Hanky-Pinky, courtesy Limoneira

A spirited toast to all things alcoholic! By Leslie Dinaberg

When life you gives you lemons, they may as well be pretty in pink!

Lemons mostly come in shades of  yellow, but Limoneira Company—a 120-year-old international agribusiness headquartered just down the road in Santa Paula—has a beautiful line of variegated pink lemons and an array of delicious pink lemon cocktails designed just for them by mixologists across the country.

Pucker up! These cocktails are a lot of fun and perfect for the beautiful spring days we’ve been having.

Pink Lemon Rumble

You’ll need: 1 bottle red wine; 150 ml strong tea; 100 ml pineapple juice; 80 ml rum; Juice of 1 pink lemon; 100 g sugar; 200 g pineapples and 50 ml sherry

Place the pineapple pieces in a punch bowl and pour the sherry over them. Chill for 2 hours. Place tea and sugar in a pot; add wine, juice of a pink lemon and rum. Heat but do not boil the mixture. Pour over the pineapple pieces and sherry.

Pinkee Plus

You’ll need: 1 fifth vodka; 3 oz pink lemon juice; 9 oz cherries and 2 liters lemon-lime soda

Pour Maraschino cherries and their juice into a two-gallon jug. Add vodka and let soak for a few minutes. Add the pink lemon juice and fill with sprite. Pour mixture into a serving container and strain out cherries. Serve over ice, with cherries dropped in.

Pink Persuasion

Pink Varigated Lemons, courtesy Limoneira

You’ll need: 1 oz tequila, 1 oz citrus vodka, 2 oz Limoncello lemon liqueur, ½ oz pink lemon juice and 3 oz lemon-lime soda

Fill shaker with ice and add ingredients. Shake a few times then pour into cocktail glass.

Pink Stinger

You’ll need: ½ liter sweet sherry; ½ liter brandy; 3 oz triple sec; 3 oz maraschino liqueur; 2 liters champagne; 1 liter soda water; 6 oz juice of pink lemons and 5 oz sugar syrup

Add to punch bowl with sufficient ice to chill. Serve with sliced fruit.

Hanky-Pinky

You’ll need: 2 oz gin; 2 oz of juice from pink lemon and ¾ oz grenadine syrup

Pour ingredients into a shaker half-filled with ice. Shake well and pour into a lowball glass. Garnish with pink lemon slice.

Pink Goose

You’ll need: 3 cups vodka, 5 cups homemade lemonade; 2 cups cranberry juice; 3 tbsp pink lemon juice; 4 cups ginger ale; 4 cups ice cubes; frozen cranberry for garnish and 1 pink lemon slice for garnish

Combine the lemonade, cranberry juice, pink lemon juice and vodka in a punch bowl and mix well. Just before serving, slowly pour in the ginger ale. Add the ice cubes. Garnish with the frozen cranberries and pink lemon slices; serve immediately.

Pink Thunder 

You’ll need: 1 oz melon liqueur; 1 oz peach liqueur; ½ oz pineapple juice; 3 strawberries; 1 mango chunk; 1 ½ oz vodka; 1 splash of juice of a pink lemon and 1 splash of crème de cassis

Mix everything in a blender with 5-6 ice cubes for 10 seconds. Pour into glass. Garnish with piece of pink lemon.

Pink Archipelago

You’ll need: 2 oz white rum; 2-3 dashes grenadine syrup, 1 tsp powdered sugar and ½ oz pink lemon juice

Shake well over ice cubes in a shaker, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Rumba Rose

You’ll need: 1 ½ oz lemon rum; 2 oz sweet and sour mix; ½ oz juice of a pink lemon and ½ oz cranberry juice

Shake and strain into a chilled, sugar-rimmed glass. Garnish with a slice of pink lemon.

 Pink Tingle

You’ll need: 1 oz Blue Curacao liqueur; 1 oz Jamaican dark rum; 1 oz grenadine syrup; 100 ml lemonade using pink lemons and ice cubes

Place ice in shaker, add all ingredients and shake well. Pour into shot glass to drink.

Packapink Punch

You’ll need: 1 liter Applejack; 2 cups orange juice; 5 oz grapefruit juice; 2 oz grenadine syrup; ½ oz orange bitters; ½ oz pink lemon juice; 1 qt lemon-lime soda; 1 qt ginger ale; 1 slice orange and 1 sliced apple

Combine the Applejack, orange juice, grapefruit juice, pink lemon juice, grenadine and orange bitters in a large punch bowl and stir well. Add lemon-lime soda and ginger ale; stir again. Add one large block of ice. Garnish with pink lemon slice.

Cheers! Click here for more cocktail corner columns.

Originally published in Santa Barbara Seasons on March 13, 2015.

Leslie Dinaberg

When she’s not busy working as the editor of Santa Barbara SEASONS, Cocktail Corner author Leslie Dinaberg writes magazine articles, newspaper columns and grocery lists. When it comes to cocktails, Leslie considers herself a “goal-oriented drinker.”