Drink This Now: Sour Lemon Beverage Company’s Cider Vinegars
Photo by April Fleming
January represents new beginnings, and oh yes, do we ever deserve a new start after the last year, the year of endless WTF. While we can’t change some of the big things, we can do at least one decent thing for our bodies as thanks for getting us out of 2020. A suitable beverage companion for the necessary renewal in and out at the start of the year is a cider vinegar from Overland Park’s Sour Lemon Beverage Company.
Sour Lemon Owner Callen Johnson began experimenting on her own with apple cider vinegar in an effort to improve her family’s health, hoping to soothe sour stomachs and frequent strep infections. Drinking straight cider vinegar wasn’t working—it burned her throat when she tried vinegar shots, and her kids wouldn’t touch it. So over the course of many months, Johnson worked to produce an apple cider vinegar blend that both delivered digestive benefits but that tasted good enough that it wouldn’t send kids away screaming. With her husband’s help, Callen found sources for a high-quality vinegar that she loved, as well as many local ingredients that she could use for flavor.
What we like about Sour Lemon’s line of vinegars is not only that they totally do taste good—tart and tangy, but not abrasively sour. Some, like the pink lemonade, cater to those who like a sweeter drink, while limeades and spiced ciders have completely different profiles. It’s also easy to make: all that is required is to mix the concentrate with water (we recommend carbonated). And it’s no small thing that it’s economical and friendlier to the environment, with each bottle of concentrate delivering up to 16 servings—welcome affordability in a world of $8 single serving bottles of kombucha and $10 cold-pressed juices. It also works for a dry January—but we won’t judge if it turns into a mixer, either.
