Last winter we started playing around with warm lemonades. Our first one was a warm cranberry lemonade. Problem was the lemon juice flavor really changes in a bad way, as it sits on the heat. Over time, the drink evolved to add more cranberries for more tartness, a little sugar for balance and a twist of lemon peel to add lemon oils to the drink.
It is remarkable the difference the lemon twist makes. And let me be clear, it is not lemon twist (the noun), as a garnish. It is lemon twist (the verb), because it is the action of twisting the lemon peel into the drink that transforms it. In the photo, you see the preliminary step of peeling the peel from the lemon. First we peel, directly over the drink to get an initial spray of oils on the drink. Then, we twist to get the rest of the oils.
This hot drink alternates at all of our locations, through the chilly months. It’s running at HSQ today.
