The Caboose offers a Refreshing Solution
With this Georgia heat, nothing is more refreshing than freshly squeezed lemonade, and lucky for us, Ed Hogan at The Caboose in Rutledge has just the thing!
Ed and Mollie opened The Caboose in 1996 as an ice cream and fudge shop. The Caboose was originally wood, and it started as a boxcar that was converted to a caboose for World War II. It was a part of the Georgia Railroad until 1969.
"The caboose was right down the street in my friends' backyard," Ed said. "I bought it for a dollar, and had it moved up here."
About three years later, they decide to sell sandwiches, which are also a local favorite.
When Ed and Mollie lived in the Key West, Mollie worked at a sandwich shop. "It was just a gazebo," Ed said. "It was all outside dining. Some of the sandwiches are inspired by that and then we gave them train names -- Amtrak, Box Car, and Engineer."
When The Caboose first opened, Ed made the lemonade individually -- each glass as it was ordered. He would juice a lemon and a half, add a little simple syrup and top it off with water. These days, they have to make it gallons at a time because Ed's lemonade is so popular.
"We've always done it from scratch," Ed said. "Just fresh lemons, a little bit of simple syrup and water, that's all that's in it."
The lemons are freshly juiced by hand every morning. I always order a glass to take home. It's absolutely delicious!
This lemonade is cold, tangy and sweet. The fresh natural ingredients make it stand apart from other lemonades. It's not overly sweet or artificial tasting.
The next time you're passing through Rutledge and need a cold refreshing drink, stop at The Caboose and ask for a glass of Ed's Lemonade .... or maybe two.
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This article was written by Katie Marie O'Neal for the July/August 2021 issue of Lakelife magazine. Find more of Katie's dining blogs at smalltownbigflavors.net or follow her on Instagram @smalltownsbigflavors.
