Post #493045 by Chip and Andy on Tue, Nov 10, 2009 8:48 AM

On 2009-11-10 08:26, arriano wrote:
The so-called "bartenders lime" ... I believe is also the key lime

Key Limes are a unique animal and are not interchangeable with other limes as far as measuring is concerned.

Key Limes are much more tart and pack a lot more citrus tartness in the same amount of juice. I remember reading somewhere that an ounce of lemon juice has something like 8 grams of ascorbic(sp?) acid (the tartness, an ounce of lime juice has 18 grams, and an ounce of key lime juice has 32 grams. That would give you just about a half-ounce of Key Lime juice equaling the same tartness as an ounce of lime juice. If you made your Mai Tai with 3/4 ounce of Key Lime you would risk turning your mouth inside out from the tartness.

"Back in the day" people actually enjoyed a drink because it tasted like alcohol. Sharp and/or tart drinks were de rigueur and anything less was unacceptable to most drinkers. These days, however, there are far too many recipes for drinks designed to hide the taste of the alcohol, far too sweet overall.... the so called Modern Palate.

It comes back to the original premise of testing and tweaking the recipe to fit your palate and expectations. I like my drinks to taste like drinks, I like them tart, I like the taste of the alcohol. I am unlike most of the drinkers at my local watering holes. And I like that fact.

As always, your mileage may vary.