Lemonade upgraded with summer flavors
Lemonade approached a little differently is sure to appeal to plenty of people. • Straight-up fresh lemonade, of course, represents the classically delicious summer refreshment. • So a wonderful basic lemonade is easily made — and an infused lemonade jazzes up the basic variety withcomplementary flavors.
But, first, let’s move way beyond basic — because, as good as straight-up lemonade is, we can’t help thinking that it gets even better when a splash of something adults-only is added.
Now we’re talking fun in the sun.
The important thing to consider when adding alcohol to lemonade is lemon’s high acidity. This means you’ll want to select liquors that play nicely with the acid. They should be either relatively neutral to let the lemon juice shine or complementary. Tequila and mescal, for example, go well with citrus.
Rose and sweet white wines, such as riesling, and hard cider and India pale ale also work well. Whatever is used, plan for 1 to 2 ounces of liquor in a serving of lemonade.
For the infused lemonades below, consider these pairings: for herbal, vodka; for cucumber, gin; for mixed melon, light rum; for mango-chili, tequila; and for mixed berry, vodka.
And, although bottled lemon juice is fine for most cooking, do yourself a flavor favor
and invest the few minutes needed to squeeze lemons for these recipes. Freshly squeezed juice shines and makes a real difference in these drinks.
The classic sweetand-sharp flavor of fresh lemonade is easily complemented by a host of other ingredients.
Pick a flavor combination below; then combine it with the base recipe at the bottom.
Choose the flavor with which you’d like to infuse your lemonade. Combine those ingredients in a blender; then add the base lemonade ingredients: lemon juice, sugar or honey and salt. Blend until very smooth. Transfer to a
gallon pitcher, pouring it through a fine mesh strainer. Add water to raise the volume to the top of the pitcher. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Stir well and serve over ice.