Homemade Lemonade (and vodka)

Note: there's an updated version of this recipe available!

It's officially summer! No, that's completely incorrect, but Austin has had temperatures around 90 degrees F the last couple of weeks, so it feels roughly like a really warm Swedish summer to me. Oh, Texas.

What could be more summery than lemonade? Well, probably a thousand things, but lemonade is pretty summery, so I decided to make some from scratch and mix with cheap vodka last night. It came out tasting like I expected it to, which is to say "really good". Enjoy:

Homemade Lemonade

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup cold tap water
3 large lemons

Let's start by creating a simple syrup. Pour a cup of water into a pot and place over high heat. When the water is boiling, add the cup of sugar and stir with a whisk or spoon until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 1 minute. Let cool completely.

Cut the lemons in half and extract the juice any way you see fit (pro tip: a juice press works pretty well for this). Mix the lemon juice with the simple syrup. This is now lemonade. If you feel it's too sweet or too sour, you can simply add more lemon or make a little more simple syrup and add to taste.

For the adults, and non-adults drinking illegally, mix 1 part vodka with 2 parts lemonade in a New York Yankees tumbler filled with ice, and enjoy on a patio, balcony, or any where else where you can find some early evening sunshine. All right, fine, if you don't have a New York Yankees glass, just use any ol' glass and make sure you order some Yankees glasses from the MLB store.