If you have heard of Delish anywhere online (web, YouTube, social media, etc.), you may know there is a regular series called "Julia Tries Everything." I stumbled across this during the pandemic last year and quickly became addicted to the show and others they produce. In my hunt for the perfect lemonade to drink during Virtual Annual Conference last week, I had a serious "Julia Tries Everything" vibe as I went to multiple stores to find individual-sized bottles of lemonades.
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| First set of lemonades bought. |
See, at Annual Conference at Hofstra for lunch and dinner, the dining people always serve, in addition to cold water and iced tea, the best (according to me) lemonade. It has become such a tradition for me at those meals to have lemonade. So, I wanted to have a similar experience this year but wasn't sure what the best lemonade was.
I asked on Facebook for some suggestions, and then just went out and bought a bunch of lemonades. You can see the first set above that I purchased on Thursday before I started the evening session. I also bought Stewart's brand on Friday and then Saturday when I was done with conference just to fulfill a suggestion I got a huge bottle of Turkey Hill lemonade. Aside from the one pink lemonade, I was just sticking with the basic "lemonade" profile, with no other flavorings. Maybe that will be my next lemonade hunt.
Let me just start out by saying, none of the brands were BAD. If I started a bottle, I finished it. If someone put any of these brands in front of me, I would drink it. But, I do have my preferences.
Thursday I only had a short window when I could drink something that wasn't water, so I went with Tropicana. I have to say, I wasn't really that impressed. It was fine but seemed to lack in the lemonade flavor I was expecting. I liked the small bottle though, because I did have a short time in which I could drink it (unless I wanted a headache the next day). So it was the perfect size for the timing.
Friday, I expected at least a full 12-hour day. I wound up with about an 8 hour day because we got done with everything early. I brought Simply Lemonade, the Brisk Pink Lemonade, and the one you might see says "Grove" on it - that was 7-11's brand. I was pleasantly surprised with the 7-11 brand. It was almost the flavor I have come to know from Hofstra. Not quite it, but it was good - especially if you are someone who isn't a big "store brand" person. The Brisk pink lemonade was okay. I'm not a big fan of the "Brisk" drinks because I feel there is a bit of a zing to any of them (iced tea has been my usual experience). Again, if it is put in front of me, I'll drink it. In fact, there have been times I've been at events and that is the free drink they are offering, and if I need a drink, I'll take it! At dinner I had the Simply Lemonade. I enjoyed the taste immensely. Again, not the Hofstra lemonade but I really enjoyed the flavor. I did not, however, enjoy the pulp in the drink.
Since Saturday was a short day, I didn't have any lemonade during the time I spent with Annual Conference. I did, however, have some at lunch time. That was Stewart's brand. It was also very good. It had a bit of a tartness, which I actually enjoyed. While at work I tried the Dole lemonade. Again, a bit of tartness but not the sweetness I was hoping for.
I have had Minute Maid before in a larger bottle. I think, as of right now, that is probably the closest to what I was looking for. However, I have yet to try a glass of Turkey Hill which is still the huge bottle sitting in the fridge. That will be tomorrow's taste test. I have heard from a few people that is good stuff, so I'm hoping for good things!
However, what I am hoping for more is that next year we will be able to be at Hofstra once again so I don't have to go through a huge hunt to find the lemonade that will satisfy my craving for Hofstra's Lemonade.
Up next - the flavors of lemonade - at some point over the summer!
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