Lavender, kumquats, honey, and apple cider vinegar blend seamlessly into a refreshing and nourishing drink for spring. Just add ice and sparkling water!
Place the kumquats, honey, and lavender in a glass bowl or large jar and muddle to draw out the juices and oils from the citrus. Stir in the lemon juice and vinegar. Cover the shrub and let it sit at room temperature for 2 full days. After two days, strain the shrub, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. (The kumquats can be saved – see headnote for suggestions.)
Store the shrub in the refrigerator for up to a month. To serve, pour a few tablespoons into a glass. Add ice and fizzy water until you like the way it tastes; 1 part shrub to 3 or 4 parts fizzy water is usually about right. Enjoy.
Notes
This shrub is a well-balanced dance of sweet, citrusy, and floral. Shrubs are often used as mixers, but we like this one best on its own with ice and fizzy water. If you must mix, tequila was our preferred spirit over gin, rye, vodka and white rum. Different apple cider vinegars can vary in flavor, so feel free to tweak the finished shrub to your taste; the raw kind is full of beneficial bacteria, though either raw or pasteurized cider vinegar will work fine. Be sure to use organic lavender buds that are intended for culinary purposes. With 3 tablespoons, the flavor was strong after the first day of steeping, but it mellowed to be very mild after the full 2 days. Save the kumquat segments to eat on toast with creamy cheese and honey.Nutritional values are based on one of twenty drinks.