Limoncello – Memphis Flyer

It feels like summer has hit a little earlier — and a lot harder — this year. I’m trying to up my water intake and cut down on my wine drinking, because it seems like both whites and reds can be dehydrating. The human race might be able to survive on water alone, but not this Memphian — and that’s why I’m drinking lemonade.

Acid, it seems, can be a thirst quencher. One of the first signs of dehydration is a dry mouth — and the tartness of lemon sparks immediate salivation. Lemonade is also packed with Vitamin C and antioxidants, which makes it a better choice for a summer mixer than, say, a can of cola.

I occasionally make lemonade from scratch — but until recently, I was most likely to pick up a bottle of Simply Lemonade at the grocery store. Yes, it’s chock full of sugar, but with just four ingredients, and cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, I could do worse. Then I discovered a game-changer via the website TheKitchn — a “juicing hack” that utilizes a stand mixer to yield the most juice from fresh lemons. You simply quarter your lemons and then pulverize them at low-speed using the paddle attachment. Strain the juice into a measuring cup, and you’re ready to go.

Use eight to 10 lemons to yield one cup of lemon juice, then whisk in up to one cup of sugar until dissolved. (I like my lemonade tart, so I generally use 2/3 cup sugar). Add six cups of water, and chill.

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And now it’s time for the cocktails:

I’m a sucker for the Limoncello cocktail recipe I found on the Simply brand’s homepage. Mix one cup of lemonade, ¾ cup club soda, ½ cup Limoncello liqueur, and a shot of vodka. Muddle some mint in a glass, add ice, and pour over the cocktail ingredients.

I realize that I slightly disparaged white wine above, but paired with lemonade in a sangria, I can tolerate it on these 95 degree days. Pre-make this cocktail by the pitcher, and pair it with dinner on the grill. Start with a base of lemonade in a large pitcher, then add a bottle of Chardonnay, two-thirds cup of light rum, fresh berries, a sliced orange, and a sliced Granny Smith apple. Refrigerate the concoction for as long as you can stand it — I recommend an hour, minimum — and serve.

A gin shandy is simple to make — and it reminds me of a family vacation to London when I was a teenager. I discovered pre-canned shandy in vending machines around town and pretended I was getting a buzz while making the tourist rounds of Big Ben and Buckingham Palace. This shandy is better than canned and almost as simple as popping a tab. Just mix one cup of lemonade with three-fourths cup gin and a 12-ounce bottle of ginger beer. If you want something even simpler, skip the ginger beer and just enjoy a lemonade with gin. Or try vodka, served in a tall Collins glass over ice.

Another fun twist on an old favorite is a lemonade margarita. This one is best served on the rocks. Salt your rims per usual, then, in a cocktail shaker, combine 2 one-quarter cups lemonade with three-quarters cup tequila. Garnish your glasses with lemon rounds. Enjoy!

Or, step it up a notch with the Kentucky Lemonade Cocktail. Rim highball glasses with coarse sugar instead of salt. Muddle mint leaves in a shaker, then add lemonade and bourbon (I’ll let you decide how much). Shake and strain. Pour, leaving enough room to top off each glass with ginger ale and a lemon slice garnish.

I’ve found my new favorite recipe online. Called Cajun Lemonade, a riff on the illustrious Pimm’s Cup cocktail, it was concocted by Duffan McDonnell, a twice-nominated Mixologist of the Year at New Orleans’ Tales of the Cocktail and author of the cocktail history Drinking the Devil’s Acre. Combine two ounces of lemonade with one-and-a-half ounces of white rum or vodka, one ounce of Pimm’s No. 1, and two dashes of hot sauce (the recipe calls for Tabasco, but I substituted my favorite, Louisiana Hot Sauce). Shake with ice, then strain into an ice-filled Collins glass. Top with a splash of 7Up and garnish with a lemon wheel. Spicy, tangy, savory, and herbaceous, this drink refreshes like no other.

One of the best gifts I’ve received in recent years was a bottle of homemade limoncello, decanted into a swing-top glass bottle and tagged with a sweet note from the givers, good friends who live in the Vollentine-Evergreen neighborhood. They’d visited southern Italy the previous summer and wanted to share the lemony liqueur with friends at home. It was a thoughtful, elegant present that I sipped on for months.

With a little more than three weeks to go before Christmas and the first day of Hanukkah, you still have time to make your own liquor infusions as gifts this holiday season. Whatever you choose to make, be sure to taste as you go. Steeping some infusions too long can cause them to become bitter. Strain your infusions well, and watch for cloudiness in the final product. When in doubt, toss it out!

If you’d like to create your own limoncello, there are hundreds of recipes available. A few call for longer steeping periods — a recipe on Epicurious.com calls for 80 days in a cool, dark place — but others recommend just a few hours or days in the freezer. All you do is steep lemon zest in simple syrup, then add vodka and water. No special equipment is required other than a vegetable peeler. Whichever recipe you follow, be sure to use 100-proof vodka, which will keep your limoncello a liquid instead of freezing solid.

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To make an even simpler vodka infusion, add several fresh rosemary sprigs (make sure it hasn’t been sprayed with pesticides) to a few cups of inexpensive Smirnoff. The blend needs to steep for a week, but as a contributor to the blog Potluck at Oh My Veggies points out, the green rosemary sprigs floating in clear vodka look beautiful — and quite appropriate for the holidays — on day one. There’s nothing wrong with assembling it and giving it immediately, with a note for your friends to put it in the pantry for a week before opening. At the end of the week, they should remove the rosemary and store the vodka as they would any other liquor.

Or concoct a homemade riff on Amaretto, an almond-y liqueur that originated in Saronno, on the northern end of Italy. Amaretto is a perfect gift for coffee and dessert lovers, and it’s easy to create a version of it using sugar, vodka, and almond and vanilla extract.

If vodka’s not your thing, you can also infuse tequila for as little as a few days or as long as a week. Jalapeños, fruits, and herbs up the flavor ante. Make sure that you start with 100-proof alcohol, as it will be diluted in the infusion process.

In less than a week, you can bottle your own gingerbread liqueur. The website Boozedandinfused.com, a blog created by two left-coast friends, offers a recipe that calls for cinnamon, cloves, fresh ginger, and molasses, which is steeped with a blend of white rum, vodka, and brandy. Cook, then rest for 48 hours, strain, and let it rest for four more days so the molasses flavor fully incorporates into the liquor. If that sounds too sweet, try the pear and cranberry liqueur, which uses spices and fresh and dried fruit to infuse a brandy/vodka blend for approximately three weeks. Also on the site: A recipe for Apple Pie Bourbon (alas, it requires a full month of steeping) and one for Irish Cream, which is ready immediately and must be consumed within two weeks.

For any of these recipes, or the myriad others available in cookbooks and online, you’ll want to find the right bottle to go with your infusion. Visit a beer and wine supply store, or see what’s available at your local restaurant supply store. Check out the craft store aisles, or go online to order bottles. If you’re in a pinch, Mason jars can make wonderful containers for infused liqueurs. Whatever you buy, run your bottles through the dishwasher and dry thoroughly before using. Use the computer or hand-write labels or tags, and include an appropriate cocktail recipe on a card along with the gift.