Make Fancy Lemonade: Flavored Lemonade & Lemonade Cocktails
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Updated July 2026 July 23rd is National Refreshment Day and August 20th is National Lemonade Day. While lemonade is indeed refreshing, if the only lemonade you drink comes from a bottle, you’ve never experienced just how much more refreshing real lemonade is. Bottled lemonades are not only pasteurized, but typically use reconstituted lemon juice. If you’ve ever tasted bottled lemon juice, you know that the flavor is simply not bright and lemony like fresh-squeezed lemon juice. Lemonade “made from concentrate” and sold like orange juice is the far better choice, as are cans of frozen lemonade and limeade concentrate. But the best choice of all is to squeeze fresh lemons. It takes just five minutes to make a single glass, and you can adjust the sweetening to your own taste. It’s the same with limeade. PARTY IDEA: Get the gang together for a lemonade party. You can make the different varieties, or assign different flavors to your friends. Below: > Strawberry-basil lemonade recipe. > More lemonade and limeade recipes. Elsewhere on The Nibble: > How to add spicy heat to lemonade. > The different types of lemons: a photo glossary. > The different types of limes: a photo glossary. > The different types of sugar and other sweeteners: a photo glossary. > The year’s 45+ citrus holidays. You don’t want ice cubes to dilute your lemonade. Ideally, freeze lemonade or a complementary fruit juice (we especially like blueberry and watermelon) in ice cube trays so regular ice cubes won’t dilute the flavor. And keep the lemonade as chilled as possible to use fewer cubes. You can also use this recipe to make fresh limeade. Ingredients For 15 Glasses 1. MAKE the optional lemonade ice cubes a half day in advance or the night before. For the ice cubes, we save time by reconstituting frozen lemonade concentrate instead of making lemonade from scratch. When ready to make the lemonade… 2. ROLL room temperature lemons on the counter top before squeezing. This maximizes the juice output. 3. PREPARE the superfine sugar if you’re using granulated sugar. If you don’t have a box of superfine sugar, simply pulse regular table sugar to a superfine consistency in a food processor. The time you spend to do this is more than offset by the time it will take to get table sugar to dissolve. Another technique for dissolving table sugar is to boil the water several hours in advance, stir in the sugar to dissolve, and chill. 4. COMBINE the water, lemon juice and three-quarters of the sweetener in a pitcher; mix thoroughly. Taste and adjust the sweetness bit by bit. Your goal is to keep the fresh lemon flavor first and foremost, and not make sugar the first thing you taste. It’s better to under-sweeten than over-sweeten: People can always add more sweetener to suit their individual tastes. 5. ADD ice to the glasses, fill with lemonade and garnish. Ideally, chill the lemonade prior to serving so it will be cold and require less ice. 6. ADD the garnish: Slice extra lemons or contrasting limes into wheels, and cut notches so they sit on rim of glasses. You can also notch watermelon cubes or strawberries, place blueberries or raspberries on a cocktail pick, add a sprig of lavender or rosemary, etc. |
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 [6] Strawberry-basil lemonade (photo © The Nibble). 2. RECIPE: STRAWBERRY-BASIL LEMONADE Ingredients 1. MAKE the sugar syrup. Place the sugar in a heatproof bowl and pour the boiling water over it. Stir to dissolve and let cool. When cool… 2. COMBINE the strawberries with the basil and 1/4 cup of the sugar syrup in a blender. Purée until smooth. 3. MAKE the lemonade. You can combine all ingredients in a chilled pitcher with 5 cups of ice water. Stir well. To keep the lemonade cold, add ice cubes made from reusable ice cubes or water bottler ice rods. To make by the glass, fill an 8-ounce with ice and add 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, 3 tablespoons of the strawberry-basil purée, 1/2 cup cold water, and 1 to 2 tablespoons of sugar syrup to taste. Stir well. Recipe Tips 1. COMBINE the sugar and hot water in a 16-ounce glass (we use a Pilsner glass) and stir until the sugar dissolves. 2. ADD the the lemon juice and cold water. Fill the glass to the top with ice and serve. Set up a bar where guests can add their own sweeteners—agave, honey, noncaloric, superfine sugar or simple syrup. You can buy or easily make the latter two, which, unlike granulated sugar, dissolve easily in cold drinks. Here’s the recipe. For adults bottles of gin, tequila or vodka expand the options. CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM. |
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