Summer is slowly coming to an end, but the hot days still continue. Refreshing homemade summer lemonades are the hit of the season. Hurry up to prepare them according to our original recipes. Lifehacks and other cool tips are included.
Classic lemonade
Classic lemonade is the most popular refreshing drink since the 19th century (that’s when carbonated drinks with natural syrups became widely available). This simple to prepare drink is appreciated for its bright taste, pleasant lemon flavor and ability to quench thirst.
You’ll need:
- Crushed ice
- Sugar – 1 tbsp.
- Fresh mint leaves – 1 bundle
- Lemon – 2-3 pcs.
- Drinking water – 1/2 gallon
Cooking:
- Squeeze the juice from all the lemons and thinly slice off the zest without the white part.
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring 2 cups water and sugar to a boil. Add zest and cook until sugar dissolves, 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the remaining water, mint and lemon juice, stir and remove from heat.
- Cool the lemonade completely.
- Serve the lemonade in large glasses, adding ice and garnishing with fresh mint.
Lifehack for this recipe: if necessary, you can eliminate sugar from the ingredients. If you want a sweeter drink, use honey.
Ginger lemonade
Ginger is known for its incredible amount of beneficial properties. If in winter this product can improve health and warm us, in the heat its characteristic spicy flavor perfectly helps to quench thirst. This recipe is the most vitamin-rich of our selection today.
You’ll need:
- Ginger root – 200 grams
- Lemon – 2 pcs.
- Drinking water – 1/2 gallon
- Honey – 4 tbsp.
- Sugar – 2-3 tbsp.
- Crushed ice
Cooking:
- Peel the ginger root and grate it finely.
- Pour 1 liter of water into a large saucepan and, setting a medium heat, add the grated ginger.
- Add the juice of the lemons and the grated cera to the pot.
- Add sugar to the lemonade and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Allow the contents of the pot to cool completely, then add the honey and lemon juice to it.
- Chill the lemonade in the refrigerator and, after diluting it with the remaining cold water, stir.
- Serve the drink in large glasses, adding ice and garnishing with lemon slices.
Lifehack for this recipe: just as in the previous recipe, you can completely exclude sugar from the ingredients and increase the amount of honey. And to make the flavor of your lemonade more spicy and unusual, you can add a little cardamom syrup to the drink – an original additive for sweet drinks.
Cucumber lemonade
The most refreshing lemonade in our selection today! Cucumbers are great for detoxifying your body, improving your metabolism and are wonderfully refreshing. They are ideal for making drinks because they consist of 95% water, rich in potassium, iodine and vitamins.
You’ll need:
- Mineral water carbonated – 1/2 gallon
- Medium-sized cucumbers – 8-9 pcs.
- Lemon – 2-3 pcs.
- Honey – 6-7 tbsp.
- Crushed ice
- Fresh mint leaves
Cooking:
- 1 Peel the cucumbers and cut into half or quarter circles.
- 2 Wash and dry the mint leaves.
- In a blender, combine the cucumbers, honey and mint, add lemon juice and chop until smooth.
- Add water to the mixture and blend again with a blender.
- Strain the drink through a sieve, pressing out the pulp.
- Serve the lemonade in tall, clear glasses, garnished with lemon slices and mint.
Lifehack for this recipe: in this recipe you can replace lemon with lime and mint with molasses. Such “permutations” will help to adjust the flavor of the lemonade and experiment, enjoying the variety.
Watermelon lemonade with basil
At the end of summer, more and more ripe and sweet watermelons appear in the markets. Watermelon lemonade is the perfect drink for anyone who wants to enjoy the most refreshing summer flavor, but isn’t ready to douse themselves with sticky juice and mess around with the pips.
You’ll need:
- Water – 1/2 gallon
- Crushed ice
- Fresh basil (leaves) – 1,5 tbsp.
- Sugar – 1,5 tbsp.
- Lemon juice – 1 tbsp.
- Watermelon pulp (without seeds) – 14 tbsp.
Cooking:
- In a saucepan, combine the water and sugar, bring to the boil and simmer for 5-7 minutes until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the basil leaves. Leave for 1 hour and then strain the mixture through a sieve into a bowl.
- In a blender, pulverize the watermelon pulp to a smooth paste. Strain through a sieve into a beverage carafe.
- Pour the syrup and lemon juice into the carafe.
- Chill the lemonade and serve in large clear glasses over ice, garnished with fresh basil or, if desired, small slices of watermelon.
Lifehack for this recipe: you can replace lemon juice with lime juice and zest, and sugar with honey. You can also prepare citrus fruit ice in advance and use it for this drink.
Strawberry lemonade
The most delicate, desserty, yet light and refreshing drink: strawberry lemonade will be appreciated by adults and children. It’s a great drink for a picnic or an evening outdoors.
You’ll need:
- Water – 1/2 gallon.
- Lemon – 1 pc.
- Crushed ice
- Sugar – 80 г.
- Fresh strawberries – 350 gr.
- Fresh mint leaves – 60 gr.
Cooking:
- Chop the peeled and washed strawberries (80 g) in a blender until puréed.
- Transfer the strawberry puree and whole berries to a saucepan.
