Cocktails with Lemon peel
Lemon peel is the outer colored layer of the rind — the flavedo — where the essential oils sit. It carries neither the acidity of the juice nor the bitterness of the white pith, and it goes into a drink for that oil alone, expressed over the surface or dropped in.
Substitutes for Lemon peel
Orange peel is rounder and sweeter in aroma. Grapefruit is more bitter and more resinous. Lemon bitters put a version of the note into the liquid, which is a different effect than scent above it.
Often confused with
Grated lemon zest
Grating takes the same layer as fine shreds and mixes it into the liquid instead of spraying it over. The aroma lasts longer in the glass and never reaches the nose first. It flavors the drink through and gives up the first-impression aroma.
A strip with the pith attached
White backing means bitterness in the drink and a strip that will not curl, and scrape it off instead of cutting thinner.
Storage
Cut to order — the oils are gone within the hour and a dry strip will not curl. Whole lemons keep two or three weeks refrigerated. If the peel is the point, buy unwaxed: wax leaves a dull taste on the lip of the glass.
