Jalapeno Lemonade

Jalapeno Lemonade is the perfect balance of tart and sweet with a little kick at the end. It is a refreshing summer lemonade that everyone will love!

Honestly, is there anything better than a refreshingly cold drink on these hot and humid summer days?

I usually drink room temp water all the time...don't mind it at all. But in the thick of summer, I want all the ice in all of my drinks!

And also, sometimes I just want something other than water. I have been LOVING jalapeno lemonade. It isn't too sweet and has a nice tang to it, just like I like.

And don't let the jalapeno scare you. It is not what you think.

It gives it this back of the throat warm feeling that leaves you thinking "whoa! what is that?! ? I love it!" and going back for more.

Ingredients Needed

For Lemon Simple Syrup

• 2 Cups Sugar
• 1 Cup Water
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• Peel of 1 Lemon

For Jalapeno Lemonade

• 3 Cups Water
• 1 Cup Lemon Simple Syrup
• 2 Cups Lemon Juice (8 Lemons)
• 1 Large Jalapeno, thinly sliced
• Lemon Slices, Jalapeno Slices, and mint to garnish

How to Make a Simple Syrup

First, we need to make a simple syrup.

Since this is a cold drink that doesn't need to be hot and brewed like tea, using a liquid sweetener is best. Have you ever tried to dissolve sugar in ice water? It doesn't work.

By boiling together equal parts of water and sugar (ie: 1 cup of water to 1 cup of sugar), this will give you a sticky sweet liquid sweetener that mixes and blends perfectly into lemonade.

Leaving 0 sugar granules at the bottom of your pitcher. We are going to bump it up a notch today and make a lemon simple syrup!

1. With a vegetable peeler, peel the yellow rind off 1 lemon. Be careful not to get the white rind, just the yellow.
2. To a large saucepan add in the sugar, water, and juice of 1 lemon and lemon peel. Turn to medium-high heat and bring to a low boil.
3. Once at a low boil, turn to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes until the syrup has reduced and the sugar is dissolved.
4. Pour into a mason jar and let come to room temp before using it in this recipe.

To store simple syrup, keep in a sealed mason jar in the fridge for a couple of weeks. This lemon simple syrup would be delicious in other summer cocktails like a vodka soda with a splash of this and a lemon wedge.

How to Make

1. Freshly squeeze the juice of 8 lemons (about 2 cups) into a pitcher.
2. Thinly slice a jalapeno and add to the pitcher.
3. Add in 1 cup of the freshly made lemon simple syrup (that is at room temp or cold) to a large pitcher. Stir very well.
4. Add in a couple of handfuls of ice. Stir very well.
5. Add in cold water to fill up the rest of the pitcher and stir with a wooden spoon very well.
6. Garnish with lemon wedges and sliced jalapeno for an extra kick!

Make it A Cocktail!

1. Add ice to a large tall glass. 
2. Add in 1 shot of Vodka (we are Tito's fans).
3. Fill the glass ¾ full with Jalapeno Lemonade and top the rest off with sparkling water for some bubbly!
4. Garnish with lemon wedges and extra jalapeno slices for an extra kick. Enjoy!

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Recipe

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