The Legacy Lemonade: A Negro Leagues Tribute Mocktail
A layered gold-and-blue lemonade honoring the Negro Leagues. Kansas City Monarchs gold, Homestead Grays blue, with honey and butterfly pea tea.
By Larry Leo | Prep: | Servings: 1 | Difficulty: Medium
Ingredients
- 2 oz fresh lemon juice (about 2 large lemons)
- 1 oz raw honey syrup (2:1 honey to warm water, dissolved)
- 0.5 oz fresh thyme simple syrup
- 3 oz cold sparkling water
- 1.5 oz butterfly pea flower tea (brewed strong, chilled)
- Fresh thyme sprig, for garnish
- Lemon wheel, for garnish
- Ice (crushed preferred for the layered look)
Instructions
- Make the honey syrup: dissolve 2 tablespoons of raw honey in 1 tablespoon of warm water. Stir until smooth and let cool. This is your Monarchs gold base.
- Make the thyme simple syrup: combine equal parts sugar and water in a small saucepan, add 4-5 fresh thyme sprigs, bring to a simmer, then remove from heat and steep for 10 minutes. Strain and cool.
- Brew the butterfly pea flower tea: steep 1 tablespoon of dried butterfly pea flowers in 4 oz of hot water for 5 minutes. Strain and chill completely — this must be cold for the layering to work.
- In a shaker with ice, combine the fresh lemon juice, honey syrup, and thyme simple syrup. Shake vigorously for 10 seconds.
- Fill a tall Collins glass with crushed ice.
- Strain the golden lemon-honey mixture into the glass. It should fill about two-thirds of the glass.
- Top with the sparkling water and stir gently once.
- Now the magic: hold a bar spoon just above the surface of the drink, with the back of the spoon facing up. Very slowly pour the chilled butterfly pea flower tea over the back of the spoon. It will float on top, creating the blue layer.
- Garnish with a fresh thyme sprig and a lemon wheel on the rim.
- Serve immediately. Tell your guests the story. Raise your glass to the legends.
Category: baseball-heritage
Tags: negro-leagues, baseball, tribute, lemonade, butterfly-pea, honey, thyme, heritage, kansas-city-monarchs, historical