Arnold Palmer with a dried lemon wheel.
The Arnold Palmer is iced tea and lemonade, named after a golfer who ordered it so often it stuck. It's the most refreshing thing you can make without opening a bottle, and it's all about the ratio: enough tea to keep it dry, enough lemonade to keep it bright. A drink for hot afternoons and clear heads.
The dried lemon sits on top and makes a glass of soft drink look like it was poured with intent. A fresh slice would just bob about and bleed pith.
What you'll need
- 150ml chilled black tea, brewed strong
- 100ml cloudy lemonade
- 10ml sugar syrup (1:1), optional, if you like it sweeter
- 1 dried lemon wheel
- Ice, to fill
How to make it
- Brew the black tea strong and chill it well in advance. Weak tea makes a weak Palmer.
- Fill a tall glass with ice.
- Pour the tea in first, then the cloudy lemonade over it.
- Add the sugar syrup only if you want it sweeter, and stir once.
- Float a dried lemon wheel on top.
Why dried beats fresh here
This is a long drink full of ice, and it sits for a while between sips. A fresh lemon slice left in it over a hot afternoon turns the tannins bitter and clouds the glass with pith and juice.
A dried wheel adds the lemon look and a clean citrus note on the nose without any of that. It floats on top, holds its shape to the bottom of the glass, and never turns a refreshing drink bitter while you're not looking.
Use the Lemon jar, about 25 wheels, enough to dress a whole summer of jugs and tall glasses.