$450 Fresh Lemonade plus Lemonade Cocktail Coolers

A few weeks ago, an enterprising young lady, who was out of school for the summer, stood in front of her home down the street shouting to anyone who would listen, “Lemonade for Sale.” She was selling freshly squeezed lemonade for $1.00 a cup. I purchased two cups and discovered that my husband also purchased two cups. I love lemonade and drank all four cups. (When we went back for more, she had closed her shop!) That inspired me to make my own lemonade. Now, squeezing a dozen or so lemons by hand requires alot of elbow grease. That is, unless you have a commercial bar citrus juicer. I was in business as a friend had gifted me her citrus juicer appliance rather than giving it to Goodwill. I set up shop with my own backyard lemonade stand, just for me. And, I have the perfect lemonade recipe. Not too sweet, just a bit of tart. Plus, I got creative and made a couple of “Lemonade Cocktail Coolers,” too.

Commercial Bar Citrus Juicer

I can’t say “no.” A friend asked if I would like her commerical bar citrus juicer as she was tired of it, I said, “sure.” When it arrived, I was surprised at how large the appliance actually was. It didn’t fit into any of my cupboards or on my kitchen counter. Where to put it? Now, it sits peacefully on my fireplace hearth. I was almost ready to send it to Goodwill, too, when I decided to research operating instructions and make just one batch of lemonade before saying “goodbye.” Oh my, the appliance retails for $450! And so, I’m making a delicious, refreshing batch of $450 lemonade. (Perhaps, I’ll keep the citrus juicer after all.)

We rarely make a fire in our fireplace, so this appears to be the perfect place to store the commerial bar juicer. So far, no one has questioned why I have a bar appliance on my hearth. I guess that if someone asks, then I’ll have to come up with a citrus juice cocktail for them.

Fresh Lemonade Recipe

Homemade “real” fresh lemonade is another one of those beverages which is much better than purchased lemonade or any lemonade mix. “Real” lemonade is tart, but not bitter and gently sweet. And it is incredibly simple to make.

To serve fresh lemonade, it should be icy and cold.

Homemade Lemonade Cocktails

And my homemade lemonade makes the best summer cocktails. This cocktail is so smooth and refreshing that it may be the only summer mixed drink you ever need. I sure won’t be selling these at a lemonade stand. We will drink them all ourselves. Add some St-Germain liqueur and a few other ingredients and we’re all set. The suggestion for this cocktail comes from fellow North Carolina blogger, Terrie.

Ingredients

My lemonade recipe has just two ingredients — fresh lemons and sugar. Plus, water if you count that as an ingredient.

For my recipe, I used six lemons — which yielded 1-1/3 cup lemon juice. To the juice, I added 2/3 cups sugar and 4 cups water.

Squeezing the Lemons

Squeezing the lemons is the hardest part of this recipe. You can squeeze them using a hand juicer or use some sort of electric appliance. For large batches of lemons, I have a juicer attachment which fits on the front of my electric mixer.

A little hand-held juice works but it does require alot of “elbow grease” and pressure to squeeze the lemons. Plus, it is a slow process. The advantage is that the juicer is small and inexpensive.

My bar citrus juicer worked like a charm. It was easy to use and extracted as much juice as the small hand-held juicer. To use the bar citrus juicer, half the lemons crosswise. Place the lemons with the cut side facing down on the cone-shaped piece with holes. Pull the appliance handle down. The juice — no seeds — extrudes into a bowl set below the appliance. My six lemons yielded 1-1/3 cup of lemon juice. This quantity will vary depending upon the type of lemons which you use.

Simple Syrup — Easy Method

The next step is to make a “simple syrup.” This is basically sugar which is dissolved and concentrated in water. For the lemonade, I take a short cut. My method is to heat one cup of water in a large microwavable measuring cup. Then I stir 2/3 cup sugar into the hot water. With a little stirring, it dissolves and the water becomes clear.

Finishing the Lemonade

To finish the lemonade, combine the sugar water, freshly squeezed lemon juice and 3 cups of additional water in a large non-metallic jug. Stir to combine. Taste. If too tart, add an additional cup of water. Chill for several hours.

This is the only glass jug which I could find in my house today. It is one gallon. For this recipe, you need a 1/2 gallon container. But this container has a tropical theme and a pouring spout — quite handy.

I am a strong believer that lemonade should be served cold. Even if serving the lemonade over ice, chill in refrigerator for several hours prior to serving.

Then, serve the lemonade with more ice cubes.

Here’s my backyard lemonade stand. I added ice cubes to tall glasses, poured in the lemonade and garnished with fresh mint.

My lemonade is so good, that I could probably set my bar station up in my front yard and give the young lady down the street some competition. However, I’d have to charge more than $1.00 per glass, especially if trying to recoup my (hypothetical) investment of the $450 bar citrus juicer.

After drinking one glass of lemonade, I decided to get a little creative and make a “Lemon & Cherry Cooler” using some of the cherry syrup and tonic from my June blog post about “George Washington & His Cherries” adventure. I infused cherry syrup into the lemonade which settled into a separate layer at the bottom of the glass. This cooler was delicious. Then I made another drink, topping the beverage off with tonic to give “fizz.” And, did I mention brandy?

Wow, I’m really rockin’ now. I make one last cocktail. This is the best. I’m calling it the “Blitz” after my son-in-law’s very curious puppy who came to visit us over the 4th of July holiday.

The Blitz Cocktail

Collaboration over the internet is one of the extra benefits of these WordPress blogs. Fellow blogger, Terrie, has a food blog called Comfort du Jour with lots of great recipes and stories. With her bartending experience, she was the perfect person to ask for suggestions on a summer lemonade cocktail.

Terrie suggested a cocktail which combines lemonade with (St-Germain) elderflower liqueur and rum. I added tonic water. To make the cocktail, shake the first three ingredients — lemonade, elderflower liqueur, and rum in a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice until really cold. Then strain into cocktail glasses filled with more ice. Stir in just a bit of tonic water, ginger ale or seltzer. Garnish with a marichino cherry and mint.

Did I mention how great and refreshing these two cocktails are — “Lemonade & Cherry Cooler” and the “Blitz”? Yes, I think I did. Try them yourselves.

I can easily see why bars and commercial establishments have bar citrus juicer appliances. It makes juicing citrus fruit such as lemons, limes and oranges a “snap.” I’ll keep this appliance treasure a little longer and use it to make lots of lemonade this summer. Enjoy!

Here’s the recipe for cherry syrup. It uses 2 lb of tart cherries and yields 3 cups of cherry syrup. It would be simple to cut all the ingredients in half to make a smaller batch, if desired.