For centuries of global history, lemonade’s held a sweet spot in the hearts of beverage-lovers across the globe. Everyone knows the adage: "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Little else embodies the value of resilience and sticking it out when things get rough. While we’re all accustomed to this folksy wisdom, few of us know where the sour fruit took root. How did lemons reach their modern heights of popularity and sweetness in the form of our favorite beverage flavor? Explore the highlights of lemonade’s long and rich history with a timeline of its course across the globe - then, try five delicious summertime cocktails featuring Sparkling CBD Lemonade.
Egypt and the Mediterranean Coast
Nobody is totally certain as to the exact origin story of lemons themselves. However, the science journal Nature conducted a study in 2018 that helped to clarify their roots. According to this research, fossilized leaves in China’s Yunnan province shows that citrus has existed for 8 million years – since the late Miocene epoch.
Kashkab, lemonade’s precursor, dates back to medieval Egypt’s Mediterranean coast. Kashkab was blended from fermented barley, black pepper, rue and citron leaf.
Poet and traveler Nasir-i-Khushraw was known for his chronicled accounts of 10th-century Egyptian life. Between these works and the Jewish books and documents found in the Cairo Genizah, modern researchers have gained valuable insights into the culture and daily experiences of medieval Jewish life. Through these resources, we’ve learned that the medieval Jewish community found in Cairo regularly enjoyed qatarmizat, a sugary lemon-juice concoction. This early version of lemonade was traded and exported through the 13th century.
There’s no proof that lemons existed in this region in pre-Islamic years, but the general consensus in the historical community deems it likely that citron (a larger version of lemons) was prevalent. Mosaic imagery of Rome and frescoes of Pompeii depict citrus fruits resembling lemons and oranges, but there’s no written or paleobotanical evidence of their existence in that time period in either region.
The earliest written evidence of lemons’ existence is in Qustus al-Rumi’s 10th-century Arabic book on farming. In the late twelfth century, Muslim leader Saladin’s personal physician wrote an exposition on the lemon, bringing the fruit to the attention of a broader audience across the Mediterranean.
Paris and Beyond
Lemonade made a splash on Paris with its debut in August of 1630. The original blend was a carefully concocted combination of lemon juice, honey and sparkling water. Vendors of the day strapped tanks of lemonade to their backs and walked around Paris, selling cup by cup to the thirsty Parisian public. We’re thankful there’s a better way to buy lemonade today. While lemonade ultimately made its way through Europe as a novelty beverage, no other community cherished lemonade quite like Paris - where lemonade reached the peak of style and status. Lemonade vendors eventually formed a union in 1676 called Compagnie de Limonadiers due to the industry’s rampant growth. The widespread sale of lemonade even helped protect Parisians from the plague.
As we’ve discussed, British chemist Joseph Priestley designed an apparatus enabling the manmade manufacture of carbonated water. By the 1780s, Johann Schweppe created a new method of carbonation with a compression pump, increasing the ease of mass production. Both Schweppe and Priestley paved the way for the 1830s innovation of fizzy lemonade, which sent lemonade sales rising higher than ever.
Abroad to America
Lemonade reached America in the nineteenth century, ushered in with waves of immigrants from France and surrounding countries. The women’s temperance movement pushed lemonade as a tasty alternative to alcohol in the Victorian era. One propagandist motto of the day proclaimed “Good-bye to liquor, here’s to lemonade.”
Alcohol was banned at state dinners and all other White House functions from 1877 to 1881, under the administration of Rutherford B. Hayes. While Hayes himself made this call to gain the favor of the Prohibitionist party, critics soured on his wife and disparagingly dubbed her “Lemonade Lucy.”
Both ice and the traveling circus joined lemonade’s long journey in the early 1900s. Pink Lemonade was first linked to the circus in the West Virginia Wheeling Register in 1879. How did this happen? Two popular stories attempt to explain pink lemonade’s introduction. The first version took hold in 1857 – explaining that a weary circus worker grabbed the first batch of liquid he could find to calm and restless crowd of customers. It happened to be a tub of dirty water, in which a dancer had just washed and wrought her dirty pink tights. Undeterred, the vendor mixed in the remaining ingredients to save time, rather than get fresh water – and the crowd went wild for his ”strawberry lemonade.” Sales were said to have doubled, and circuses were certain to stock up on pink lemonade from that day forward.
Don’t let that folklore sour you on lemonade itself. The second version is a little sweeter. In the prevailing anecdote of 1912, a concession worker accidentally dropped red-colored cinnamon candies into a vat of regular lemonade, turning the entire blend pink. Since the show must go on at the circus, he sold the pink lemonade anyway, and customers couldn’t get enough.
Try These Summer-Ready CBD Lemonade Cocktails
“April showers bring May flowers,” the age-old saying goes. Unfortunately, here in Colorado, the month of May brought another snowstorm. We’re hoping that the cold and dreary days are finally behind us for the season. However, if life brings another round of lemons in the form of terrible weather, we’ll just make some lemonade (and mix in a little alcohol).
Start your summer with a splash of flavor by trying our specialty CBD cocktail and mocktail recipes - each featuring delicious CBD drink flavors like Sparkling CBD Lemonade. There's no better way to toast another night indoors without it feeling like the slightest sacrifice. Join the Colorado's Best Drinks team in welcoming the warmer weather with our Beverage Blog's flavorful CBD cocktail recipes. Each of the following five CBD cocktail recipes feature the ultimate summertime drink flavor: lemonade.
Sparkling CBD Chambord Sours
Serves: Two
What You'll Need:
- Two ounces Chambord
- Two ounces vodka
- One can Sparkling CBD Lemonade
- Fresh mint (for optional garnish)
- Four to six thin lemon slices (for optional garnish)
- Ice
How It's Made:
- Fill two large wine glasses with ice.
- Add approximately one ounce of vodka and one ounce of Chambord to each glass.
- Divide one can of Sparkling CBD Lemonade evenly between both glasses.
- Lightly stir each beverage until the contents of both glasses are blended well.
- If desired, garnish each drink with two to three lemon slices and fresh mint.
- Serve and enjoy!
Sparkling CBD Mint Mixers
Serves: Two
What You'll Need:
- Three ounces gin
- One can Sparkling CBD Lemonade
- One ounce granulated sugar
- Two mint sprigs (for optional garnish)
- Two to four lemon slices (for optional garnish)
- Ice
How It's Made:
- Add gin and sugar to a cocktail shaker.
- Shake contents for at least thirty seconds until well-blended.
- Add ice to two tumbler glasses, then use the strainer to divide the cocktail shaker's contents evenly between both glasses.
- Top off each glass with approximately half of one Sparkling CBD Lemonade can.
- Gently stir the beverage with a stir stick or small spoon until well-blended.
- If desired, garnish each drink with a mint spring and one or two lemon slices.
- Serve and enjoy!
Sparkling Pomegranate Pucker Punch
Serves: Two
What You'll Need:
- Three ounces pomegranate flavored liqueur
- Two ounces citrus flavored vodka
- Twenty to twenty-two fresh raspberries
- One half can Sparkling CBD Lemonade
- Ten thin lemon slices
- Ice
How It's Made:
- Add sixteen raspberries to the bottom of a medium-sized cocktail shaker, then use a spoon to muddle them well.
- Add pomegranate liqueur, citrus vodka and ice to the cocktail shaker.
- Shake contents vigorously for at least thirty seconds until all components are blended thoroughly.
- Fill two pint glasses halfway with ice, then cover the ice with five thin lemon slices per glass.
- Pour approximately three ounces of Sparkling CBD Lemonade into each glass.
- Slowly top off both glasses with the cocktail shaker's contents, slowly pouring half over the lemons in each glass.
- If desired, garnish each drink with two to four fresh raspberries.
- Serve and enjoy!
Blueberry CBD Sours
Serves: Four
What You'll Need:
- One ounce blueberry simple syrup
- One ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Two ounces vodka
- One can Sparkling CBD Lemonade
- Frozen blueberries
- Four to six thin lemon slices
- Ice
How It's Made:
- Select two martini glasses and add several large ice cubes to each..
- Divide lemon juice, vodka and simple syrup evenly between both glasses.
- Add approximately half of one Sparkling CBD Lemonade can, leaving room to comfortably stir each glass.
- Gently stir each drink using a stirring stick or small spoon until each beverage is blended well, then top off each glass with additional Lemonade.
- If desired, add one or more frozen blueberries and lemon slices to the top of each glass for garnish.
- Serve and enjoy!
Pink Lemonade CBD Spritzers
Serves: Two
What You'll Need:
- Six ounces of light bottled beer
- One can of Sparkling CBD Lemonade
- One ounce of chilled vodka
- Four to six fresh raspberries and citrus slices (for optional garnish)
- Ice
How It's Made:
- Add all ingredients except raspberries and citrus slices to a small pitcher.
- Stir the pitcher's contents gently for at least thirty seconds until all ingredients have been blended thoroughly.
- Divide the pitcher's contents evenly between two tall drinking glasses.
- If desired, add two to three raspberries and citrus slices to the top of each beverage as an optional garnish.
- Serve and enjoy!
Sweeten Your Next Night In With Sparkling CBD Lemonade!
From the streets of Paris to America’s earliest circus stands, lemonade has hit the spot for centuries of history across the globe. Sparkling CBD Lemonade packs the perfect pairing of sweet and tart flavors, with a careful combination of natural lemon extracts and organic agave nectar. Better yet, there are only five natural ingredients and 100 calories per can of CBD soda. Sparkling CBD Citrus Water and Hibiscus Water take it a step further with just four ingredients and zero calories each - satisyfing your sweet tooth without a drop of guilt.
Colorado's Best Drinks' sodas and sparkling waters are the perfect choice to unwind at the end of your workday. Order a twelve-pack of lemonade today for just $50 or a 48-pack for $180 and we'll bring a case to your doorstep - ready to savor straight from the can or in these delicious drink recipes. All nine flavors of our sparkling CBD sodas, waters and teas are delicious and refreshing. Our products all contain phytocannabinoid-rich, broad spectrum hemp extract. Better yet, each sparkling CBD beverage flavor is vegan, non-GMO, and free of gluten, sodium, and preservatives. PCR hemp extract is one of just five ingredients in every can of Colorado's Best Drinks, and you’ll taste that sweet simplicity with every sip.