Perfect Peach Lemonade
August is National Peach Month—a whole month dedicated to the South’s favorite fruit. In past years, I’ve shared peach recipes throughout the summer, or for one specific week in August. This year, I’m celebrating peaches all month long, and I’m kicking off Peach Month with a Southern favorite: sweet, tart Peach Lemonade.
Before we get into this peach lemonade recipe, you can explore more peach recipes on the blog here.
Perfect Peach Lemonade
Lemonade is such a classic Southern summer drink. You’d be hard pressed to not find it at any Southern summer cookout or dinner party. It’s perfect for all ages, and can easily be kicked up a notch or two with some booze if desired. A good base lemonade can take on a lot of different flavors, so in honor of Peach Month, let’s make some Peach Lemonade!
My mom likes her lemonade pretty tart; Chick-fil-a’s lemonade is one of her favorites and is her perfect level of tartness. However, I prefer my lemonade on the less tart side, but not super sweet. This Peach Lemonade recipe hits the balance between the two: nicely sweet from the peaches, with a hint of tartness from the fresh lemon juice.
For this lemonade, we’re making a peach simple syrup, and then mixing that with fresh-squeezed lemon juice and water. I’ve made lemonade without a syrup before, and I found the sugar didn’t dissolve completely, and it ended up being a little grainy at the bottom. The simple syrup makes the whole beverage smoother and more balanced, and it’s really not a whole lot of extra effort than just dumping everything into a pitcher and stirring.
I always opt for fresh lemon juice whenever possible. Squeezing fresh lemon juice isn’t the easiest or most fun task, but fresh juice makes such a difference in your beverages. Plus, it’s usually cheaper to buy a bunch of lemons and squeeze them yourself, rather than buying a bottle of pre-squeezed juice. These citrus squeezers make the job a little easier!
This Peach Lemonade tastes wonderful on its own, but you can spike it for some extra zing if you’d like. Citrus or peach-flavored vodka are good choices, or rum for something a little more smooth. And of course any good Southerner might add a shot or two of bourbon—maybe even some peach infused bourbon.
Let’s make some Peach Lemonade!
This might become your new go-to party beverage. You can add more lemon juice or make a slightly weaker simple syrup depending on how tart you like it! For a really refreshing drink, mix some of this lemonade with your favorite iced tea—perhaps even some peach iced tea for a real peach burst!
Perfect Peach Lemonade
Equipment
- Small saucepan
- Pitcher or carafe
- Large spoon
- Measuring cups
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 1/2 cup lemon juice, divided
- 3 whole peaches, sliced and divided
- 1 whole lemon, sliced
- 3-4 cups cold water
Instructions
- In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the sugar, water, and 1/4 cup of the lemon juice. Stir gently until combined and the sugar has dissolved.
- Turn off the heat and add slices of one peach. Let the peaches infuse for up to ten minutes while the syrup cools. Strain out the peach slices and set the syrup aside to cool completely.
- In a large pitcher or carafe, add the remaining lemon juice, cooled peach syrup, peach and lemon slices.
- Fill the pitcher or carafe with cold water, and stir gently to combine.
- Serve over ice and garnish with more peach and lemon slices.
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