replaced by the lavender syrup.
And that makes sense. I did not have any blackcurrant liquor, so out of curiosity I tried one serving with raspberry liqueur (I know, that’s not a substitution, but whatever). And as I had expected, the cocktail was overly sweet; that kind of sweet that is almost impossible to manage. So no addition of liqueur is necessary for this one.
However, I tweaked the original recipe as the suggested amount of lavender syrup (1/2 to 2/3 cup for one 750-ml. bottle of wine) sounded way too much – that’s more than 20 ml. of the syrup per serving. I think around a tablespoon (15 ml.) that I used was a perfect amount for our liking. Still, you can even try with less of it – especially if your wine is already quite sweet.
For the champagne or sparkling wine choice, I would recommend picking the one with is drier, to balance out the sweetness of lavender syrup. Prosecco would be one of the great options!
More Lavender Cocktails to Try
And if you like more lavender cocktails, please be sure check these ideas:
Lavender Peach Raspberry Sangria
I hope you like this Kir Royale, and you will give it a try soon. If you try it, let me know in this post or send me an Instagram message or share you photos adding the hashtag #havocinthekitchen.
Cheers!
We had Violet Kirs in Tours (Loire Valley) and loved them – so lavender is a definite for us, too. Thanks, Ben.
Thank you David!
I even like to add lavender syrup to dry apple cider :)
This is perfect for these hot summer days when something refreshing and slightly sweet hits the spot. Nice one
Thank you Raymund!
The Kir Royal was one of the first ‘fancy’ cocktails that I learned how to make when I was single. I always kept the stuff around to make it! You know I’m not a huge lavender fan, but I can absolutely see how lavender flavors would work in this drink. Well done, sir! Cheers!
Thank you David!
What a beautiful combination! Looks great. I love its photos. Thanks for the ingredients. Greetings.
Thank you!
What a lovely combination of flavours that sound so refreshing for the heat wave we are having. Of course, JT and I picked these hottest days to work on an outdoor project in the sun. We manage until 13:00 as the heat/sun really gets to us. This cocktail would be the perfect treat after one of those days (after drinking a lot of water, of course).
Thank you Eva!
this sounds lovely and i do like a floral aroma in drinks and food.
cheers
sherry
Thank you Sherry!
Sounds like the perfect drink for me. I haven’t had a kir royale in decades. It reminds me of dinner parties with my grandfather in the eighties.
Thank you Tandy!
So elegant and beautiful! Bet it tastes great too, Ben.
Thanks Angie!