Kentucky Lemonade

Lemonade is a summertime must around here, and I love finding new recipes every year. My favorite has been lemonade with mint leaves, so I was really intrigued when I found this Kentucky Lemonade recipe. It’s lemonade with mint and another favorite beverage of mine: bourbon. That got my attention, and I’m hoping it will be as good as I imagine. Let’s find out!

Sweet, tart, and refreshing with a bourbon kick, this Kentucky lemonade cocktail is everything you could want in a drink. Sip your way into warmer weather with this easy to make cocktail… perfect for a party!

Recipe Author: Amanda at The Chunky Chef
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The Ingredients

There are a handful of ingredients for this recipe, but nothing too unusual. I was a little surprised by the ginger ale, but I went with it. The rest was exactly what you think lemonade would have: lemons, sugar, and mint. And water, of course, but I didn’t have to shop for that.

Now, I would normally use plain old granulated sugar, but I happened to have a bag of organic cane sugar in the pantry. I used it instead because it’s prettier. It has a sparkly quality that’s really pretty when you use it to rim your glasses.

Kentucky Lemonade Ingredients
Bourbon, lemons, sugar, ginger ale, and mint leaves

The Process

Making Kentucky Lemonade was just like making regular lemonade. Make a lemon-sugar concentrate, add ginger ale instead of water to dilute it, and serve over ice. Here’s how my time was spent:

  • 11 minutes to make the lemonade
  • 3 minutes to make the cocktails & garnishes
  • 14 minutes total

I started out by slowly simmering the water and sugar in a saucepan. I gave it a stir now and then while I juiced the lemons. This recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of lemon juice from about 6 lemons. I bought 7 lemons so I would have enough for juice and a garnish. Unfortunately, I juiced all 7 lemons and only got 3/4 cup of juice.

Juicing the lemons
Juicing the lemons

All was not lost, though, because I had some lemon juice frozen into ice cubes in the freezer. Tip: Freezing extra citrus juice in an ice cube tray is a great way to keep it from going to waste. I just popped a few lemon ice cubes into the lemon juice to bring it up to 1 1/2 cups and continued with the recipe.

After the sugar dissolved in the water, I took it off the heat and added the lemon juice and mint leaves. BTW, I left the leaves whole, but cutting them up would release more of the mint flavor if that’s your preference.

I strained the mixture into a large pitcher after a few minutes and added 2/3 cup of bourbon. Then I slowly poured in 6 cups of cold ginger ale, and my Kentucky Lemonade was ready to try.

Steeping the mint leaves
Steeping the mint leaves

So how was it?

Clear & Accurate Directions
Accurate Time(s)
Appearance
Taste
I have found my new favorite lemonade and my new favorite summer cocktail in a single recipe! It's like lemonade met a mint julep, fell in love, and gave us Kentucky Lemonade. Think sparkling lemonade with a touch of bourbon and a hint of mint. It's so refreshing! It's also quick and easy to make--I had a pitcher ready in about 15 minutes.
The Hungry Pinner
The Hungry Pinnerhttps://www.hungrypinner.com
I'm Candice, and I'm The Hungry Pinner. I created this blog to share my love for cooking and my experiences with the MANY recipes I've found on Pinterest over the years. Join me as I blog my way through those recipes to find out if they are worth trying yourself.

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I have found my new favorite lemonade and my new favorite summer cocktail in a single recipe! It's like lemonade met a mint julep, fell in love, and gave us Kentucky Lemonade. Think sparkling lemonade with a touch of bourbon and a hint of mint. It's so refreshing! It's also quick and easy to make--I had a pitcher ready in about 15 minutes.Kentucky Lemonade