A lemon wedge is the garnish you are meant to use: it sits on the rim of a Bloody Mary or a Gin Buck so the drinker can squeeze a last hit of acid into the glass, and in a Lemon Drop Shot it is half the ritual. A wheel is for looking at and a twist is for its oil; a wedge is for juice.

What is a lemon wedge, as a garnish?

An eighth of a lemon, cut pole to pole so that each piece has a strip of peel along the back and a point of flesh at the front, notched once so it perches on the rim of the glass. It belongs on drinks that benefit from a little more lemon than the recipe put in: highballs and bucks, tomato drinks, long sours, and anything served with the expectation that the drinker will finish the seasoning. It is the most democratic garnish in the bar because it hands a decision to the person holding the glass. Wedges for squeezing should come from a lemon that has been rolled on the counter first, which loosens the juice; wedges for show can be cut thinner. Cut them on the day; a wedge dries and curls within hours and tastes of the fridge by tomorrow.

How to use it

Trim both ends of the lemon, halve it lengthwise, then cut each half into four wedges along its length. Slice off the white pith and seeds along the inner edge so the wedge squeezes clean. Make a small cut in the flesh so it sits on the rim. Serve it on the rim for the drinker to squeeze, or squeeze it over the drink and drop the shell in (the Long Island and the bucks); never squeeze it into a drink that is already balanced, such as a sour that has its lemon measured. In a Bloody Mary it goes beside the celery and is squeezed in at the table. For a Long Island Iced Tea or a Bourbon Buck, a squeeze and the shell dropped in is the drink's last ingredient. Keep cut wedges covered and cold, and discard what is left at the end of the night.

Substitutes

A lemon wheel, if the drink does not need more acid and only wants the look. A lime wedge, in any highball built on gin, rum or tequila. A lemon twist, where the drink wants aroma rather than juice (a Collins can go either way). A wedge of grapefruit in a vodka highball. Nothing, in a drink that is balanced already; the wedge is a courtesy, not a requirement.

Cocktails with a lemon wedge

The tomato drinks: the Bloody Mary, the Red Snapper, the Red Eye and the Virgin Mary. The bucks and highballs: the Gin Buck, the Bourbon Buck, the Horsefeather and the Bitter Lemon Highball. The long ones: the Long Island Iced Tea and the Adios Motherfucker. The sour: the Fitzgerald. The shot: the Lemon Drop Shot. Every drink that takes a lemon wedge is listed below.

Questions

Wedge, wheel or twist? Wedge for juice, wheel for looks, twist for aroma. The recipe says which; if it does not, a wedge on a long drink and a twist on a short one.

Do I squeeze it in? On a highball or a Bloody Mary, yes, that is why it is there. On a measured sour, no.

How many wedges from one lemon? Eight, cut lengthwise. Six if you want fat ones for a Bloody Mary.

Can I cut them ahead? A few hours, covered and refrigerated. Not the day before.