Drank No. 6.5: The problems of waxed citrus

In my last post I wrote how lighting a waxed citrus peel makes a cocktail smell like a tire fire. Robert Lambert caught my post and wrote a note worth sharing:

Thanks for the note on waxed citrus in your recent post, one reason I avoid commercially prepared citrus whenever I can. I know it prevents dry-down, loss of moisture, which decreases weight and therefore profit. But it also destroys one of the salient features of fresh-from-the-tree citrus, a faint dusty film of must, like that on grapes, that is very fragrant and carries notes of the blossom that produced the fruit. With even minimal handling this rubs off, and obviously with waxing, completely disappears. When using the peel of waxed citrus, it is important not only to wash, but to use warm water, which makes it much easier to dislodge. When you soak it in a tub you’ll see it come to the surface. 

For those of you who don't know the name, Robert makes fruit marmalades, syrups and cakes in Northern California that we carry. He picks a lot of the citrus himself so he's super knowledgeable about the agriculture not just the processing. I have a story about the amazing grove of 700 rare citrus trees I visited with him here.)