Skip to main content
Lemon on tree
©2011 Kindred Cocktails

Lemon juice is the juice of a lemon, or Citrus limon, a small, evergreen tree native to Asia. Lemon juice is mainly composed of citric acid, and has a pH of around 2.3. While lemon juice has an incredible amount of culinary uses (everything from curdling milk for cream cheese to balancing out pan juices for gravy to cleaning pots and pans), it is the primary acidity used in cocktail making, as it is the most neutral of the common acidifiers (other common acid sources include limes and oranges).

Lemon juice adds a fairly neutral balance in modest amounts, but can shift the flavors of other ingredients, as in the Jasmine, where lemon juice takes the cherry flavor of Campari and makes it taste like pink grapefruit.

Some popular cocktails containing Lemon juice

  • Coffee Cobbler — Venezuelan rum, Coffee liqueur, Orange liqueur, Simple syrup, Lemon juice
  • Liquid Gold — Champagne, Cognac, Bitters, White grape juice, Lemon juice
  • Saveur Kiss — Gin, Herbal liqueur, Ginger liqueur, Bing cherry syrup, Egg white, Lemon juice, Smoked Salt, Bing Cherry
  • The Pastry War Cocktail — Reposado Tequila, Sweet vermouth, Bitters, Mace tincture, Honey syrup, Lemon juice, Nutmeg, Tea
  • Red Hood — Irish whiskey, Sweet vermouth, Fernet Branca, Lemon juice, Marionberry preserves
  • Deep Breath — Light rum, Manzanilla sherry, Absinthe, White Crème de Menthe, Soda water, Pineapple juice, Lemon juice, Orgeat, Egg white, Mint
  • London Calling (Chris Jepson) — Gin, Sherry, Orange bitters, Lemon juice, Simple syrup, Grapefruit peel
  • Safety Dance — Dry vermouth, Bianco Vermouth, Soda water, Lemon juice, Tea syrup, Lemon peel
  • Church Bay Cooler — Gold rum, Sherry, Vanilla Soda water, Passion fruit syrup, Lemon juice, Mint, Lemon
  • Laetare Fizz — Amaro Montenegro, Gin, Aromatized wine, Cassis, Peychaud's Bitters, Blood Orange Juice, Passion fruit puree, Heavy cream, Egg white, Lemon juice