Cocktails with Lemon peel
Lemon peel is the outer colored layer of the rind, the flavedo, where the essential oils sit. It goes into a drink for that oil, expressed over the surface or dropped in.
How it's used
Cut a wide strip with a peeler, hold it colored side down over the glass and squeeze. The oil sprays over the surface and is the first thing you smell. Lemon oil is brighter and less resinous than orange oil. A twist adds no acidity, only aroma.
Substitutes for Lemon peel
Another citrus peel
Works well, expressed the same way. Orange is rounder and sweeter, lime sharper, grapefruit more bitter. Cut only the colored zest.
Grated lemon zest
A few passes on a fine grater per drink is enough. It flavors the liquid itself, and if it goes into the shaker, fine-strain the drink.
Lemon bitters
Without fresh citrus, a dash puts lemon aroma into the drink rather than misting the surface.
A strip with the pith attached
Does not work. The white pith adds bitterness, and a thick strip will not twist neatly.
Storage
Cut to order: the oils fade quickly once cut, and a dried strip will not curl. Whole lemons keep two or three weeks refrigerated. If the peel is the point, buy unwaxed lemons, since wax coats the skin you are expressing.
