Make Lemonade Better With Cocktail Bitters
I have about seven bottles of bitters on my trolley at the bar, but I actually only use two – angostura and an orange – in my cocktails. It’s not that other tastes are bad, it’s just that I rarely want an old-fashioned one made with grapefruit or lavender bitters. But lemonade is a whole different story.
Cocktail bitters are the easiest way to make custom made lemonade. You don’t need to juice dirty fruits or simmer flower syrup. All you have to do is toss a couple of drops of whatever bitters you have directly into the glass, stirring if desired. Classic bitters can indeed add a bit of grassy depth, but the stranger the taste, the more fun the lemonade is.
Other than chocolate, I can’t think of a bitterness that wouldn’t fit here. Grapefruit bitters add sparkling notes of Fresca lemonade; floral bitters give the drink the feeling of a garden party. Fruit friends like rhubarb, cranberries, and cherries make up a wonderful pink lemonade. If you’re looking for real – and slightly vegetable – celery bitterness, celery can offer only a hint of seductive bitterness. Want some spicy lemonade? Take a spicy bitter! Even the bitterness of a pecan can add a pleasant nutty flavor.
But what I love most about adding bitter to lemonade is how simple it is. Instead of consuming a whole pitcher of flavorful lemonade, you can keep the pitcher simple and add a different bitter to each glass. As a lover of variety and a hater of repetition, this excites me. In fact, if partying is ever allowed again, I recommend the lemonade and bitters bar next to your nacho bar or whatever. People love bars with handmade food and drinks.
Plus, bitters make lemonade look pretty. Aesthetics is not everything, but you need to appreciate a drink that is both beautiful and tasty.