Lemon, Lime and Bitters
Australia's contribution to sobriety - three ingredients and a long, cold glass.
Photo: Lemon Lime Bitters @ Caledonian Hotel, North Adelaide 20240903-130352 · All credits
Ingredients
Measures below are multiplied for 12 drinks. Unmeasurable amounts such as “a splash” are left as written.
- 1800 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 1800 ml line. Lemonade - Cloudy and sharp rather than sweet - this is the body of the drink
- 240 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 240 ml line. Lime juice - Or lime cordial, which is the traditional version and a very different drink
- 48 dashes Bottle 48 quick shake of the bottle - each a few drops, about a millilitre. Angostura bitters - A dash of bitters carries a trace of alcohol - leave it out, and add a little more lime, if that matters
- 12 wedges Lime wedge (optional)
Measured in Millilitres (UK). Sign in to read these in American measures. Print a kitchen card at this size.
What the jigger, the spoons and the jug hold, in millilitres and in fluid ounces, is on the measures reference.
Quick version
- Pour the lemonade over ice, add the lime and four good dashes of bitters.
Method
Batch (12 drinks)Batch (12 drinks) - about 2.04 l of measured ingredients, before ice and dilution.
Timings and per-glass steps below are written for one drink and are not scaled. A full jug takes longer to chill, so stir or shake until it is properly cold rather than by the clock, and pour over fresh ice one glass at a time.
- Fill a highball glass almost to the top with ice.
- Pour in the lemonade and the lime juice.
- Add four dashes of Angostura bitters across the top - they will colour the drink the moment they hit it.
- Add a wedge of lime and stir once, from the bottom.
Serve it
Volumes in this story are multiplied for the size above, along with the ingredients. Years, ratios and the capacities of glasses and jugs are left as written.
Lemon, Lime and Bitters
Order a lemon squash in any Australian pub and this is what arrives, usually without anybody asking whether you wanted bitters in it. The bitters are what make it: a dash of Angostura is bitter, spiced and oddly savoury, and it turns plain lemonade into something a person can sit with for an hour. It has been the country's standard drink for not drinking since before anybody thought to call such a thing a mocktail.
Getting it right
Build it in the glass, over more ice than looks sensible, and use a lemonade you actually like; a very sweet one makes the bitters taste like medicine. Four dashes is the right place to start and most people end up at six. Lime cordial instead of fresh juice is the traditional choice and gives a rounder, sweeter drink - try both.
Tasting notes
Bright lemonade with a bitter, clove-scented edge and the lime sharpening everything behind it. The bitters also carry a trace of alcohol, so this one sits at the very edge of the alcohol-free shelf - plainly said, because a person who needs to know should be able to read it here.