9 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT HONEY, LEMON, AND MINT
How often do you think about your favourite foods and flavours? Do you consider where they came from or how they came to be a supermarket staple?
In your #AtHomeBartender journey, you are likely to come across an array of flavours as you get creative and experiment with cocktail making. Some of these flavours you'll love and won't be able to get enough of.
A popular combination among our audience is honey, lemon, and mint, proven by the popularity of our Honey, Lemon, and Mint Gin Cocktail recipe.
We’ve decided to delve into the world of honey, lemon, and mint to bring you some interesting facts to inspire you to add these eclectic flavour profiles to your next cocktail.
Lemon
With its endless culinary uses, lemons are a popular addition to cocktails. Here are some fun facts about lemons:
Uses of Lemon
Lemon tree leaves can be used to make tea, with lemon zest as a great addition to baking. For cocktails? You guessed it. They’re a great garnish for almost every drink.
How It's Made
Lemons are thought to be a hybrid between a sour orange and a citron.
Lemon Trees
Lemon trees can produce up to 600lbs per year. That's as heavy as an average Mountain Zebra or male Grizzly Bear. That's a lot of lemons.
Source: The Fact Site.
Want to add some lemons to your next drink? Try lemon flavoured simple syrup or learn how to dehydrate lemons for a beautiful garnish.
Check out the Lemon & Thyme Tonic recipe here.
Mint
The natural breath freshener, mint is an ancient herb, found in tombs as far back as 1000 BC. According to Great American Spice, mint has many uses and an interesting history.
A Greek Past
Mint was named after Minthe, a character in Greek mythology, who was known as Pluto's girlfriend. Persephone, Pluto's wife, turned Minthe into a "ground-clinging plant" as a result of her jealousy.
The Good Herb
In Mexico, mint is called Yerba Bueno, meaning “good herb”.
Mint Family
Mint is an umbrella term, used to refer to the entire Mentha family, including spearmint, orange mint, peppermint, and over 25 other varieties.
You can show your appreciation for mint by adding it to your next cocktail. You can add a whole sprig, muddle it, or make mint flavoured simple syrup.
Here are some of our favourite cocktails with mint.
Strawberry, Mint, and Grapefruit Tonic
Honey
A natural sweetener, honey is a great replacement for processed sugars and is produced by honeybees. Here are some fun facts about honey and its creators:
Lifetime Work
One pound of honey is the lifetime work of approximately 768 honeybees, requiring them to fly over 55,000 miles and visit around 22 million flowers.
Eternally Sweet
Honey can have an eternal shelf life when stored properly. According to Mental Floss, there are reports of 3000-year-old Egyptian tombs being found with still edible honey in them.
Honey to Sweeten the Deal
In Germany 2000 years ago, honey was highly valued for its ability to sweeten beer. It was so highly valued, that German lords would allow peasants to make payments in honey and beeswax.
Source: Mental Floss.
Honey, Lemon, and Mint are more than just great additions to a Fitch & Leedes cocktail, but a great source of history with multiple uses and benefits.
For those of you who have yet to give it a try, here is our Honey, Lemon, Mint cocktail recipe.