sour mix/citrus juice

[waragi]

I love a great sidecar or margarita on these hot summer days and enjoy making one from scratch after work (i.e. fresh squeezed citrus and homemade simple syrup). However, I have had it paying so much for decent fruit ($1.29 per lemon or $0.69 per lime at my local grocery store in DC - ugh).

Are there any brands of sour mix or citrus juices out there that will make a decent drink? Most sour mixes I have tried are awful...

Thanks,

W

[slkinsey]

None of which I am aware.

You might try exploring some Mexican or Caribbean markets. I can't believe that lemons and limes are only to be had for such a high price in a place like DC. At the Mexican grocery on my corner in NYC, limes are currently going at around 6 for a dollar, and lemons at 4 for a dollar. Sometimes limes are even 10 for a dollar.

[mbanu]

Your local mexican grocery store will probably have cheap limes. The one near me sells them 5 for a dollar.

I feel you about the lemons, though. If anyone else has any tips on finding cheap lemons, I hope they share.

[donbert]

The only bottled citrus juice I use in cocktails is Nellie & Joe's Key Lime Juice when I can't find fresh key limes. I believe they also make a lemon juice but I've never tried it. They can be found in most gourmet markets including Whole Foods and run about $5 for a 16 oz bottle.

I say stick to fresh lemons/limes, the difference in quality of the drink is more than worth the price.

[Sunny Simmons Steincamp]

Have you tried Costco? I can't recall how much I pay for them there, but it sure isn't as expensive as you mention!

[waragi]

The only bottled citrus juice I use in cocktails is Nellie & Joe's Key Lime Juice when I can't find fresh key limes. I believe they also make a lemon juice but I've never tried it. They can be found in most gourmet markets including Whole Foods and run about $5 for a 16 oz bottle.

I say stick to fresh lemons/limes, the difference in quality of the drink is more than worth the price.

←

Thanks for all the tips. Fresh limes are definitely the way to go and I do try to venture out to the Mexican groceries when possible, but the local grocery (Whole Foods) is the only thing walkable.

I picked up a bottle of 100% organic lime juice (Santa Cruz brand, I believe) at WF for about $3.50 for 16 oz. It made a fine tasting sidecar, but left some suspended sediment, which looked a bit odd.

Does this happen with Nellie's too?

[slkinsey]

You made a Sidecar with lime juice?

[donbert]

Thanks for all the tips.  Fresh limes are definitely the way to go and I do try to venture out to the Mexican groceries when possible, but the local grocery (Whole Foods) is the only thing walkable. 

I picked up a bottle of 100% organic lime juice (Santa Cruz brand, I believe) at WF for about $3.50 for 16 oz.  It made a fine tasting sidecar, but left some suspended sediment, which looked a bit odd. 

Does this happen with Nellie's too?

←

I've never tried a side car with the Nellie's. Usually I use it for built drinks with other fruits where clarity isnt an issue. I'll try it tonight though and report back.

[Alchemist]

It's all right to make a side car with lime juice as long as you sub the Cognac for Applejack the cointreau with a mix of grenidine/simple syrup, and the lemon for the lime. Yummy sidecar.

[donbert]

It's all right to make a side car with lime juice as long as you sub the Cognac for Applejack the cointreau with a mix of grenidine/simple syrup, and the lemon for the lime.  Yummy sidecar.

←

Wouldn't that be a limey jack rose/jersey sour? Guess I'll have to try 2 drinks tonight.

Toby, any thoughts on key lime vs lime? They seem as far apart as lemon vs lime that I can't imagine substituting one for the other.

[waragi]

I used a sweet and sour made with the ingredients I had on-hand, which included a leftover half-lemon, my experimental lime juice and simple syrup (+ obviously brandy and cointreau).

Personally, I prefer a mix of lemon and lime to straight up lemon juice. Apologies to the purists!

You made a Sidecar with lime juice?

←

[Alchemist]

Yes that would be a Jack Rose. Just a little bargeek joke.

Lemon And Lime are as different as apples and oranges. Maybe Oranges and grapefruit is a better analogy.

[waragi]

What can I say? I like my, uh, Jack Roses.

Yes that would be a Jack Rose.  Just a little bargeek joke. 

Lemon And Lime are as different as apples and oranges.  Maybe Oranges and grapefruit is a better analogy.

←

[cdh]

I find that the Sicilia brand squeezy limes and lemons are actually quite good for cocktail making purposes. I made the discovery about 10 years ago and when I divulged it to a friend, I got laughed at... until he tasted the drinks made with it. Not all plastic squeezy citrus is awful reconstituted stuff. This stuff is juiced by some technique that gets the oils from the rind into the juice, and that really makes the flavor of these things. The lemon is even not from concentrate.

Available from Trader Joes, and at supermarkets. Usually around $1 per 4 fl oz.

Edited July 21, 2006 by cdh (log)

[Alchemist]

It's all right to make a side car with lime juice as long as you sub the Cognac for Applejack the cointreau with a mix of grenidine/simple syrup, and the lemon for the lime.  Yummy sidecar.

←

Wouldn't that be a limey jack rose/jersey sour? Guess I'll have to try 2 drinks tonight.

Toby, any thoughts on key lime vs lime? They seem as far apart as lemon vs lime that I can't imagine substituting one for the other.

←

Alchemist says, (Ididn't read the post I made an ass of donbert and me, and assumed i knew the question.)

Key limes and limes are very different. Just as lemons/Myer lemons and Buddaha's hands are different. Flordia oranges, and California oranges are very different. I can imagine that if you grew citrus, they would say that the citrus grown on the south side of yonder hill is mighty different from the ones grown in the valley. Citrus that shows up in NYC, from the same company, in Feb. is different from the stuff that shows up in July. You have to taste every batch of every juice to know what your dealing with.

[Chris Amirault]

Interesting WSJ article about why those mixes are so awful:

The core problem with cocktail mixes is that they almost all involve lemon or lime juice, which are notoriously difficult to bottle. Sara Risch, a food chemist and member of the Institute of Food Technologists, told me why: "Among the major components of citrus flavor are terpenes," she explained, compounds that are grievously subject to oxidation, and that break down quickly, especially when cooked (as in the pasteurization process such bottled juices require). The volatile terpenes in the juices and oils of lemons and limes turn inexorably toward the piney taste and smell of turpentine.

[brinza]

I liked that article, although it couldn't seem to make up its mind whether it was talking about mixes or bottled cocktails. Case in point:

But what of the swanky new mixers at Williams-Sonoma? The bottled Pomegranate Gimlet wasn't very good

Make up your mind; which is it?

I loved this line, however:

Is it supercilious to suggest that those for whom this is a task of surpassing complexity are better off not dulling their wits further with alcohol?

[bostonapothecary]

i've been reading up on my enzymes... (trying to makes those MC-FCI inspired pectinase steeped fries)

in research manual called "in a jam and out of juice" i came across this:

"Limonoid Bitterness

Unlike naringen, limonin is not found in intact fruits. However, freshly squeezed citrus fruits can turn bitter after only a few hours as limonin is formed by natural chemical reactions (so-called 'delayed bitterness'). This reaction is enhanced when the fresh juice in pasteurized."

i knew of the delayed bitterness phenomenon, but not that it was caused by enzymes. oxidation might be the least of citrus juices' worries with these enzymes slowly at work...

[vice]

I'm sure food scientists have tried, but it would be really nice if there was a way to deactivate the offending enzymes.