Meyer Lemon Whiskey Sour

Ok. First let's talk about the date in which these photos were taken. Amazingly enough, these were taken after five pm in Mid-February in New England. It was a little on the edge of being too dark for photos at the time, but man - not that far. 

I had planned to do this shoot in the middle of the day later in the week, and then we had this warm and sunny spell that was incredible. The sun was still shining at 4:30pm so I put down my laptop and said - it's time for a cocktail ... photoshoot. 

I love Meyer Lemons in winter, especially up in New England, when just about now our friends in Southern States are starting to post all these things about Spring! So jealous, but citrus is still pretty good in the market, so I hold on tight and enjoy what I do have in season.

Meyer Lemons: I like to think of them as half lemon half tangerine. They probably are and someone will correct me in the comments section. It's almost as if a lemon became sweet enough to eat outright, like a tart tangerine. The other interesting part about those Meyers is the lovely skin/rind. So much flavor! Yum. More on that in a later post. 

Rye Whiskey. I love it more than many others. Why? Not really sure. I just like the flavor more. In this recipe we are using Bulleit. I like the slight spicy flavor without the sweetness of Bourbon. 

So the combo here of a very sweet lemon, and a bit of a less-sweet liquor is a good combo in my honest opinion, better than bourbon would be - but feel free to replace the Rye with your choice of a good mixing Bourbon/Whiskey etc.

Last note for this little quick recipe: I am using what I like to call a "fancy icecube" here. I use a large icecube mold for drinks, so if I ever have random herbs/citrus leftover and a spot free I will add it to the mold and fill it up with water. In this case, I had thyme that was going to go bad, and I was about to leave on vacation - so in the freezer tray it went. Other good herbs/ingredients to use include: mint, fresh lavender, citrus slices, berries, fresh chiles etc. All those goodies you might want as a garnish on your drink, add it to  your icecube so it has some flavor.

{ fun note: I didn't photoshop myself out of the pouring photo below... I have two heads lol. Hi!} 

meyer Lemon Rye Whiskey Sour

Makes ONE drink.

Ingredients

• One Meyer Lemon
• 3 oz. Rye Whiskey 
• .5 oz Triple Sec (Cointreau) 
• 3 dashes bitters 

Instructions

Note about bitters: Bitters come in a RANGE of flavors. If you aren't a fan of Angostura bitters and think all bitters are equal ... think again. Try a softer bitter flavor like Orange or Rhubarb. Fee Brothers makes a great Rhubarb Bitter. Which is what I used here, it's a bit sweeter and softer in bitter flavor than many other kinds.

Start by juicing your Meyer lemon. In a cocktail shaker (or whatever mixing method you want to use), add your Meyer lemon juice, whiskey, triple sec and bitters. Shake, shake, shake!

In a short glass add your ice ( I prefer ONE large ice cube for a sippable drink like this one), and pour over your drink from the shaker.

Garnish with Meyer lemon SLICE, (just cut a little off from the center before juicing if you want), or go with peel alone. Either work. Meyer lemons are so sweet, I like to eat them straight up, so they work nicely as a garnish to snack on. 

Drink up!