Rally Lemonade – Saturday Sips

Rally Lemonade 

When life give you lemons, murder them in a cup with some sugar and booze.  Much like our struggling Boys in Blue, this simple recipe takes the bitter and hard to swallow and turns it into something sweet.  Rally Lemonade time!

INGREDIENT LINEUP:

1 1/3 c. white sugar

3/4 c. lemon juice (about 4-5 lemons)

1/3 c. lime juice (about 2-3 limes)

3 sprigs mint leaves plush garnish

water

Serves 4-6 over ice

Optional Cocktail:

1 1/3 cup sake (300mL)

Serves 6-8 over ice

BATTING ORDER:

Heat 2 cups water over medium heat.  Stir in sugar until dissolved and the pot is clear again. Do not let boil.  Remove from heat and add 1 1/2 cups very cold water to help cool.

Halve and squeeze lemons until you have about 3/4 cup juice.  Halve and squeeze lemons until you have about 1/3 cup lime juice.  Add to sugar water mixture.  See?  Things are looking sweeter already!

Rally Lemonade Pro Tip: To help the lemons and limes express their juice better, roll them on the countertop while pressing down firmly.  But not so firmly that they burst!

Next, put three tablespoons of the mix into a muddler and muddle with about three sprigs worth of mint leaves (15-20, depending on size of leaves).  If you don’t have a muddler, use a glass and the handle end of a wooden spoon to crush the leaves. 

Once the leaves are broken up and you have a strong smell of mint, pour the entire mixture into the lemon lime sugar mix.  You have the option of turning your baseball cap inside out at this point if you want.  

Rally Lemonade Pro Tip: To get all of the minty goodness, put a few more spoonfuls of the lemonade into the muddle glass and give it a swirl before dumping it back in to really get all of the flavor into the drink.

Let mixture chill for one hour in the fridge, then strain into a pitcher (the serving kind is recommended, not a baseball hurler, but you do you).  If you don’t have a drink strainer, you can use a coffee filter in a colander and pour slowly.

At this point, you have a sweet, refreshing Rally Lemonade that is sure to please all ages!  Serves four over ice.  Have a sip and cheer on the Boys in Blue!

OPTIONAL SEVENTH INNING STRETCH:

If you are catering to a more adventurous group of Major Leaguers, you can easily turn this into a lovely cocktail.  Add about 1 1/3 cups of sake to the mixture. We used California-made Sho Chiku Bai Takara Sierra Cold sake for our version.  You can also use rum for a lemony twist on a classic mojito.

Stay cool out there.  And remember to drink responsibly!

Did you give our Rally Lemonade a try?  Put your own spin on it?  Let us know on Twitter and Instagram!