- Cut half a lemon into thin slices and add them to the saucepan along with the mint leaves.
- Pour the contents of the pot with 200 ml of boiling water.
- Cover the pot with a lid and let infuse for about 20 minutes.
- Take out the mint and add the sugar and the juice of half a lemon. Stir thoroughly until the sugar dissolves and then pour in the rest of the cold water.
- Chill the drink in the refrigerator until completely chilled.
- Serve the strawberry lemonade over ice, garnishing the glasses with berry halves or mint leaves.
Lifehack for this recipe: strawberry lemonade is excellent with not only mint, but also green basil.
Quick pear lemonade
Pear lemonade is simply created for lovers of original and fresh solutions. Juicy and sweet pears will pleasantly surprise fans of sweet drinks and summer cocktails tired of traditional cocktails.
You’ll need:
- Pear juice – 200 ml.
- Sparkling water – 100 ml.
- Crushed ice
- Lime or lemon – 1/2 pc.
- Sugar syrup
Cooking:
- Place the lime or lemon slices in the highballs, followed by the crushed ice.
- Add the pear juice and a little sugar syrup and fill with sparkling water.
- Garnish the finished lemonade with a lime slice and serve with a straw.
Lifehack for this recipe: to make the lemonade even more interesting, add sage leaves to it at the same time as ice and lime slices.
Coffee Lemonade
Cold coffee is a great refreshing drink for everyone who not only wants to stop suffering from the heat, but also to cheer up. This is a very original version of summer lemonade that can be the hit of your party.
You’ll need:
- Sugar – 1 tbsp.
- Water – 1 cup.
- Lemon – 2 pcs.
- Chilled black coffee – 1,5 cups.
- Tonic 2 cups.
- Crushed ice
Cooking:
- Prepare the syrup. Put the sugar into a saucepan, add the zest of one lemon and pour in the water. Bring to the boil, allowing the sugar to dissolve completely.
- Squeeze 1 tbsp of lemon juice.
- Combine the cold coffee with the resulting syrup, lemon juice and tonic. Refrigerate properly.
- Serve the lemonade in large glasses or clear jars with ice and garnish with lemon slices.
Lifehack for this recipe: if you like sweet and sour cocktails (aka sauerkraut), add a little more sugar to the lemonade syrup and lime instead of lemon. Tangerines are also a great addition to this lemonade: simply crush them with a muddler and add the tangerine juice to the drink before sending it to cool in the fridge.
Cranberry Lemonade with Champagne
If your parties can get hot, make a cranberry lemonade based on dry champagne. This light, refreshing and elegant drink will put your guests in a great mood and you won’t have to spend a lot of time preparing it.
You’ll need:
- Water – 3 cups.
- Cranberry juice – 3 liters.
- Lemonade concentrate – 400 ml.
- Dry sparkling wine – 1.5 liters.
- Crushed ice
Cooking:
- In a large carafe that you will set on the table, mix the cold water, cranberry juice, and lemonade concentrate.
- Add the iced champagne and serve the lemonade in long champagne glasses or in highballs with ice and straws.
Lifehack for this recipe: the main condition for the success of such lemonade is maximally chilled and necessarily dry champagne. Serve cranberry lemonade immediately after preparation.
Lavender lemonade
Delicate purple fragrant lavender lemonade is the king of serving and the most Instagrammed drink of summer. Prepare it yourself using the simplest ingredients.
You’ll need:
- Drinking water – 5 cups.
- Sugar – 2/3 cup.
- Lemon – 3 pcs.
- Crushed ice
- Dried lavender flowers – 2-3 tbsp.
Cooking:
- Pour three cups of water into a saucepan, add the sugar and lavender flowers. Place over medium heat, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and leave to cool for about 1 hour.
- Strain the decoction through a sieve and remove the lavender from the drink.
- Squeeze the juice from the lemons and stir their juice into the decoction.
- Add the remaining water and stir again.
- Pour the lemonade into a pitcher and send it to the refrigerator to cool down completely.
- Serve the lavender lemonade by pouring into tall highballs and adding ice.
Lifehack for this recipe: dried lavender flowers are not as rare an ingredient as they may seem at first glance. You can easily find it in tea stores, as well as order it online.
Tarragon
Prepare the very drink from your childhood at home. The most important aromatic lemonade of emerald green color is loved by many due to its special spicy taste, but the herb tarragon is also known for a number of its healing properties (it improves metabolism, cleanses the body and strengthens the immune system).
You’ll need:
- Estragon (tarragon-grass) – 30 g.
- Lemon – 2 pcs.
- Crushed ice
- Sugar syrup – 130 ml.
- Carbonated water – 1 liter.
Cooking:
- Finely chop the tarkhun and squeeze the juice from the lemons.
- Mix the lemon juice with the sugar syrup.
- Drain 300 ml from a soda water bottle, transfer the chopped tarragon into the bottle, pour in the syrup and close tightly, leaving to infuse in the fridge until completely chilled.
- Strain the lemonade through a sieve and serve in chilled glasses with ice.
Lifehack for this recipe: to make the flavor of the lemonade even brighter and more intense, we recommend adding lime juice to the ingredients, and crush the tarragon itself in a blender so that the herb gives more fragrant juice.
