Our other idea for the name of this cocktail was “Alcoholic Lemonade That Does Not Taste Like A Disgusting Sugary Mess Drunk Only By 19 Year Old College Students,” but we decided to go with Kelly’s Hard Lemonade for the sake of brevity.

That’s right everyone, for the eighth installment of Monday Funday Original Cocktails, we have created a delicious, light, thirst-quenching lemonade, that just-so-happens to be chock-full of booze.

We know, you love us.

It’s official: Summer Is Coming. The weather has turned, the days are getting longer, and there is nothing better on a hot summer day than a tall glass of cold lemonade.

Scratch that, there is something better: a tall glass of cold alcoholic lemonade!

Now, most boozy lemonade recipes you will see out there call for pre-made lemonades and a ton of sugary crap, but we here at The Woman At The Bar (and you too, as our lovely readers) demand a higher class of cocktail. Fresh ingredients, high quality liquor, a little splash of something special, and a whole lotta attitude.

For Kelly’s Hard Lemonade, you will need:

• 1 1/2 oz rye (we recommend Bulleit)
• 1 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 3-4 lemon wheel slices
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• 1/2 oz St. Germain
• Aprox. 2 oz soda water

Gather your ingredients, plus your cocktail shaker, knife, jiggers, bar spoon, and serving glass.

First, prepare your lemon slices. In total for this drink (for the lemon juice and lemon slices) you will likely need 2 full lemons. For the lemon wheels, cut 3-4 slices from the center of the lemon, thick enough that they maintain their shape. Set them aside. These will be used both inside your serving glass and on the rim.

Now juice your other lemon and place 1 oz of juice inside your shaker glass.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, add your 1/2 oz simple syrup.

Now add your 1/2 oz St. Germain.

For those new to the St. Germain game: it is a French liqueur flavored with elderflowers, and it is absolutely delicious! Go get some!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now add your 1 1/2 oz rye. It is very important that you use rye and not bourbon, so don’t cheat!

We are just about ready to shake, but before you do, prep your serving glass. You want 2-3 of the lemon wheels inside the glass, but you want them spaced throughout so it does not just look like you shoved half a lemon up in there…

You will want to fill your glass about 1/3 full of ice, then place the first lemon wheel, and then repeat until full.

After the glass is prepped, fill your shaker tin 2/3 full of ice, pour your ingredients on top, secure your shaker glass, and shake for about 30 seconds. Then strain the mixture into your glass.

Now top off your glass with about 2 oz of soda water. Not club soda or tonic, plain old sparkling water. We used our SodaStream to make our own, but you can also purchase bottles at the grocery store.

Now give the glass a quick stir (be careful, you don’t want to squish your lemon wheels!) to integrate the sparkling water, add a lemon wheel to the rim, and you are ready to go!

This is a delectably light and refreshing cocktail perfect for summer nights on the porch, or any damn night you choose–it’s your life, you do you.

We love you.

Cheers!