It's Shandy Summer!
Recipe Trio: Jelly, Float, & Iced
If you’re anything like me, you fixate on a drink for an entire season and just can’t get enough of it. For the past few weeks, I’ve been absolutely addicted to Shandy floats. It was so incredibly hot at the mills, there was so much manual labor to be done, and the only two things that could cool us down after a long day were panachés (shandies) and lemon sorbet. I mean… why NOT combine them?
I then obviously took it too far and began exploring more variations so I figured I’d share them with you today!
You may have heard of a Shandy but have you heard of a Panaché or a Radler?
Shandy vs Radler vs Panaché
Originating in England in the 1850s, the Shandy gets its name from the Shandygaff, the original combination that was beer and ginger ale or ginger beer. Less than a century later, the sparkling ginger addition was swapped with lemonade or lemon soda and tada, the Shandy (minus the gaff) was born!
Think of this drink as a low alcohol, summer, easy breezy beverage. You don’t need to like beer to enjoy a Shandy - feel free to swap out the beer for an alcohol-free beer as well.
I won’t lie to you, I had no idea what a Radler was before writing this newsletter. Turns out that in Germany, they have also have a lemonade and beer mixture called Radler. The history (or legend) behind this drink is a tad more fun ... In 1922, a group of exhausted and thirsty cyclists arrived at a Bavarian inn to take a bit of a breather and a bit of a drink. Unfortunately for them, Franz Xaver Kugler, the owner of the establishment, was low on beer stock… He obviously wasn’t about to turn away clientele so instead of admitting his supply deficit, he combined the beer with some lemon juice - same color hey? Today, I also learnt that Radler is the German word for cyclist!
I, of course, grew up knowing what a Panaché was. The second it got hot outside, my dad and my uncle would crack open a few Panachés while fishing and I would stare, mesmerized by how their thirst was suddenly quenched. Once I got old enough to taste it for myself, I understood the hype. Whether it comes from the Shandy or the Radler, I frankly couldn’t care less. Panaché runs through my veins from June 21st until September 22nd.
Panaché 3 Ways: Jelly, Float, Iced
Shandy Jelly Recipe
