Main Squeeze
When life gives you limes, add vodka—or tequila, or cachaça, or rum, or just about anything.
posted May 16, 2007 11:00AM
Imagine how drab a limeless summer would be: No margaritas, no caipirinhas, no pisco sours, no mojitos. A gin and tonic with lemon is just not the same.
A lime tastes of—and only of—itself. In my mind, its flavor is the essence of green: tart, citric, cleansing and bracingly life-affirming. In San Francisco, we usually see two kinds of limes: the big, expensive ones, often known as Persian limes, and the little, seedy ones you get in the Mission (often obscenely cheaply) called Mexican limes. The latter is closer to the original lime, a hybrid of the citron—a precursor of the lemon—and the papeda, another early citrus fruit. Originating in Southeast Asia, the Mexican lime was brought to the New World in the 16th century by the Spanish.
One of the top US growers of Persian limes is Helene Beck, founder of La Vigne Organics in Fallbrook, CA, near San Diego. While “lime green” is a common descriptor, limes are not necessarily meant to be green, she points out. “There are actually three stages of color for the lime—green, silver and yellow. Limes are typically sold green, which is slightly underripe, because they’re competing with lemons, and consumers need to be able to tell them apart.” Yellow, or fully ripe limes, she says, are juicier than their green counterparts, and although the flavor is pretty much the same, yellow ones offer more bang for the buck.
When it comes to using the lime in cocktails, Julio Bermejo, margarita master of Tommy’s, tells me he prefers Persian limes because they’re sweeter than the little limes. Erik Adkins, bar manager of the Slanted Door, whose Ginger Limeade is one of the great lime cocktails in the city, also uses Persians. But that drink gets extra lime-iness from one of several lime-flavored spirits on the market—Hangar One Kaffir Lime vodka, which is the probably the best of all of them (though Tanqueray has recently released a delicious Rangpur lime–infused gin). But nothing can top the flavor of fresh lime juice, so get your reamer out and start squeezing.
The Slanted Door’s Ginger Limeade
To make ginger syrup, peel and cut 1 1/2 pounds of ginger into cubes. Simmer the slices in 5 cups of water with 4 cups of sugar for about 2 hours. Strain mixture through cheesecloth or a fine-mesh strainer and let cool. (To make the garnish, toss the ginger cubes in granulated sugar.) Store syrup in the refrigerator.
1 ounce lime juice
3/4 ounce ginger syrup
1/4 ounce Cointreau
1 1/2 ounce Hangar One Kaffir Lime vodka
Lime wheel for garnish
Cube of candied ginger for garnish (see above)
Combine all of the ingredients in an ice-filled shaker, and shake until mixed well. Pour the contents into a rocks glass with ice. Garnish with a lime wheel and a cube of candied ginger. Makes one cocktail.
A lime tastes of—and only of—itself. In my mind, its flavor is the essence of green: tart, citric, cleansing and bracingly life-affirming. In San Francisco, we usually see two kinds of limes: the big, expensive ones, often known as Persian limes, and the little, seedy ones you get in the Mission (often obscenely cheaply) called Mexican limes. The latter is closer to the original lime, a hybrid of the citron—a precursor of the lemon—and the papeda, another early citrus fruit. Originating in Southeast Asia, the Mexican lime was brought to the New World in the 16th century by the Spanish.
One of the top US growers of Persian limes is Helene Beck, founder of La Vigne Organics in Fallbrook, CA, near San Diego. While “lime green” is a common descriptor, limes are not necessarily meant to be green, she points out. “There are actually three stages of color for the lime—green, silver and yellow. Limes are typically sold green, which is slightly underripe, because they’re competing with lemons, and consumers need to be able to tell them apart.” Yellow, or fully ripe limes, she says, are juicier than their green counterparts, and although the flavor is pretty much the same, yellow ones offer more bang for the buck.
When it comes to using the lime in cocktails, Julio Bermejo, margarita master of Tommy’s, tells me he prefers Persian limes because they’re sweeter than the little limes. Erik Adkins, bar manager of the Slanted Door, whose Ginger Limeade is one of the great lime cocktails in the city, also uses Persians. But that drink gets extra lime-iness from one of several lime-flavored spirits on the market—Hangar One Kaffir Lime vodka, which is the probably the best of all of them (though Tanqueray has recently released a delicious Rangpur lime–infused gin). But nothing can top the flavor of fresh lime juice, so get your reamer out and start squeezing.
The Slanted Door’s Ginger Limeade
To make ginger syrup, peel and cut 1 1/2 pounds of ginger into cubes. Simmer the slices in 5 cups of water with 4 cups of sugar for about 2 hours. Strain mixture through cheesecloth or a fine-mesh strainer and let cool. (To make the garnish, toss the ginger cubes in granulated sugar.) Store syrup in the refrigerator.
1 ounce lime juice
3/4 ounce ginger syrup
1/4 ounce Cointreau
1 1/2 ounce Hangar One Kaffir Lime vodka
Lime wheel for garnish
Cube of candied ginger for garnish (see above)
Combine all of the ingredients in an ice-filled shaker, and shake until mixed well. Pour the contents into a rocks glass with ice. Garnish with a lime wheel and a cube of candied ginger. Makes one cocktail.
