Better Than Lemonade — The Lemony
When life gives you lemons, why not make something adult like the Lemony? I haven’t been able to find any history on this tasty drink, which I found on the Difford’s Guide website. Ms. Cocktail Den and I had the pleasure of meeting Simon Difford at a Tales of the Cocktail conference. What we thought would be a 30 second “nice to meet you” turned into a wonderful 30 minute conversation.
The Lemony
2 ounces gin
.5 ounces Lupo limoncello
.5 ounces yellow Chartreuse
Juice from 1/4 lemon
Combine in a shaker with ice, shake with zest (get it?), and strain into a chilled glass, preferably a martini glass.
Like the much maligned but actually quite good Lemon Drop, the Lemony incorporates a clear base spirit and lemon juice. The Lemony has more of a kick because of the other spirits. My limoncello has plenty of sugar in it but still clocks in at 95 proof; most commercial versions of limoncello aren’t nearly that strong. The deliciously complex yellow Chartreuse, an indispensable ingredient in other cocktails such as the Diamondback and the Stark, injects a nice herbal element that blends well with the gin. If the Lemony is a bit too tart for you or your guest, add .25 ounces of super simple syrup.
The Lemony even gets a celebrity endorsement. After tasting it, Elmer Fudd declared: “I wuv the Wemony! It’s a gwate dwink with gin, fwesh juice, and wiqurz!” Even if you’re not a Warner Brothers cartoon fan like me, you’ll agree the Lemony is a fine cocktail.