When life gives you lemons, make lemonade (all year round, and serve it to thirsty customers!).
The ability to make a homemade lemonade quickly and deliciously is a desired skill of many a cocktail professional and has even been known to be a trial task at job interviews. Creating a well-balanced, delicious, and fast lemonade is the basics of flavour balancing.
So how do you turn lemons into lemonade successfully all year round? Here are some recipes that turn the humble lemon fizz into an array of eclectic drinking experiences for your guests that will allow you to charge a higher margin on this classic beverage.
The science and history behind a lemonade
This drink has been popular as early as the 13th century. History records show that Egyptians in the era were familiar with a lemon, honey, and dates concoction drink called qatarmizad. Two centuries later, Parisians had street vendors selling Lemonade water.
There is a science behind this high demand for lemonade and it's more than just the refreshing taste sensation. The acidity is the key player here.
Japanese research from the 1960’s identified that acidity stimulates the production of saliva more than any other taste. For us humans, being dehydrated often results in a dry mouth. Acidic drinks, like lemonade, cause your mouth to produce more saliva which tells your body that you are hydrated. This explains why you feel a lasting refreshed effect after drinking lemonade.
The flavour variants may differ but the idea stays the same. Lime-lemon combination is breaking the age barriers and has long been everyone's favourite drink. Several large companies such as Britvic, Fever-Tree, The Coca-Cola Company, and PepsiCo produce millions of bottles every month. However, we have solutions for you to make tasty “home-made” lemonade and achieve better margin than using bottled branded lemonades.
It has no time and space limit
As you know, lemons have a refreshing flavour that is good to have any time, all year round. Many people may associate lemonades with a summer only thirst-quencher, but in fact you can serve lemonade during autumn and winter, too. Don't forget several variants are perfect for a night out, especially those “hard lemonades” with an extra added shot of booze - but we’ll come back to these.
An example of a recipe that works any time is spiced lemonade. The right amount of zing and spices will make this a favourite so your customers won't stop asking for more.
And you don't have to worry about keeping the standard for the recipe. You can use FUNKIN COCKTAILS Spiced Syrup with FUNKIN COCKTAILS Pure Pour Lemon juice and soda water. This recipe is so simple that you can bring homemade taste to your customers in no time.
Why home-made is the best
Some purists may say that classic recipes are the only way to go. But you shouldn't forget that drinks are just like art. It's a matter of personal preference and it is better not to dispute.
Getting the right flavour is not an easy feat. Many things can ruin a drink with a single drop. Of course, there's a matter of personal preferences in the mix. Some customers may enjoy more lemon in their lemonades, while others prefer a sweeter taste.
By creating your own lemonades you have the opportunity to be creative. Why not create a lemonade that nods to your bar location, for example in Cambridge, you could use a Chelsea bun syrup instead of sugar syrup. If you run an Indian restaurant with a cocktail offering, you could use kaffir lime leaves as an aromatic garnish.
Now remember, being akin to a soft drink, only exciting and more flavourful concoctions, will make customers choose this drink over other regular soft drinks on your menu. You also could explore more by adding multiple “hard lemonades” to your offerings.
The trend in lemonade
Drinks also have trends regarding the season and year. Sometimes, it's about what's the most popular fruit at the time and the general mood. Lemonade is not an exception to this trend.
Being a year-round favourite doesn't mean lemonade has no trend to follow. For the past couple of years, the trend has been slowly leaning toward “hard lemonades”. Drinkers come from various backgrounds and preferences. And right now, the market is looking for the right mixture of refreshing and boozy adult drinks. Several companies see the opportunity and seize it by releasing several “hard lemonade” mixes.
Operators can take advantage of this situation. You can expand your menu by introducing numerous “hard lemonade” mixes. You can have a boozy spiced lemonade or serve the classic Tom Collins with some twists.
There are two Tom Collins cocktail variations that you can include in your menu. Throughout the summer, you can serve a classic Tom Collins. Mix FUNKIN COCKTAILS Pure Pour Lemon and FUNKIN COCKTAILS Sugar Cane Syrup with gin and soda water.
As for the winter, introduce the twist to the Tom Collins by switching the Sugar Cane Syrup with FUNKIN COCKTAILS Grenadine Syrup, and gin with sloe. You can use a wide range of syrup and mixers with FUNKIN COCKTAILS to create more lemonade recipes.
We’ve picked our favorite lemonade recipes for you:
Classic home-made lemonade
50 ml FUNKIN COCKTAILS Pure Pour Lemon
25 ml FUNKIN COCKTAILS Sugar Cane Syrup
Soda water or still water if the bubbles are undesirable
How about “hard-lemonade”?
Posh Vodka-Lime-Soda
25 ml FUNKIN COCKTAILS Pure Pour Lime
15 ml FUNKIN COCKTAILS Sugar Cane Syrup
50 ml Grey Goose
Soda water
Aperitivo Limonata
25 ml FUNKIN COCKTAILS Pure Pour Lime
15 ml FUNKIN COCKTAILS Sugar Cane Syrup
25 ml Aperol
Soda water
Tom Collins - aka a classic lemonade spiked with gin
25 ml FUNKIN COCKTAILS Pure Pour Lemon
15 ml FUNKIN COCKTAILS Sugar Cane Syrup
50ml Gin
Soda water
Tom Collins winter edition
25 ml FUNKIN COCKTAILS Pure Pour Lemon
15 ml FUNKIN COCKTAILS Grenadine Syrup
50ml Sloe
Soda water
You can also find more citrussy and zesty cocktail ideas on the Recipes section. Check out this delicious Verdita cocktail we developed to help you keep it sunshine behind your bar all year long.
Lemonade is one drink that many enjoy regularly. You can use lemonade as a chance to introduce a creative quirk to your menu. Use any FUNKIN COCKTAILS mixers, purées and syrups to enhance the flavors while retaining the homemade feelings. Serving a balanced drink with a hint of personal touch will always be a customer’s favorite.
