Spiked Lemonade
By Joe GitterPublished on June 6, 2025
Time
20 minutes, plus 1½ hours cooling and chilling
Yield
Makes 8 cocktails
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Tennessee whiskey is traditional here, but you can substitute bourbon if you prefer. It’s a good idea to have five lemons and five limes on hand for this recipe, but you may not need all of them. Use bar spoon (or other long-handled spoon) to lift concentrate from bottom of glass.
Instructions
- Scrub, rinse, and dry 1 lemon and 1 lime. Using vegetable peeler, remove zest of washed lemon and lime in strips. Toss zest with ½ cup sugar and a pinch of table salt in large bowl. Using potato masher, mash zest and sugar mixture vigorously until mixture is damp, clumpy, and very fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add 6 ounces (¾ cup) hot water and stir until sugar has dissolved, about 1 minute. Set aside until cool, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, juice enough lemons to yield 5 ounces (½ cup plus 2 tablespoons) juice and enough limes to yield 2½ ounces (5 tablespoons) juice.
- Stir lemon and lime juices, 10 ounces (1¼ cups) whiskey, and 8 ounces (1 cup) orange liqueur into zest mixture until combined. Strain through fine-mesh strainer set over 4-cup liquid measuring cup; discard zest. Refrigerate concentrate until chilled, about 1 hour. (Concentrate can be refrigerated in airtight container for up to 2 weeks.)
- TO PREPARE A SINGLE COCKTAIL: Fill chilled collins glass or wide-mouth Mason jar halfway with ice. Add 4 ounces concentrate, then add 3 ounces seltzer. Using bar spoon, gently lift concentrate from bottom of glass to top to combine. Top with additional ice and garnish with lemon and lime slices. Serve. TO PREPARE A BIG-BATCH COCKTAIL: Gently combine chilled concentrate and 24 ounces (3 cups) seltzer, chilled in serving pitcher or large container. Serve in chilled collins glasses or Mason jars filled halfway with ice. Garnish individual glasses with lemon and lime slices. Serve.
Time
20 minutes, plus 1½ hours cooling and chillingYield
Makes 8 cocktailsIngredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
For a bright take on Lynchburg Lemonade, we opted to forgo the traditional sweet and sour mix and made our own by mashing strips of lemon and lime zest with sugar to release their oils. We then added hot water to dissolve the sugar and plenty of fresh citrus juice. With a solid sweet and sour base, we added whiskey and orange liqueur, which are typical for the recipe, but we went with a slightly higher ratio of whiskey for a more spirit-forward balance. After letting the flavors meld and straining the cocktail, we finished it with seltzer water, our choice over lemon-lime soda for controlled sweetness.
Before You Begin
Tennessee whiskey is traditional here, but you can substitute bourbon if you prefer. It’s a good idea to have five lemons and five limes on hand for this recipe, but you may not need all of them. Use bar spoon (or other long-handled spoon) to lift concentrate from bottom of glass.
Instructions
- Scrub, rinse, and dry 1 lemon and 1 lime. Using vegetable peeler, remove zest of washed lemon and lime in strips. Toss zest with ½ cup sugar and a pinch of table salt in large bowl. Using potato masher, mash zest and sugar mixture vigorously until mixture is damp, clumpy, and very fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add 6 ounces (¾ cup) hot water and stir until sugar has dissolved, about 1 minute. Set aside until cool, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, juice enough lemons to yield 5 ounces (½ cup plus 2 tablespoons) juice and enough limes to yield 2½ ounces (5 tablespoons) juice.
- Stir lemon and lime juices, 10 ounces (1¼ cups) whiskey, and 8 ounces (1 cup) orange liqueur into zest mixture until combined. Strain through fine-mesh strainer set over 4-cup liquid measuring cup; discard zest. Refrigerate concentrate until chilled, about 1 hour. (Concentrate can be refrigerated in airtight container for up to 2 weeks.)
- TO PREPARE A SINGLE COCKTAIL: Fill chilled collins glass or wide-mouth Mason jar halfway with ice. Add 4 ounces concentrate, then add 3 ounces seltzer. Using bar spoon, gently lift concentrate from bottom of glass to top to combine. Top with additional ice and garnish with lemon and lime slices. Serve. TO PREPARE A BIG-BATCH COCKTAIL: Gently combine chilled concentrate and 24 ounces (3 cups) seltzer, chilled in serving pitcher or large container. Serve in chilled collins glasses or Mason jars filled halfway with ice. Garnish individual glasses with lemon and lime slices. Serve.
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