Longfellow House Pink Lemonade
gluten free / vegan
When I was a preteen/teenager, I spent every spare moment in the summertime at the Longfellow House pool in Pascagoula, Mississippi. There was a walk-up bar at the pool where we used to order Pink Lemonades. They were sooooo refreshing with loads of fruit! Here's the best rendition of the recipe and a beautiful memory of youth. The Longfellow House is an historic home built in the 1850's and has been the subject of ghost stories, stories about Henry Longfellow writing a poem there, and the victim of many hurricanes on the Gulf Coast. In my youth, it was owned by Ingalls Shipbuilding and was a private club and resort. I remember it best for the fun summers and the pink lemonade!
Makes 6 large glasses.
Ingredients
1 cup fresh lemon juice (4–6 large lemons)
1 cup sugar
5 cups cold water (divided)
1/4 cup unsweetened cranberry juice (100% Unsweetened) or Grenadine
Lemon and orange slices
maraschino cherrries
Steps
- In a saucepan, stir together 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water over low heat until sugar has dissolved. Let cool completely before continuing.
- Stir lemon juice, sugar syrup, and 4 cups of cold water.
- Slowly add the cranberry or Grenadine until the pink color is what you desire.
- Fill glasses with ice.
- Pour in lemonade and garnish with lemon slices, orange slices, and maraschino cherries
(Sometimes, The Longfellow House would make these as a frozen treat! to do this, just take the lemonade mixture and blend with crushed ice in a blender.)