Meyer Lemon Gin Fizz

At first they may not seem any different from standard lemons (actually, Whole Foods has accidentally rang them up as regular lemons many times), but Meyer lemons are actually a cross between a regular lemon and a mandarin orange.  The result is a sweeter and more floral taste.  They are in season during the winter, so now is the best time to pick some up and make desserts, lemonade, salad dressings, and, of course, cocktails!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 ounces gin

1 ounce Meyer lemon juice

1/4 ounce simple syrup (1:1)

1 egg white (or 1/2 ounce of egg white from a carton)

Soda

Add the gin, Meyer lemon juice, simple syrup, and egg white to a shaker without ice.  Shake well for one minute.  Add ice to the shaker.  Shake again to chill the drink.  Strain into a highball over ice.  Top off with a splash of soda.

The Meyer Lemon Gin Fizz is a very simple drink but it is the Meyer lemons which make it shine and set it apart from a standard gin fizz (this is actually a silver fizz - because of the egg whites - for all you cocktail nerds out there).  The creamy texture of the egg white is offset by the extremely delicate and floral aroma and flavor of the Meyer lemons.  Since Meyer lemons are only in season for a few months (go get some right now!), I urge you all to use them while you can.  And this is one of the best ways to use the juice.  

A word of advice: you can save the peel and candy it.  It's really very easy to do.  First, be sure to slice off the peel before juicing the lemons!  Slice the peels into strips.  Next, you bring a small amount of simple syrup to a boil and add in the peel.  Reduce heat to a simmer and simmer the mix until the peels are somewhat translucent.  Take them out with tongs and dry them on a rack or on parchment paper.  Oh, and for an added bonus, keep the remaining simple syrup, which you just infused!  If you substitute the infused syrup in this cocktail then you will bump up the lemony goodness!  Or pour it over some vanilla ice cream for dessert.  Enjoy!