Rhuby-Lavender Lemonade

This weekend, we had two beautiful spring days: a little bit of chill in the air but sunshine and clear skies. To celebrate the return of outdoor weather, I wanted to make a lemonade. I found this Martha Stewart recipe for Lavender Lemonade and kicked it up a notch by adding in some Rhubarb Tea, a spirit made here in Philadelphia by the people at Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction (the same makers of Sage, Root, and Snap).

Rhubarb Tea, or Rhuby, is made from rhubarb, beets, carrots, lemon, petitgrain (an essential oil extracted from the green twigs of a bitter orange plant), cardamom, pink peppercorns, coriander, vanilla, and pure cane sugar and delivers a tangy yet sweet flavor, perfect for this drink! Even better, the ingredients are all certified organic.

Ingredients (this recipe makes 4 drinks):

• 4 lemons
• 1/2 cup dried lavender
• 1/2 cup raw honey
• 6 oz Rhubarb tea

Use  a vegetable peeler to remove the zest from two lemons. (Using a serrated peeler makes this much easier)

Squeeze the juice from the 4 lemons (about 2/3 cup juice) and set aside; be sure to strain in case any seeds got in. (I used a lime squeezer from IMUSA to squeeze the lemons. It makes it considerably easier to juice the lemons and get out every last drop.)

Add 5 1/2 cups of water and the lemon zest to a large pot and bring to a boil.

Stir in the lavender.

Partially cover the pot and lower the heat. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Place a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl. Strain the liquid over the sieve, pressing on the herbs to extract all the liquid.

Stir in the lemon juice and the honey until it dissolves. Allow to cool completely. Fill 4 glasses with ice. Add 1 1/2 ounces Rhubarb Tea to each glass. Fill with the Lavender Lemonade and serve.This is the perfect spring cocktail! I loved sitting on my back deck sipping on this delicious lemonade. The Rhubarb Tea is a wonderful complement to the sweet, tangy, floral lemonade.