The Pithy Bar

Lemon twist

A strip of lemon peel, expressed over the drink so its oils land on the surface. Nearly all of the effect is in that spray - the peel that ends up in the glass is mostly there to show you what you just smelled.

Take it with a Y-peeler rather than a knife: press lightly and pull one steady stroke down the fruit, and you get a wide strip with none of the white pith under it. Pith is bitter, and whatever you take of it comes through in the drink. A channel knife cuts the narrow spiral instead, which is the same job done for looks.

Hold the strip skin-side down a few centimeters above the surface and pinch it sharply - in decent light you can see the oil hit the drink. Wipe it once around the rim, then drop it in.

Background: the twist as a garnish.

Diet

Used in

  • Amaretto Sour

    A bitter-almond sour, sweet and sour and soft

  • Americano

    A Milano Torino stretched long with soda, bitter and easy

  • Bee's Knees

    Honey gin sour - A prohibition era classic

  • Between the Sheets

    A Sidecar with rum in it

  • Bijou

    Herbal, sweet and very strong - diamond, emerald and ruby

  • Blue Blazer

    A flaming arc of whisky poured between two mugs

  • Corpse Reviver No. 2

    A Sidecar on gin, lengthened with Lillet and rinsed with absinthe

  • French 75

    A gin sour lengthened with champagne. Like a fancy Tom Collins.

  • Gin Sour

    Gin, lemon and sugar - the sour at its plainest

  • Gold Rush

    A whiskey sour with honey syrup where the sugar should be

  • Honeysuckle

    A daiquiri with honey in place of sugar, and lemon for the lime

  • Rusty Nail

    Scotch and Drambuie over ice, no fuzz

  • Sazerac

    Rye in an absinthe-rinsed glass.

  • Whiskey Sour

    Bourbon, lemon and sugar under a cap of foam

  • White Lady

    A Sidecar made with gin, shaken silky with egg white