Pink Lemonade
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙
Pink Lemonade is a non-alcoholic mix of fresh lemon juice, sugar syrup and grenadine topped with soda water — the grenadine gives it its blush. Bright and tart up front, mellowing into a sweet, lightly syrupy finish, with fine bubbles lifting the sharpness into a crisp, refreshing sip.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake the first 3 ingredients with ice: Lemon juice 45 mlSugar syrup 15 mlGrenadine syrup 15 ml
- Strain into the ice-filled glass
- Top with Soda water
- Garnish with a lemon slice
Tips
- Use freshly squeezed lemon juice rather than bottled — it keeps the tartness bright instead of flat or metallic.
- Top with soda water only after straining into the ice-filled glass, so the carbonation survives to the table.
- Pre-chill the glass before building so the ice doesn't melt fast and dilute the drink before serving.
History
Pink lemonade is an American drink whose invention is tied to two rival 19th-century circus legends rather than to a single documented creator. The best-known version traces it to Henry E. Allott, a Chicago-born circus concessionaire who ran off to join a traveling circus as a teenager in the early 1870s; as the story goes, he accidentally dropped red cinnamon candies into a tub of plain lemonade, tinting it pink, and sold it as a novelty rather than waste the batch. A 1912 New York Times obituary credited Allott, known in circus circles as "Bunk," with the invention.
A competing account, recorded in a circus memoir about lion tamer George Conklin, holds that Conklin's brother Pete invented the drink in 1857 while running a lemonade concession, improvising with a tub of tinted water after running out of clean supply. Because both tales come from circus-world sources decades after the fact, neither can be verified, and food historians treat the drink's origin as an unresolved piece of circus folklore. By the 1890s pink lemonade was already a fixture of circuses and fairs, with a colored version of the recipe appearing in print by 1892, well before it became a general American refreshment associated with summertime gatherings.
FAQ
What is in a pink lemonade drink?
Fresh lemon juice, sugar syrup, and grenadine syrup, topped with soda water and garnished with a lemon slice. The grenadine is what turns the lemonade pink and adds a light berry-pomegranate sweetness alongside the sugar syrup.
What alcohol mixes with pink lemonade?
This recipe is entirely non-alcoholic as written. Vodka is the most common spirit added to pink lemonade for an alcoholic version, since its neutral flavor doesn't compete with the lemon juice and grenadine.
How do you make real pink lemonade?
Shake fresh lemon juice with sugar syrup and grenadine over ice, strain into an ice-filled glass, then top with soda water and garnish with a lemon slice. The grenadine both sweetens and tints the lemonade pink, so no artificial coloring is needed.
What makes it pink lemonade?
The pink color comes from grenadine syrup, which is shaken into what would otherwise be ordinary lemonade. Some versions use cranberry or raspberry juice instead, but this recipe gets its color and a subtle berry note from grenadine.
What is the flavor of pink lemonade?
It tastes primarily of tart, fresh lemon rounded out by sweetness, with a light fruity note from the grenadine and a fizzy lift from the soda water. It is closer to a classic lemonade than a distinctly berry-flavored drink.
Is pink lemonade healthy?
This recipe runs about 107 calories per serving and is vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free, made with real lemon juice rather than artificial mixes. It contains added sugar from both the sugar syrup and grenadine, so it is a treat rather than a low-sugar drink.