5 Ingredients or Fewer

Peppermint Lemon Stick Cocktail

May 27, 2011
4
2 Ratings
  • Serves 1
Author Notes

Baltimore is a city of tradition, and one of the great Baltimore springtime traditions (besides the Preakness!) is Flower Mart. Since 1901, precisely 110 years ago this year, on the first weekend in May, the Women's Civic League has sponsored a Flower Mart in the wonderful old cobblestone square of historic Mt. Vernon, near my house in the heart of Baltimore. The traditions of Flower Mart are many: ginormous, over the top, flowery spring hats (Princess Beatrice, eat your heart out!), great food, good music, and plenty of spring flowers to buy for your garden. But aside from these mainstays, perhaps the most loved, and most looked forward to tradition at Flower Mart is something called a Lemon Stick. Simply jam a hollow peppermint candy stick into a well scrubbed lemon as a straw, and you have an instant treat. It's sweet, juicy, sour and minty, and it simply wouldn't be Flower Mart, springtime, or Baltimore, without one. Inspired by its happy simplicity, here is my adult version of the Lemon Stick Cocktail. Like the Lemon Stick that inspired it, it's fast, fun, and simple. Equally good on a summer afternoon or evening, it doesn't require simple syrup, marinating vodka for a month, or hard to find or out of the ordinary ingredients. It's cool, light, sweet, tart, and very refreshing - but be careful - it can sneak up on you! For more photos of this year's 110th Annual Baltimore Flower Mart and the infamous Lemon Sticks, you can go here:

http://www.flowermart.org/may_pix.html —Burnt Offerings

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 3-4 peppermint leaves
  • 1 jigger (2 oz.) limoncello
  • 1 jigger (2 oz) citron vodka
  • sparkling water and ice
  • Hollow peppermint stick candy for a straw
Directions
  1. Muddle the mint leaves in the bottom of a highball or Tom Collins glass.
  2. Add ice, limoncello and vodka
  3. Fill with sparkling water and stir with peppermint stick. Use peppermint stick as a straw.
  4. Muddle, mix, repeat.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • healthierkitchen
    healthierkitchen
  • cheese1227
    cheese1227
  • TiggyBee
    TiggyBee
  • Summer of Eggplant
    Summer of Eggplant
  • meganvt01
    meganvt01

23 Reviews

toehead55 June 2, 2011
The secret is to use HARD peppermint sticks. The soft ones will melt and disappear into the lemon. Therefore you will not be able to enjoy the entire lemon/peppermint experience.
 
Burnt O. June 2, 2011
Very true - thanks for mentioning this. I can usually find them in the candy section at the grocery store.
 
healthierkitchen June 1, 2011
I have never seen one of these - festival style or adult! what fun!
 
cheese1227 May 31, 2011
And this one doesn't look like it will set me back $5 a piece!
 
Burnt O. May 31, 2011
Wow! I don't what festival you get yours from, but ours are only $2 a pop.
 
cheese1227 May 31, 2011
One of my favorite festival treats!
 
TiggyBee May 29, 2011
This is fantastic. I love the story, too!
 
Summer O. May 28, 2011
Thank you for this! I grew up in Baltimore (Bolton Hill to be exact) and always mention this treat to my friends, none of them had the pleasure of lemon sticks at their childhood festivals. I plan to make your adult version soon. You brought a smile to my face today, thanks again!
 
Burnt O. May 28, 2011
I live in Bolton Hill! Been here since 1999. Best community and neighborhood I have ever lived in - love it here. Where did you grow up?
 
Summer O. May 28, 2011
Jordan St. in the Jacobson houses, last one on the right. Small world! My very best friend and her husband own On the Hill Cafe.
 
Burnt O. May 28, 2011
Very small! I live in Park Purchase III. Jessica and George are friends of mine as well!
 
Summer O. May 28, 2011
So weird! Jessica, George, me and my spouse (Jim) are now planning our annual vacation together. Oh and we were oh so lucky to tag along on their trip to Spain prior to opening Centro. Oh how I wish that restaurant was in Atlanta.
 
Burnt O. May 29, 2011
Centro Tapas is a treasure! Best Tapas on the East Coast. When you are in town, you, Jessica, and I should grab lunch there or at On the Hill Cafe. Great neighbors, and the Cafe is a neighborhood mainstay. So glad it's open for dinner and Sundays now!
 
Summer O. May 29, 2011
Sounds good! I wish more people in Baltimore 'got' Centro but that's a hard crowd.
 
meganvt01 May 28, 2011
Love it! I remember having the non-alcoholic version as a kid!
 
Burnt O. May 28, 2011
They're wonderful kid's treats.
 
boulangere May 28, 2011
Knew you'd come up with something interesting and delicious.
 
Burnt O. May 28, 2011
Ah - the week is young yet boulangere - I expect yours will be fantastic!
 
wssmom May 28, 2011
How fun!
 
wewhine May 27, 2011
Dang! I could have used this in the infield at Pimlico!!!
 
Burnt O. May 27, 2011
Alas, another one of Baltimore's great traditions - bringing your own booze to the Pimlico infield debauchery - ended two years ago. Still plenty of infield debauchery, but you have to buy your booze on site and can't bring it in with you.
 
Sasha (. May 27, 2011
What a fun tradition... thanks for sharing :) Your photo is so pretty.
 
Burnt O. May 27, 2011
Aw thanks - I'm not very confident with my photo skills compared to some of the more artistic images on this site. I took this at last year's event.