Yes! You can try that sometime.Oh interesting ... i never use other liquids before
I can replace the same amount of water with another liquid no problem?
If what you are going to is has sugar or carbohydrates in it, it can heat up a lot and scorch the solution creating fumes and burning the mix.
So a lot of them are frozen or semi frozen before using it to mix with the lye.
I started with making a tea with the distilled water then using that as water replacement without too much trouble. Add the lye a bit more slowly to be on the cautious side.
Calendula petals in the lye water makes a beautiful yellow soap
Like this: