Peach Bourbon Sweet Tea Lemonade

{Thank you to McCormick Grill Mates for sponsoring this post, the first in a three-part series showcasing this summer’s grilling trends.}

When the last time you tried grilling something new? Hopefully this summer will bring lots of fun grilling times your way. I’ve kicked off my summer by grilling a drink!

This recipe for Peach Bourbon Sweet Tea Lemonade, made with grilled peaches and lemons and just a kick of bourbon, comes from McCormick. I was a little unsure…all right, I was closer to skeptical…about whether grilling the fruit would make any difference to the flavor of the drink. Well, I’m here to tell you that it does. A lot!

Grilling peaches and lemons

I knew that grilling peaches caramelizes them on the outside – I now know that the caramel, when you drop the peaches into your drink, further flavors the drink in an amazing way. The longer the peaches soak in the tea, the more the flavors blend. As for the lemons – grilling them seemed to allow more lemon juice to release, as well as some pulp. I picked out the best lemons I could find, but I wouldn’t say they were quite the quality that I might have found a few months ago. Nonetheless, once grilled these lemons were incredibly juicy. Oh, and by the way – charring peaches and lemons on your grill makes your backyard smell like cobbler! (yum)

I don’t make drinks that often (I’m more likely to just open a bottle of wine), but I think I need to change that because this was one of the most refreshing summertime drinks I’ve had in a while! I should add that the bourbon is totally optional – there’s not much in it, it’s not boozy at all.

More ideas for charred fruit drinks from McCormick

If you’ve never grilled fruit to make a drink, perhaps you will soon. Charred fruit drinks is one of seven trends featured in the McCormick Grill Mates and Lawry’s Flavor Forecast 2013: GRILLING EDITION. The other six include: 7 Flavors to Watch (sweet tea, smoked tomato, oregano, pecan wood, white peach, ginger and whiskey), DIY Condiments, 5 Minute Marinating, Social S’mores, Smoke & Spice Pairings) and Breads on the Grill. Throughout the summer I’ll be shaking up my regular grilling routine and trying out recipes involving some of these trends.

Peach Bourbon Sweet Tea Lemonade

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4 Comments

  1. Angela wrote:

    Sounds perfect for summer especially for a day out golfing. I wonder if you can do it on an indoor grill? It won’t be smokey, but maybe the sweetness from the char will still be there?

    Posted 6.25.13 Reply
    • Now that I’ve done I’d say yes, this would definitely work on an indoor grill. I didn’t get that much smoky flavor, especially since the fruit is on for such a short period of time.

      Posted 6.25.13 Reply
  2. Deauna wrote:

    This recipe sounds delicious. The McCormick guide is a real bonus too. Thanks for posting.

    Posted 6.25.13 Reply
  3. I would love a big, tall glass of this sweet tea lemonade! With bourbon of course 😉 I’m a big fan of grill peaches, but I have yet to try grilling lemons. I’ll have to give that a go!

    Posted 6.25.13 Reply