The Drunken Botanist: The Plants that Create the World's Great Drinks (58 page)

Citrus limon

A lemon is most likely a cross between a lime, a citron, and a pomelo. The Italian Sorrento lemon, Femminello Ovale, definitely exhibits citron characteristics, with its thick skin and sour flavor.

To get the flavor just right, Sorrento trees are shaded by straw mats called
pagliarelle
or, more recently, plastic shade cloths. This protects the trees from cold weather and helps slow down the ripening process so that harvest season happens in summer. Because the trees produce fruit year-round, each crop has its own name:
limoni
comes first, in the winter, followed by
bianchetti,
then
verdelli
during the summer months and
primofiori
in the fall.

The Eureka lemon, more properly called Garey's Eureka, is descended from the Sicilian lemon and is a more acidic, thick-skinned variety. The most popular lemon for home gardeners, cooks, and bartenders is the sweet and juicy Meyer lemon, which is actually a cross between a lemon and a mandarin. The rind is lower in essential oils, so for mixing drinks, the zest is less desirable than the juice itself.

LIME

Bearss lime, Tahiti lime, or Persian lime,
Citrus latifolia
Key lime, Mexican lime, or West Indian lime,
C. aurantifolia
Kaffir lime,
C. hystrix

Limes originated in India or Southeast Asia and came to Europe by the fifteenth century. They are actually yellowish green when ripe; they have to be picked before ripening to retain the green color that buyers expect in limes. With half the sugar content of lemons, and slightly more acid, they play a distinct role in cocktails. Chemical analysis of limes shows that they are higher in linalool and α-terpineol, two rich, floral flavors, and that the peel contains oils that add a warm, spicy note.

The more acidic key lime is the bartender's best friend, adding just the right tropical touch to margaritas and mojitos. It also grows particularly well in a container, staying small and producing fruit nearly year-round. The milder Bearss lime, considered the “true lime,” produces larger fruit and tolerates cooler climates. The kaffir is grown primarily for its leaves, which flavor Thai food and are used in infused vodkas. Its rind is grated into curries, but the fruit itself is nearly inedible.

A number of lime liqueurs are on the market, the most useful being Velvet Falernum, made with lime, sugar, and spices. (There are also nonalcoholic lime, spice, and sugar mixers sold as Falernum that accomplish the same thing in a drink.) Mai tais, zombies, and other tropical cocktails depend upon falernum. A French liqueur called Monin Original Lime, which was introduced in 1912, has only recently been back on the market and is hard to find in the United States, but it is worth seeking out for citrus-based drinks. St. George Spirits makes a kaffir-infused Hangar One vodka; it is the perfect base to Thai-inspired cocktails.

 

MANDARIN

Tangerine, clementine, or common mandarin,
Citrus reticulata
Chinese mandarin,
C. nobilis
Satsuma mandarin,
C. unshiu
(syn.
C. reticulata
)

The much-hybridized mandarin, a sweet fall or winter-fruiting orange with a loose skin that practically falls off the fruit, flavors a Cognac-based liqueur called Mandarine Napoleon that, according to its makers, has its origins in Napoleon's court. Chemist Antoine François, comte de Fourcroy, apparently invented the recipe for Napoleon, who liked his brandy steeped in orange peels. And in fact, mandarins grew in Corsica, an island off the coast of northern Italy, which was the French emperor's birthplace. Mandarin blossoms, along with a little peel, also flavor a delightful mandarin-infused Hangar One vodka from St. George Spirits.

POMELO

Citrus maxima
(syn.
C. grandis
)

Also called shaddock, the pomelo is an ancestor to modern grapefruits and bitter oranges. The fruit is large and heavy, weighing up to four pounds. The rind has a thick, often green skin, especially in southeast Asia, where it is widely grown.

Charles Jacquin et Cie, makers of Chambord raspberry liqueur, once made a pomelo and honey brandy–based liqueur called Forbidden Fruit that was an essential ingredient in some classic cocktails, including the Tantalus, a mixture of equal parts lemon juice, Forbidden Fruit, and brandy. (Some bartenders attempt to re-create the liqueur by steeping pomelo or grapefruit peel, honey, spices, and vanilla in brandy, with varying degrees of success.) The words
pomelo
and
pummelo
are widely used to refer to either true pomelos or grapefruits, so liqueurs with
pomelo
in the name might be flavored with either fruit.

SWEET ORANGE