“Dewy, scented, pretty violets, you are standing, shy, half hidden, among the leaves,” declares a hopeful lover who retreats to the garden in “Le Violette,” an aria from Italian Baroque composer Alessandro Scarlatti’s opera Pirro e Demetrio. As fresh and playful as the charming melody, our Violet Champagne Cocktail highlights the delicate flowers described in the lyrics.
Violet Champagne Cocktail
Makes 1 serving
Ingredients
- 1 cup coarse sugar
- 1 ounce gin
- ½ ounce Violet Syrup (recipe follows)
- ½ ounce fresh lemon juice
- Chilled Champagne
- Garnish: edible violets
Instructions
- Fill a small shallow dish with about â…›-inch water. In a separate shallow dish, place sugar. Dip the rim of a coupe glass in water, and then dip in sugar to coat the rim. Set aside to let dry.
- In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine gin, Violet Syrup, and lemon juice. Shake mixture, and pour into prepared glass. Fill glass with desired amount of Champagne. Garnish with edible violets, if desired. Serve immediately.
Violet Syrup
Makes approximately 1 cup
Ingredients
- 3 cups loosely packed violets, green stems removed
- 1½ cups boiling water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine violets and 1½ cups boiling water. Cover and let stand overnight.
- Transfer mixture to a small saucepan; stir in sugar. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until sugar is dissolved*. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding solids. Stir lemon juice into violet syrup. Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 month.
Notes
*Do not boil the sugar mixture, or the simple syrup will lose its bright blue color. Adding lemon juice to the blue syrup turns it a vibrant purple.
To find more botanical and musically inspired recipes, see “A Note of Floral Beauty” in the March/April 2019 issue, available at Victoriamag.com.
