Lemonade Four Ways

What are those things in your walk-in?  Yellow in color and oh, so many of them in a case! They are, of course- lemons. And going forward towards the sticky season when you just cannot get any cooler, yet everything that you do to get cool- well, let’s just say they get hotter!  And the lemons?  Well my friends, they are there to make lemonade. A simple enough concoction of tart, to bitter, to sweet, to sour and back again. 

Behind the stick, there is nothing that beats lemonade for sheer refreshment. Here are four ways to enjoy lemonade as spring shifts into summer:

1. Basic Lemonade – Cocktail Whisperer Style

Ingredients:

• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup raw honey simple syrup
• 3 cups ice cold spring water
• Pinch of Kosher Salt

Preparation:

1. Combine the ingredients into a pitcher and add sprigs of fresh mint just before serving if desired and rounds of freshly sliced lemons

The next example is a tad spicy and caramelized, not only from the roasted lemons, but from the high-quality rum from Foursquare

2. Caramelized Lemonade with Foursquare Rum Swizzle

You know what a swizzle stick is, right? Heading into the Wind!

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. Foursquare Rum
• 5 oz. Roasted Lemonade
• 1 pinch sea salt
• Splash Seltzer
• Angostura Bitters

Preparation:

1. Roast your halved lemons, coated in Demerara Sugar and Angostura Bitters in a 275-degree oven for an hour to yield 1 cup of roasted lemon juice (you’ll need many!)
2. Raw honey simple.  1 cup Raw Honey to 1 cup just under boiling water, mix to combine
3. Use this lemonade in the Swizzle…
4. Foursquare Rum- Seek it out!
5. To a Collins Glass, add ice, then a sprig of mint.  Add the caramelized lemonade
6. Float the Rum on top
7. Splash Seltzer
8. Dot with Angostura
9. Use a funky straw!
10. Add a pinch of sea salt just before serving!

3. AJ’s Sour Lemonade

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. Basic Lemonade
• .25 oz. Fee Brothers Lemon Bitters – sort of smells like fuel?
• 1 oz. Lemon Marmalade
• 3 oz. Vodka
• Ice

Preparation: 

1. Add all the ingredients to a Boston Shaker, filled ¾ with ice
2. Shake darned hard for 30 seconds or so
3. Strain into Coupe glasses and dot with more lemon or even grapefruit bitters if necessary
4. Sometimes you want to twist things up a bit more. Tart Cherry juice is the excuse that you will need in this situation.
5. The Cherry juice adds color and sweetness to a tart glass.  I recommend using the tarter of the two lemonades, that’s the roasted one. Add more sugar if desired.

4. Tart Cherry Lemonade Surprise!

(light drink, with Fino Sherry)

Ingredients:

• 1 oz. Fresh Tart Cherry Juice
• 6 oz. Freshly prepared roasted lemonade
• 2 oz. Fino Sherry
• Ice

Preparation:

1. Add the liquid ingredients to a Boston Shaker filled ¾ with ice
2. Cap and shake darned hard for 30 or so seconds
3. Pour into coupe glasses
4. Serve!