It has been a long time since I’ve shared a Saturday Spirits post. But, this past hot weather and a challenge from Oregon Berries to create a recipe featuring blackberries and edible flowers got me thinking about a deliciously sweet, cold blackberry lemonade that would be fun to sip on a long afternoon playing outdoors.

Oregon blackberries are perfectly in season at this time of year, but thankfully, you can capture the fresh berry flavor all year long with the use of frozen Oregon blackberries. This recipe makes a tasty non-alcoholic lavender blackberry lemonade and tips for an easy cocktail created with this base recipe.

This post is in partnership with Oregon Berries. All opinions are my own. About Oregon Berries: The Oregon Raspberry & Blackberry Commission focuses on promoting caneberries to multiple audiences, and supports Oregon berry farmers by fostering plant research and farming education initiatives. Find Oregon Berry brands on the Oregon Berries website!

In the past, I was not much of a fan of lavender in my foods or beverages. However, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to appreciate the subtle floral note as an addition to different drinks, meals, and desserts. The combination of tart lemons, sweet blackberries, and lavender is an especially good use of this edible flower.

Blackberry Lavender Lemonade

I started this recipe by making two different simple syrups. I made a lavender simple syrup and a blackberry simple syrup. Then combined the syrups with freshly squeezed lemon juice and water.

The simple syrups help sweeten the lemonade, but I do suggest sweetening to taste a bit as I tend to like things a bit more tart.

Lavender simple syrup:

I was able to find a beautiful lavender plant at our local farmer’s market. I’ll be planting it in my yard so that I can continue to make this simple syrup year after year.

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
3 heads of fresh lavender

Directions:

In a small heavy bottom saucepan place all ingredients. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.

Cook for about 5 minutes and take off the heat. I let mine sit for 10 minutes to cool a bit and allow the flavor to meld a bit more.

Strain, reserving the liquid.

Blackberry Simple Syrup

If you’ve never had an Oregon blackberry then you may think of blackberries a bit differently than I do. I always associated blackberries with lots of seeds and a berry flavor, but just not worth the effort to cook with/eat due to the seeds. However, after eating Oregon blackberries it has become my favorite berry by far! Juicy, bold flavor and not the same seedy feeling that I’ve had experienced in the past. I’ve learned that Oregon is an ideal growing environment for berries due to the great combination of how the Oregon soil, air, and water work together. The berries that are chosen for Oregon Berries products are picked at the peak of ripeness and are frozen within 24 hours of being picked to maximize taste, juiciness, and nutrition.

Ingredients:

16 oz frozen blackberries
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

Directions:

Put all ingredients in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan and cook over medium heat. Stir frequently so that sugar doesn’t burn.

Cook until the blackberries are cooked down and the sugar is dissolved. About 5-10 minutes.

Strain mixture, smashing all the blackberries and reserving the liquid.