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Sekai Gohan

Lemon, Lime and Bitters: Australian Sparkling Citrus Drink with Angostura Bitters

Servings 1 drink

Lemon, lime and bitters in an ice-filled rocks glass, with an orange-tinged layer floating on top and clear pale yellow-green soda below
Steps with photos

Ingredients

Ingredient Amount Role
Club soda, chilled 4 fl oz The body of the drink and all of its fizz
Simple syrup (sugar and water, 1:1) 1 fl oz (30 ml) All of the sweetness
Fresh lemon juice ½ fl oz (15 ml) The lemon half of the sourness
Fresh lime juice ½ fl oz (15 ml) The other half of the sourness, and the lime aroma
Angostura bitters ½ tsp Aroma, bitterness and the orange layer on top
Ice to fill the glass Keeps the soda cold and the bubbles lively

Steps

  1. 1Make the syrup and fill the glass with ice

    Stir equal parts sugar and water together until no grains remain and the syrup runs clear. Squeeze the lemon and the lime, then measure the juice of each into its own cup. Pack a rocks glass with ice right up to the rim. The glass is ready when the ice sits level with the top and there is no liquid in it yet.

  2. 2Pour in the chilled club soda

    Take the club soda out of the fridge and open it now. Pour it slowly down over the ice so it does not foam up and spill. Stop at about halfway up the glass. You will see the liquid sitting halfway up the ice with fine bubbles streaming through it.

  3. 3Add the syrup, then the lemon and lime

    Pour in the simple syrup first. Follow it with the lemon juice and then the lime juice, pouring each one gently over the ice. Leave the spoon on the counter, because the glass gets one stir at the very end. The drink should still look clear and pale yellow-green, with no band of colour, and bubbles should still be rising.

  4. 4Float the bitters on top

    Measure the bitters into a teaspoon. Hold the spoon just above the surface and tip it slowly, so the bitters land on the fizz and stay there instead of plunging straight in. They gather at the top as a rust-orange layer and run down the ice in thin trails. Leave the glass unstirred. You are looking for an ombré band, darkest at the surface and fading toward the middle.

    Let the bitters land, don't pour them

    The layer only forms if the bitters reach the surface gently. Tip them from just above the drink, and keep the bar spoon out until the band has formed.

  5. 5Stir gently and serve

    Slide a bar spoon down the side of the glass and give it a few slow turns. Stir gently so the drink stays lively. Stop when the orange top has softened down into the yellow-green base and bubbles are still climbing the glass. Serve it straight away, as it is, with no garnish.