When life hands you Meyer lemons, you should always make cocktails. The smaller version of a standard lemon is in season and with a taste that is simultaneously more mellow and slightly sweeter, it seems meant for baked goods and cocktails.
A cross between lemons and oranges, Meyer lemons are typically available between March and November (most are grown in California and Texas). They available at Whole Foods in Overland Park right now. What to do with them is after the jump.
The Meyer Lemon Margarita is simple -- it's just tequila, triple sec and Meyer lemon juice. If you swap out the tequila for brandy and the triple sec for cointreau, then you've got a new take on the Sidecar.
Although you'll have the citrus taste, you won't have the sourness or pucker that you associate with lemons because the meyer lemon has less acid. It makes for a nice version of the lemon drop shot or martini -- simple syrup, meyer lemon zest and juice, and vodka.
And if you want to break away from the classics, Benito's Original Meyer Lansky Cocktail is a thoroughly modern concept. It's lemon juice, vodka, rum, cointreau and a slow pour of pomegranate juice. You end up with a drink that starts light and finishes red in the glass.
For something to pair with your new cocktails and the remaining fruit, the Los Angeles Times suggested 100 things to do with a Meyer Lemon back in 2008. You could also use it as fodder for additional cocktails -- it would be very simple to take their first suggestion, Meyer Lemonade, and add seltzer water and a bit of vodka to create a spiked lemonade.
[Image via Flickr: arnold/inuyaki]
Comments (0)