Elixir Floral Infusions – Lavender
/So another review courtesy of ThirstMonger is in front of your face. Today’s soda needs a little bit of assembly as it’s a mixer of sorts. Elixir Floral Infusions Lavender is what I’ll be mixing with some cool carbonated water today. When you visit their site it seems Elixir is primarily made for mixing with alcoholic beverages. Since I’m not one to imbibe I’ll be using their “soda” recipe and reviewing that. Before I go into creation mode I would like to note that Elixir is all-natural, made with purified water, cane sugar, natural lavender extract, natural food color, organic blueberry extract, citric acid, and cultured sugar. That’s quite the impressive ingredient list in terms of quality. My hopes have risen just a bit. Now to the recipe for soda.
Underneath the picture of a lightly purple drink I’m told that to make soda I need an 8 to 1 ratio of carbonated water and Elixir. Already I’m looking at this picture and thinking that it won’t be strong enough for me to truly enjoy. That soda looks waaay to fancy for my liking, so here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to take the chance and use my own math to make a better Elixir experience for myself… hopefully. My Elixir Lavender will have a 4 to 1 ratio, thus allowing me to truly taste the lavender goodness. Thankfully I have a Sodastream so that I can use my very own water in this experimental version of lavender soda. Here goes something!
What I’ve created looks a lot like grape/purple Kool-Aid. I’m sure it won’t taste of Kool-Aid, but that’s fine as I’m not interested in that particular sugar water at this point in time. I’m interested in this new and “improved” Elixir Lavender. On to the smell test!
Only when I press my nose up to it do I smell, amazingly enough, the sweet aroma of lavender. I figured it would have a rather pungent scent since I’ve doubled the amount recommended. Perhaps even this super charged version will still be weaker than I’d prefer.
Here is the part where I tell you how pleased I am with myself for increasing the flavor. I can really taste the lavender. It’s not some frilly beverage I’d drink at a cocktail party in tiny sips. No, this is LAVENDER SODA and I like it. Did I think I’d like it, no… not at all? That’s because I was thinking it’d be more like my Dry Soda experience which left me feeling empty.
The carbonation I created is tiny yet noticeable. As I previously stated this was made in my Sodastream and I gave it “three buzzes” worth of carbonation which was the recommended level. I will say that Elixir Lavender does taste a bit alcoholic yet there is no alcohol in site. Of course it supposedly pairs well with alcohol, so perhaps this is why the flavor is shadowed. Each time I take a swig out of my glass my nostrils fill with a lavender scent that thankfully does not rival the potpourri you might otherwise find lavender in. While I know it’s impossible, I also get a slight grape flavor with each sip I take. I’m thinking this falsity lies within the fact that I like most people associate purple soda with grape. If I were a betting man I’d bet that this taste I’m transforming into grape is created by the blueberry extract that resides within the bottle. It’s this very blueberry extract that I believe is balancing out the lavender taste so that my brain can both comprehend and enjoy what I’m partaking in.
Now with that said, I’m sure lavender soda isn’t for everyone, heck I feel a bit odd with each sip I take. Thankfully the gardens at Elixir are home to a few other flowers as well. Perhaps they’ll have one you might enjoy. So there you have it. I broke all the rules (1 rule) and made a super Elixir Lavender Soda and I enjoyed it. Give it a shot (HA! Puns!).
~A
Stop and smell the iguanas!
