Minnesota Spiked Lemonade is a sweet cocktail made with fresh lemon juice and spiked with vodka for a refreshing adult beverage, perfect for hot summer days! Try my Vodka Lemonade for a drink using my homemade lemonade.
Minnesota Spiked Lemonade
Minnesota is known for its bootleg cocktail, which was made during prohibition to hide the taste of alcohol (which can be dangerous…)! The cocktail consists of vodka, citrus, and fresh mint. I stuck with the basic ingredients of a bootleg cocktail in this Minnesota Spiked Lemonade but added some ginger ale to the mix. If you are not a vodka fan, you could always add a little whiskey or bourbon to the drink.
Minnesota Spiked Lemonade Recipe
It just takes a few minutes and a few ingredients to get this cocktail made and served. My favorite ingredient in this (besides the vodka 😂) is Ginger ale–Try making your own homemade ginger ale for this recipe! Making it from scratch makes a HUGE difference in this awesome drink!
How to Juice Lemons
The first thing you have to do to make this cocktail is to squeeze the lemons for the lemon juice. Look for heavier lemons when you pick them out; they will have the most juice. Try to avoid the rough-skinned lemons, since they may have aged and lost some of their juice.
When you are ready to squeeze out the lemon juice, you can do it by hand or with a handheld juicer. Make sure the lemons are at room temperature before juicing them. Cut the lemons lengthwise to get the most juice. Use a fork to get the insides of the lemons loosened and start squeezing! Use a mesh strainer to catch the seeds and pulp of the lemons.
Do I Have to Use Fresh Lemons?
Nope. If you don’t have time (or the desire) to freshly squeeze six lemons, you could use lemon juice. A rule of thumb is that each lemon is equivalent to 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice. I would start with 2 tablespoons per lemon for this recipe, which means you would need 12 tablespoons of lemon juice for the six lemons (about 3/4 of a cup). If lemons aren’t your fruit of choice, try the same amount of lime juice or orange juice.
How to Make Spiked Minnesota Lemonade
Once you have your lemons juiced, get out a small saucepan, and combine the sugar and water. Next, heat up the sugar and water over medium heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. This takes about two minutes. Then, remove the dissolved sugar from the heat and let it cool before adding the lemon juice and vodka.
After adding the lemon juice and vodka to the sugar mixture, stir to combine and pour the liquid evenly into four glasses that are filled halfway with ice. Finally, top with ginger ale and garnish with a fresh mint leaf. Sip away and enjoy!
Minnesota Spiked Lemonade
Ingredients
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 6 medium lemons*, juiced
- 1 cup vodka
- 3 cups ginger ale
- mint leaves, for garnish
Instructions
- Juice the lemons and set aside.
- In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water and heat over medium until sugar completely dissolves (about 2 minutes).
- Remove from heat and let cool.
- Add lemon juice and vodka. Stir to combine.
- Pour mixture evenly into 4 glasses filled halfway with ice. Top with ginger ale.
- Garnish with mint leaves.
Notes
It's about 3/4 cup of store-bought lemon juice. If lemons aren't your fruit of choice, try the same amount of lime juice or orange juice!
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
