Fresh Ingredients

Fresh Lemon Juice

Fresh lemon juice is about 5 to 6% citric acid: as sour as lime, with a rounder, cleaner smell that stays behind the spirit. It is the acid in the Whiskey Sour, the Tom Collins, the Sidecar and most sours built on gin, whisky or brandy. It belongs to the day it was squeezed; cover it and keep it cold between rounds.

Quick Facts

ABV0% ABV

Legal categoryNon-alcoholic

OriginProbably north-eastern India (historically)

Flavour Strengthmedium bold

SeasonYear-round

Our keeping timeJuiced: the same day, at its best within a few hours. Whole: one to two weeks refrigerated.

Storage

Store whole lemons refrigerated. Once juiced, store covered and refrigerated and use as soon as possible. Avoid prolonged exposure to air.

Allergens

None of the 14 listed allergens.

The ingredient

About Fresh Lemon Juice

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

CitrusBright acidityFresh

Tasting Notes

Sharp, clean acidity with fresh citrus aroma and a crisp finish. Flavour dulls quickly as juice oxidises.

The acid of the gin, whisky and brandy sours

Lemon juice is about 5 to 6% citric acid. That is enough to balance a sweetener poured at a similar volume, which is why so many sours run close to equal measures of juice and syrup: 25ml of lemon to 20ml of syrup in our Whiskey Sour, 30ml to 15ml in the Tom Collins.

Its smell is cleaner and rounder than lime's, and it stays behind the spirit. Hence the convention that lemon goes with grain and grape, lime with cane and agave. The Whiskey Sour, the Sidecar, the White Lady, the Bee's Knees and the Penicillin all take lemon.

Lemon carries several times the acid of orange

Lemon and lime do the balancing in a drink. Orange and grapefruit carry far less acid, so they lengthen it and add fruit while the sharper juice holds the sugar in check.

Citrus juices compared by acid (figures approximate)

Lemon

Acid: 5 to 6%, citric
Juice per fruit: 30 to 40ml
Job in a drink: Balances a sour; rounder smell

Lime

Acid: About 6%, two thirds citric, one third malic
Juice per fruit: 25 to 30ml
Job in a drink: Balances a sour; greener smell

Grapefruit

Acid: About 2%
Juice per fruit: 150ml or more
Job in a drink: Length and bitterness

Orange

Acid: About 1%
Juice per fruit: 60 to 80ml
Job in a drink: Length, sweetness and body

Juice	Acid	Juice per fruit	Job in a drink
Lemon	5 to 6%, citric	30 to 40ml	Balances a sour; rounder smell
Lime	About 6%, two thirds citric, one third malic	25 to 30ml	Balances a sour; greener smell
Grapefruit	About 2%	150ml or more	Length and bitterness
Orange	About 1%	60 to 80ml	Length, sweetness and body

Swap lemon for lime and the balance holds. Swap it for orange and the drink goes soft, because the acid it relied on has gone.

Squeezed on the day it is poured

Squeezed lemon juice loses its smell over hours and picks up a bitter edge; by the next day it tastes thin even though it is just as sour. The rule matches every other fresh juice: juice it the day it is needed, refrigerate it under a cover, and discard what remains when the session ends.

Bottled lemon juice has been heat-treated for the shelf. It keeps the acid and loses most of the smell, which matters least in a big punch and most in a Tom Collins, where 30ml of lemon sits in a long, clear drink with nothing to hide behind.

Heavy, thin-skinned lemons give the most juice

Weight is the clue: a lemon that seems heavy for its size is full of juice. If the peel is going into the drink as a twist, buy unwaxed lemons, since the wax sits on the very part you express. Warm lemons give more than cold ones, so leave them out of the fridge for an hour and roll them before cutting.

Press until the shell pushes back, then stop. Strain the seeds, and the pulp as well for a drink served up.

Using it

Using Fresh Lemon Juice

Usage

Usually 20 to 30ml in our recipes: 25ml in the Whiskey Sour, 30ml in the Tom Collins, 20ml in the Sidecar and the White Lady. It is the acid wherever the base is gin, whisky or brandy, and one lemon usually covers a drink and a half.

Pro Tip

Taste the juice before the first round. Lemons vary through the year, and it is easier to adjust the syrup once for the whole jug than drink by drink.

Top Tips

Squeeze the same day, as close to the first drink as the evening allows.
Buy unwaxed if the same lemons are giving you twists as well as juice.
Press until the shell pushes back and no further; the white pith turns the juice harsh.
Strain seeds and pulp out of anything served in a coupe.

Possible Substitutions

Fresh Lime Juice: different acidity and aroma

Production Method

Lemons are cut and squeezed by hand or press to extract juice. Juice is strained before use to ensure consistency.

History & Context

Lemons probably originated in what is now north-eastern India during the first millennium BC, though the record is uncertain. Their juice was the sour in punch long before the cocktail, and it remains the default acid in sours built on gin, whisky and brandy.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

Should a sour use lemon or lime?

Follow the spirit. Gin, whisky and brandy usually take lemon, whose cleaner smell sits behind them; rum, tequila and mezcal usually take lime. The acids are close, about 6% each, so either will balance the drink, but each tastes more at home with its usual partner.

How long does fresh lemon juice keep?

Use it the same day, covered and refrigerated between rounds. It stays sour for longer than that, but within a day the smell has faded and a bitter note creeps in, which a long, clear drink such as a Tom Collins shows straight away. In our experience a whole lemon lasts a week or two refrigerated.

How much juice is in a lemon?

Roughly 30 to 40ml from a good-sized lemon at room temperature, so one lemon covers about a drink and a half: a 25ml Whiskey Sour with some left, or most of a 30ml Tom Collins. Heavy, thin-skinned fruit gives the most, and a cold lemon gives noticeably less.

Is bottled lemon juice as good as fresh?

Not in a sour. Bottled juice is heat-treated, which leaves the acid and strips much of the aroma: the sour ends up tart but lifeless. In a large punch with other fruit and spice it does less harm, but our recipes are written for lemon squeezed the same day.

How acidic is lemon juice?

About 5 to 6% citric acid, or roughly 47 grams of it in a litre. That puts it level with lime and several times sharper than orange juice, which carries about 1%. It is why 20 to 30ml of lemon can balance a full measure of syrup and the same measure of orange cannot.

How do I stop lemon juice tasting bitter?

Press gently and stop once the shell pushes back, because the last of the squeeze drags oil out of the white pith. Strain the seeds before they sit in the juice. And finish it that day: juice left overnight turns bitter on its own, however carefully it was pressed.

Can I use lime juice instead of lemon juice?

Yes, measure for measure, and the balance will hold because the two carry about the same acid. The drink will taste different, though. A Whiskey Sour made with lime is greener and sharper in smell, and the whiskey has more to compete with. Treat it as a variation on the recipe.

Make something

Made with Fresh Lemon Juice

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Updated 18 October 2026

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