It’s usually not just one or two lemons life hands you; it might be an entire bushel. Luckily there is much to be made with one of the best citrus varietals in the world – and if you’ve got access to lemons, we’ve got three delicious cocktails to use them in. Our Houston events specialists and professional bartending veterans share their picks for warm weather lemony goodness, below.
Our first favorite? The Lemon Drop.
Classic Lemon Drop
1 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
2 oz Vodka (we love Belvedere)
1 oz 2:1 Simple Syrup*
Sour Patch Wannabe Sugar*
Add all ingredients to a shaker tin with ice. Shake hard to chill and strain into a Sour Patch Sugar rimmed martini glass and garnish with a long lemon twist.
2:1 Simple Syrup
Bring 1 cup water to a low boil, and stir in 2 cups of sugar until all crystals disappear. Bring off of the heat and allow to cool.
Sour Patch Sugar
4 cups sugar
¼ cup citric acid
Mix well to combine, and store in an airtight container.
Limoncello Spritz
1 oz soda water (we prefer to use Topo Chico)
2 oz homemade limoncello*
3 oz Sparkling Wine (we love Poggio Costa Prosecco)
Fill your glass with pebble ice. Pour in soda water, limoncello, and sparkling wine. Garnish with lemon wheels, and big basil sprig.
Limoncello
Zest of 12 lemons
Zest of 1 lime
1 Liter of Everclear
5 cups water
4 cups granulated sugar
Fill a large clean glass container with all of your citrus zest. Pour a liter of Everclear over the peels. Store in a cool corner for a minimum of thirty days. (We recommend sixty days for the absolute best flavor).
Fast forward thirty to sixty days: Bring 5 cups of water to a boil, and stir in 4 cups of sugar. Stir until crystals disappear. Pull off the heat and bring to room temperature. Strain the zests and peel out of your infused alcohol, and move into a clean glass container. Add ¾ of your simple syrup to your infused alcohol and taste. Adjust sweetness to preference. We recommend storing in the freezer indefinitely for best enjoyment.
Lemon Grove Cooler (mocktail)
Sparkling Water
1.5 oz Butterfly Pea Flower Syrup*
1.5 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
Pour butterfly pea syrup and 4 oz sparkling water into your glass and fill with pebble ice. Pour lemon juice over the top, and stir to combine. Garnish with butterfly pea flowers lemon wheel, and fresh mint sprig.
Butterfly Pea Flower Syrup
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
1 cup dry butterfly pea flowers
Bring 1 cup of water to a boil and stir in 2 cups of sugar. Stir until crystals disappear. Add in the dried butterfly pea flowers and allow to steep for 30 minutes. Strain out the flowers, and store in the fridge and use in the next 2 weeks.
And there you have it – three cocktails (including a non-alcoholic recipe) that you can use again and again to utilize a surplus of lemons. Parties on the patio, baby showers and summer cocktail hours are all great occasions to utilize these recipes, but we think you might prefer to let one of our Houston area event planners fine tune the execution for you. What occasions do you have coming up? Let us give you quote for any and all events and social occasions that call for Houston bartending services, whether in your home or at your office to celebrate your next corporate milestone. That way when life hands you lemons, you can then hand them to us – and watch our Texas event experts make magic happen.
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